YMCA Merstham Hub Pre-school

A digging area, mud-kitchen and sandpit give YMCA Merstham Hub Pre-school a clear emphasis on hands-on outdoor play. Its activity room sits at the rear of Merstham Hub, providing an indoor base alongside those opportunities to dig, mix and experiment. This is a community-hub setting with a practical, playful character.

Ofsted rated the pre-school Good on 13 October 2021. It has capacity for 40 children, with a current age range of 24 to 60 months. Capacity is the whole-setting total, rather than the size of a group attending together.

The strongest examples from October 2021 were children choosing resources, spending time with their key person and borrowing books from the community library. Two improvement priorities also matter to parents: communication about children's development and how staff supported learning outdoors.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care: in parent language, play and everyday interactions help children develop communication, physical skills and independence. It provides the foundation for the pre-school day rather than a separate enrichment programme.

In October 2021, children could influence what they played with, including accompanying staff to the cupboards to retrieve favourite resources. That gives a concrete picture of choice: children's interests helped shape activities, rather than every activity being selected for them.

Other experiences that month included stacking cups into structures, experimenting with colour and shape, making marks and cutting decorated play dough. These brought practical opportunities to handle materials and try out ideas. Sand play involved repeatedly filling and emptying containers, giving children time to explore textures and persist with an absorbing task.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Merstham activity room is paired with an outdoor space containing a digging area, mud-kitchen and sandpit. These are useful features for families whose children enjoy messy exploration: the materials can be handled, moved and combined, rather than simply looked at.

In October 2021, children moved between indoor and outdoor activities during the day. Outdoor experiences included running, climbing and jumping between small stepping stones. However, staff deployment sometimes missed opportunities to take children's learning further. Outdoor access and effective adult support are separate considerations.

Visits to the community library also featured in October 2021, with children taking books home to share with their families. This connected an experience during the pre-school day with reading at home; it was more than access to books within the activity space.

At the October 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities making steady progress, supported by staff sharing information with other professionals. Those are dated judgements, relevant to understanding the setting's assessed care and inclusion at that point.

In October 2021, staff used observations to identify children's next steps and recognise where additional help might be needed. Reducing paperwork had also made more individual time with a key person possible. The practical value is attention directed towards a child's learning and needs.

Children settled readily and developed close relationships with adults that month. Staff helped them understand feelings and behaviour, while conversations encouraged younger children to extend their vocabulary and express their ideas.

Parent partnership was less consistent. In October 2021, the systems did not involve every parent effectively or ensure that all felt sufficiently informed about development. For families, the important distinction is between a child having positive relationships with staff and parents receiving a clear account of how that child is getting on.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Merstham Community Hub, 2a-2b Portland Drive, Merstham, RH1 3HY. Opening hours are 8am to 2.45pm, Monday to Friday, during term time, for 38 weeks per year. Full Day sessions run from 8.45am to 2.45pm, Morning sessions from 8.45am to 11.45am and Afternoon sessions from 11.45am to 2.45pm, with a minimum of two half-day sessions a week. That closing time is an important practical consideration for anyone arranging care around an afternoon working commitment.

The Merstham team can be contacted on 01737 643108 or at preschool@ymcaeastsurrey.org.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

The pre-school offers funded Early Years entitlement for two-, three- and four-year-olds and welcomes children with entitlement to FEET funding. Attendance is term time. Private childcare is also offered, with hourly fees; families should obtain current prices in the nursery's written quotation.

• Afternoon cover. Term-time opening ends at 2.45pm. Families whose commitments extend beyond that point will need an attendance arrangement that fits this finish.
• Parent communication. In October 2021, involving and informing every parent was an improvement priority. During a visit, ask how the team shares individual learning updates and responds to parents' contributions.
• Adult support outdoors. October 2021 findings identified missed opportunities to extend outdoor learning. Ask how practitioners now organise their support around the digging area, mud-kitchen and sandpit.

YMCA Merstham Hub Pre-school suits families seeking term-time early education through full-day or morning and afternoon half-day sessions, with space for hands-on outdoor play. The digging area, mud-kitchen and sandpit give that offer substance. Its October 2021 assessment provides a positive quality reference, balanced by specific questions about parent communication and adult involvement outdoors.