Fairview Under Fives Group

A Mud Kitchen, Fairy Garden and space to grow vegetables give Fairview Under Fives Group a clear outdoor character. Within the grounds of Edward Francis Primary School in Rayleigh, this community-based preschool combines child-led play with practical support for children preparing for school. It has capacity for 20 children in total and welcomes children aged two to five.

At its May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those needing additional support, were making good progress. Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance are offered during term time. A parent committee supports the staff team, giving families a route to contribute to the preschool's running as well as their own child's learning.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play and learning in communication, physical development, relationships, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. This is the shared early-years framework; Fairview's own approach adds child-led choices, open-ended materials and opportunities to explore nature. Staff observe children's interests and use them to plan what comes next.

Calm, neutral spaces, loose parts and sustainable authentic materials support that approach. Children can select small-world resources such as castles, farms and train sets, or turn to dough, sensory activities and an art area whose resources can be adapted for additional needs. Choice has a practical purpose here: children can begin their own play, while adults extend it through conversation and new challenges. The curriculum overview explains how these experiences connect with the areas of learning.

In May 2024, mathematical ideas were woven into hands-on activities. Pattern-making with coloured pebbles introduced mathematical vocabulary, while water play involved filling tubes and working together. Group activities connected counting with clapping and writing numbers on clipboards.

Conversation received similar attention in May 2024. Adults talked alongside activities, introduced unfamiliar vocabulary and encouraged children to explain their ideas; children discussed wind turbines and volcanoes with visitors. The May 2024 improvement point concerned more consistent support for imaginative and creative play, especially extending outdoor role-play opportunities into the indoor space. That is the clearest qualification to the positive picture of learning.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor provision includes a large grass area and a separate learning space with all-weather soft pore flooring, linked to the indoor setting through free-flow access. Children also use the school grounds and facilities. The different surfaces give active play and outdoor learning separate places in the day, rather than making the garden serve just one purpose.

The Mud Kitchen and Fairy Garden sit alongside a vegetable garden and fruit and herb planters. Children have opportunities to grow plants. Bikes, scooters and trikes support movement; tunnels, slides and balancing equipment provide other physical challenges. These are concrete choices for children whose interests move between making, imagining and being active.

Family events take place throughout the year, including sports day, tea parties, fun days and nativities. Parents can also participate in sessions and join the committee.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who becomes the family's main contact and follows their development. Initial stay-and-play sessions or a home visit provide a starting point for discussing the child as an individual: their interests, their development and what the family would like them to work towards. Further play dates can support settling, and home visits involving the key person and SENCO can be arranged where appropriate.

Tapestry, an online learning journal, carries observations, care information and reports. Parents can comment on observations and photographs, so communication can run in both directions. Key-person meetings and termly newsletters add opportunities to discuss progress and understand what is happening across the preschool.

Development is reviewed each term through tracking across the areas of learning. If observations identify a possible delay, the key person discusses it with parents and considers further support.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO coordinates additional support, contributes observations and helps staff develop their practice. Individual plans connect a child's interests with the support they need. Activities can be adjusted through different equipment or smaller groups, and parents receive copies of updated plans with opportunities to contribute activities and intended outcomes.

For children receiving SEND support, progress and actions are reviewed monthly. Contact with families can take place through meetings, telephone conversations or email. Where further assessment is needed, observations at home and preschool inform discussions with other professionals before a support plan is agreed.

Fairview regularly works with the Essex SEN Team and professionals including speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and occupational therapists. Sloped access supports wheelchair entry, and low sinks help children reach washing facilities. Resources can also be sought through the area Inclusion Partner. These arrangements address both learning support and practical access.

All staff hold paediatric first-aid certificates, and designated safeguarding roles are in place. Continuing professional development supports the staff team. In May 2024, children were learning about oral health, exercise, healthy eating and road safety, connecting personal care with practical safety skills.

When a child with SEND moves to another setting or school, the key person and SENCO visit the destination and discuss existing support with the receiving staff. This is useful continuity work: the next team can understand the strategies already being used, rather than beginning the conversation afresh.

Sessions and Attendance

Fairview operates Monday to Friday for 38 weeks of the year, during term time. Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and all-day sessions from 9am to 3pm. The choice accommodates both a shorter preschool session and a day spanning morning and afternoon; it also makes the finishing time an important part of family planning.

The preschool is at Edward Francis Primary School, Uplands Park Road, Rayleigh, SS6 8AJ. Contact is available by daytime telephone or email, with a separate enrolments telephone number and a downloadable registration form. Place allocation follows a priority order: looked-after children, children already attending, deferred places from the previous year, qualifying siblings and then waiting-list registration date. The sibling category applies where a sibling attended Fairview within the last five years.

Getting There

Free parking is at Fairview Park in Victoria Road, a short walk away. The preschool occupies its own designated area within the school grounds, with an intercom controlling access.

Sharing the Edward Francis Primary School site can make the surroundings familiar to children who later attend that school. Preschool attendance does not guarantee a Reception place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Fairview accepts 15 hours of FEEE funding per week within its term-time offer, and additional hours are paid for privately. Morning snacks attract a separate requested contribution towards their cost. The sessions and fees page sets out this structure.

• Indoor imaginative play. In May 2024, support for creative ideas and role-play needed greater consistency, especially indoors. During a visit, ask how indoor resources now allow children to develop and continue their own imaginary games.
• A term-time timetable. Attendance covers 38 weeks, with the all-day session ending at 3pm. Families choosing either shorter sessions or all-day attendance need arrangements that fit these hours and the school holidays.
• Additional support. Monthly SEND reviews and individual plans provide a defined structure. Families with an existing support plan can use a visit to discuss how the key person and SENCO would carry those strategies into the preschool day.
• A shared school site. Familiarity with Edward Francis Primary School's grounds is a practical benefit for children who later attend. Treat preschool attendance and the Reception application as separate decisions.

Fairview suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting a term-time all-day option ending at 3pm. Its strongest features are tangible: varied outdoor spaces, child-led materials, a key-person relationship and detailed SEND planning. The Good judgement from May 2024 gives the offer a positive inspection foundation, with indoor imaginative play the clear area for further development. This is a community preschool whose practical timetable matters as much as its garden and learning approach.