Clocktower House Pre-School, Before and After School Club

A Victorian school building, spacious playrooms and an outdoor area with a mud kitchen give Clocktower a recognisable character. This North Camp pre-school combines space for construction and imaginative play with opportunities to investigate natural materials. Its current age range is two to five, with 70 places in total.

At its November 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and found children happy and well cared for, with effective safeguarding arrangements. The detail behind that judgement matters: practitioners knew their key children, discussed individual needs together and helped children practise everyday social skills. Outdoor learning and the information parents received about progress both needed further work.

Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and all-day patterns. That makes the practical choice about more than the building: families need a pattern that fits around the school calendar.

Rooms and Ages

Three rooms are organised around children's ages, within a building that gives play and exploration considerable space. The activities include construction, pretend play, shaping malleable materials and making early marks, alongside literacy and mathematical experiences. These are different routes into learning: a child can work with materials and ideas rather than spend the session on a single prescribed task.

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and development through play, including communication, early literacy and mathematical skills. Clocktower uses continuous provision and free flow, with resources for ongoing play and opportunities to choose activities indoors or outside. The practical appeal is choice within an organised day, rather than a timetable made entirely of adult-directed activities.

Learning and Activities

In November 2023, practitioners planned from the interests of their key children and understood the next steps they wanted them to take. Morning circle time included singing and conversations about feelings. Older children used pictures on a wall to express their mood and explained the reasons behind it, making emotional language part of ordinary group life.

Games also supplied small but useful social lessons. In November 2023, a game of snakes and ladders gave staff an opportunity to help children wait for another player's turn. That is a concrete example of social learning being worked into play, rather than treated as a separate exercise.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor provision is a substantial part of the offer. A climbing frame, sandpit and water play area sit alongside a mud kitchen and mini beast garden; an all-weather canopy supports access in different conditions. The Burrow adds opportunities for physical challenge and investigating nature. Together, these spaces give children several reasons to go outside, from movement to messy exploration.

In November 2023, children managed their coats and wellingtons, enjoyed puddles and developed movement skills using ride-on toys and spinners. However, outdoor planning was less purposeful than the work indoors, and The Burrow was not being used fully for learning about the environment. For a child who gravitates towards outdoor play, the important distinction is between having equipment and using it to extend learning.

Relationships were a practical strength in November 2023. Staff learnt about their key children quickly, and room meetings allowed them to share information about individual needs. A familiar daily routine and clear boundaries helped organise the day. The useful feature here was the exchange of knowledge between practitioners, so support did not rest solely with one adult.

Military family life was also relevant to the setting's work in November 2023: most families had military backgrounds, as did some practitioners. Some staff spoke children's home languages, providing another way to support communication. These were features of the team at that date, rather than a promise about today's staffing.

There were 12 practitioners working with children in November 2023, including 10 with a relevant childcare qualification. Those figures describe the team at the visit, not current deployment or group sizes. The children's experiences offer a more useful picture of the day than a staff total alone: alongside games and outdoor play, they helped care for a giant African land snail as well as guinea pigs, turning animal care into a practical responsibility.

Parents' understanding of learning was the weaker part of the partnership in November 2023. They did not consistently receive enough detail about their child's development or useful ideas for supporting learning at home. For families wanting to build on nursery experiences, the substance of an update matters as much as its frequency.

Children bring a healthy snack and packed lunch, using a snack-bar arrangement during the day. This gives parents responsibility for the food their child eats at pre-school.

Sessions and Attendance

Clocktower opens during school terms, from 8.30am to 3pm. Morning and afternoon attendance are offered, and children can also attend all day within that window. Afternoon sessions run from noon to 3pm, or begin at 11.30am when lunch is included; a morning attendance option with lunch finishes at noon.

Lunch occupies the 11.30am-to-noon period. The morning session's ordinary finishing time needs clarification before booking, so the lunch-inclusive morning option provides the clearer planning point. School holidays, bank holidays and five inset days each year are closure periods to factor into childcare arrangements.

Getting There

The address is North Camp, Redvers Buller Road, Aldershot, GU11 2LT. Access during pre-school hours is through the main playground, with two steps into the building, a relevant detail for families considering mobility needs.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01252 333752 or through the Clocktower contact form. Visits with prospective parents and children are welcomed, including appointments arranged by telephone.

Funding and Paid Extras

In November 2023, the pre-school received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. A current written quotation is the useful basis for comparing the cost of an attendance pattern, alongside the food parents supply.

• Outdoor learning. In November 2023, planning outside needed more targeted activities, including better use of The Burrow. During a visit, ask how an outdoor-loving child's interests now shape learning there.
• Progress updates. Parents needed clearer developmental information and ideas for learning at home in November 2023. An example of a current progress discussion would help show how this works in practice.
• Session timing and access. The morning finishing-time wording is ambiguous, while the building has two entrance steps. Clarify the intended morning end time and consider the access arrangements before choosing that pattern.
• The complete childcare cost. Parents supply snacks and packed lunches, and early education funding was part of the offer in November 2023. What would a current written quotation cover for your chosen sessions, including funded hours, additional hours and non-food consumables?

Clocktower suits families seeking term-time preschool attendance, whether through morning sessions, afternoons or an all-day pattern. The Victorian building and varied outdoor spaces give it a clear physical identity, while the November 2023 picture includes attentive relationships, social learning through play and an understanding of military family life.

The decision turns on how those resources are used and how well parents understand their child's progress. Outdoor planning and communication deserve close attention alongside the appeal of the setting's spaces. For families whose calendar fits the term-time model, it is a practical option with a Good inspection judgement and specific questions worth taking to a visit.