Squirrels Pre-School

A Messy Play Room, a calming Light Room and an outdoor area built around making, growing and exploring give Squirrels Pre-School a recognisable character. This Farnborough setting welcomes children from age 2 and has 26 places in total. Its appeal lies in the combination of practical independence and spaces that offer different kinds of play.

At its July 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Squirrels Good and found safeguarding effective, with children making good progress and benefiting from coordinated support where they needed additional help. Two improvements were requested: more precisely targeted staff development and more consistent ways to help children express their needs and ideas. Those findings provide a useful balance to the creative surroundings.

Preschool opening hours run from 8.30am to 4pm on weekdays, with flexible collection and drop-off arrangements; Squirrels Holiday Club provides a separate school-holiday offer.

Rooms and Ages

The preschool now occupies three rooms, including the Messy Play Room for exploration and creation and the Light Room for calmer experiences. The distinction matters: energetic, hands-on activity and quieter experiences have different spaces rather than depending entirely on the same room changing purpose.

Children can start preschool from age 2. Squirrels Holiday Club has a separate admission condition: children must be toilet trained and at least 2.5 years old, and can attend until their 11th birthday. Families considering both services need to treat these as different entry arrangements.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care, bringing play, communication, physical development and social learning into their day. Squirrels adds an explicit emphasis on independence in everyday life skills. That gives its curriculum a practical direction: preparation for the future begins with what children can learn to do for themselves.

In July 2023, learning included mixing coloured liquids, pouring, measuring and adding decorative materials. These activities brought coordination and early mathematics into the same experience. Counting also appeared at snack time, when children used number prompts to choose pieces of fruit. Mathematics had a practical purpose rather than being confined to a separate exercise.

Language learning in July 2023 included naming colours during play with hoops. Children practised listening alongside expanding their vocabulary, although support for those needing help to express themselves was not yet consistent enough. This distinction is important: introducing words and helping a child communicate a need are related tasks, but require different support.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outside, a mud kitchen and construction sandpit provide materials for sensory and building play, while a craft tent gives creative work its own space. A reading corner offers a quieter alternative. The bug hotel and growing area bring opportunities to explore living things into the grounds, giving children more to investigate than play equipment alone.

In July 2023, physical activities included bicycles propelled by children, hoops and crossing low planks between tepees. Children were encouraged to judge manageable challenges and try unfamiliar activities. The preschool sits beside a secure play park and an open field, with Farnborough Abbey behind it; these surroundings give the location a clear identity, without implying a particular outings programme.

Holiday Club activities include jewellery making, crockery painting and sports. Halloween and Easter themes feature in some holidays. This is a separate recreational offer alongside preschool education, useful for families considering continuity of childcare during school breaks.

In July 2023, children practised cooperation through everyday routines, including helping one another put equipment away. Staff modelled courtesy and established clear expectations for behaviour. Sharing a task gave children opportunities to practise relationships as well as independence.

At the July 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked effectively with families and other professionals, using individual support plans for children needing extra help, while safeguarding practice included appropriate supervision and attention to hazards. This supports the positive judgement on care at that date, rather than making an undated assurance about today's arrangements.

The communication improvement deserves particular attention for families whose child needs help expressing discomfort, preferences or requests. In July 2023, staff introduced vocabulary through activities, but techniques for helping some children communicate their own needs required more consistent use. The issue concerned applying support reliably, rather than simply providing more language activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Preschool opens Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 4pm, and allows flexible drop-off and collection times. Its calendar follows school terms, with separate Holiday Club provision during selected breaks. Families need to distinguish the preschool calendar from the holiday service when planning attendance across the year.

Holiday Club opening hours are 8.30am to 4.30pm for children having breakfast, or 9am to 4.30pm without breakfast. It operates in the February, May and October half terms, the two-week Easter holiday and five weeks of the summer holiday. These are the club's opening arrangements, rather than evidence that preschool runs throughout school holidays.

Enquiries can be made through its contact form or by email to office@squirrelseducare.co.uk.

Getting There

The address is Priory Park Pavillion, Priory Street, Farnborough, GU14 7HX. A large free car park provides a practical advantage for families travelling by car.

Funding and Paid Extras

In July 2023, the preschool received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

For the summer 2026 Holiday Club, families supplied lunch when attendance covered lunchtime, along with a water bottle and spare clothes; its booking terms required packed lunches to be nut free. Those summer bookings were non-refundable and booked days could not be changed, making the chosen attendance pattern a consequential decision.

• Communication support. In July 2023, techniques helping some children express their needs were not used consistently enough. At a visit, ask how staff now support a child who cannot readily explain what they want.
• Teaching development. The July 2023 improvement action called for staff training to address teaching skills more precisely. Ask what changes children experience as a result of that work.
• Two attendance arrangements. Preschool offers flexible collection and drop-off within its weekday opening window, while Holiday Club has its own calendar and toilet-training condition. How would the two services fit your child's routine, and what are the current funding, meal and consumables terms for that pattern?
• Holiday lunch requirements. Summer 2026 club bookings required a nut-free packed lunch and were non-refundable. Families managing allergies should confirm current food practice and booking terms before choosing holiday attendance.

Squirrels suits families seeking preschool with flexible drop-off and collection, as well as those considering separate holiday childcare. The Messy Play Room, Light Room and outdoor making and growing spaces give children different ways to spend their time, while independence supplies a clear curriculum priority.

The Good judgement from July 2023 is encouraging, but the communication and staff-development actions remain useful questions for a visit. The strongest fit is a family that values practical learning and wants to understand how support is adapted to its own child.