St Joseph's Nursery and Pre School

An organic garden, school-library visits and cooking in the community room give St Joseph's Nursery and Pre School a recognisable character. Children grow and harvest fruit and vegetables, while access to school facilities brings books, movement and practical activities into their nursery experience. The setting is independent of the school, despite sharing its grounds.

Children aged 3 months to 4 years attend this Aldershot nursery. Little Angels serves babies, while Little Treasures/Saints accommodates children aged 2 to 4 years. These are age-related spaces within a purpose-built building, with provision for sleep, quieter activities and creative play. There are 9 places in total.

At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised good progress from children's starting points. That assessment gives families a dated quality judgement, alongside a current offer centred on play, independence and use of the adjoining school's facilities. Attendance is term-time only, with full-day, morning and afternoon bookings.

Rooms and Ages

Little Angels is the baby room for ages 3 months to 2 years, with mirrors, sensory blocks, painting, sticking, sand and water among its activities. Physical play includes use of the school field. The combination gives babies opportunities to handle materials, explore textures and develop movement, alongside quieter parts of the day.

For children aged 2 to 4 years, Little Treasures/Saints combines child-initiated play with an introduction to early phonics for preschool children and encouragement to become more independent. Within this shared room, Little Treasures and Little Saints identify the different age-related provision. The activities extend as children grow, with preparation for school forming part of the older children's experience.

The building has separate spaces for play, activities and sleep. Both main rooms contain a sleep area, a quiet area and space for creative work, so rest and less active pursuits have an allocated place alongside busier activities. Outside, children can use larger equipment on the early years playground. These physical arrangements are useful details for families considering how their child's day will alternate between activity and rest.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage is the framework for learning here: children encounter counting through play, language through stories and phonics, and physical development through movement and school apparatus. The nursery's curriculum also gives children practical experience of sorting, matching, ordering and sequencing. Mathematical vocabulary develops through handling objects and considering their shape, position, volume and number.

Language work includes listening and talking, responding to songs and rhymes, and exploring what written symbols mean. A book corner supports children in handling books and enjoying pictures and stories. Drawing and writing are introduced as children become ready to use symbols themselves. Families therefore have concrete examples of how early literacy enters the day, beyond the label of school preparation.

Creative work uses paint, glue, crayons, pencils and natural or discarded materials. Children explore colour and texture, make pictures and collages, and take part in imaginative role-play. Practical independence is also part of the curriculum: babies are encouraged to feed themselves, and growing children receive help to manage their own fastenings. These are everyday skills with a direct use beyond nursery.

In September 2022, babies practised new sounds and words through exchanges with staff, while older children joined in stories, songs and actions. Counting objects in picture books and using positional language during sand play brought early mathematics into those interactions. These examples describe the nursery day at that time, rather than promising a fixed timetable now.

Outdoor and Community Life

The organic garden gives children a direct part in growing and harvesting produce. It connects outdoor exploration with food they can recognise and handle. A large outdoor area also supports supervised exploration and risk-taking, while school fields and playground apparatus extend the opportunities for movement.

Access to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School includes the library, music room, ICT suite, PE halls and fields. Library story sessions support language, while the community room accommodates cooking activities involving discussion of ingredients and handling utensils. Mixing, cutting and taking turns give these sessions practical content as well as a connection to healthy eating.

The age-related activities also include park visits, school-library visits and use of the dance studio and community room. For Little Saints, interest walks, special school assembly visits, phonics and calculation sit alongside activities preparing children for school. These experiences introduce different spaces and expectations while keeping the programme connected to the children's stage of development.

A key person takes responsibility for recognising and addressing each child's needs. Parents have an informal meeting with staff before their child begins, contribute to shared record keeping and receive information about progress and social development. An open-door arrangement gives concerns a route into conversation, rather than restricting discussion to scheduled meetings.

There is a Parents' Evening in the Spring Term and a Preparation for school evening in the Summer Term. These provide separate opportunities to discuss development and the next stage. The nursery also describes links with the early years department at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, including sharing practice and opportunities to use school facilities. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a place at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School.

Two trained special educational needs coordinators provide a named support structure for children with additional needs. First-aid and child-protection training are also part of the staffing arrangements. These are specific mechanisms families can discuss in relation to their child; the dated safeguarding judgement belongs to the inspection assessment above.

In September 2022, non-mobile babies spent time with their key persons developing the movements needed to stand, and children used ride-on cars and walking aids. Older children spent short periods in the preschool area to become familiar with a busier room before moving. Daily updates covered routines and learning, giving parents information about both care and development.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted identified two improvements: more consistent communication about children's next learning steps and activities for home, and easier independent access to books and resources for early writing. Both matter to families: one concerns how parents can extend learning, while the other concerns children's ability to choose these activities themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St. Joseph's Primary School, Bridge Road, Aldershot, GU11 3DD. Opening hours are 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, during school term time, including INSET days. School holidays therefore sit outside the attendance calendar.

Full-day bookings run from 8am to 5pm. Morning sessions are 8am to noon, and afternoons run from 1pm to 5pm. Half-day care is also an attendance option, covering either of those session windows. This gives families a choice between a full day and a shorter morning or afternoon, with a gap between the two shorter sessions.

Fees use daily or half-daily rates, with no hourly purchasing option. Where families top up funded hours, bookings of 1 to 4 hours attract the half-day rate and those of 4 to 9 hours attract the full-day rate. Payment is due in advance for each half term, so the booking unit and payment timetable both affect family budgeting.

Getting There

A parent car park sits immediately outside the school grounds, providing a dedicated collection and drop-off option. The nursery itself occupies a purpose-built setting behind the preschool within the school grounds.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded hours are offered, with eligible children able to claim 570 or 1140 hours in their eligible birthday year; attendance here is term-time only. Additional privately paid care follows the daily or half-daily charging structure. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

Parents supply lunch and healthy snacks, while fresh fruit and milk are provided; children aged 3 years and over can have a separately paid school lunch booked through school administration. Parents also supply nappies and wipes, with sunscreen, a sun hat and made-up bottles among the items families are asked to bring as appropriate.

The registration payment is refundable through deduction from the first invoice or refund once the child starts; it is lost if the place is not taken up without three months' written notice. Ending attendance requires six weeks' written notice, excluding holidays. Fees remain payable during closures and absence, making those terms relevant when planning changes to care.

• Term-time attendance. Full days and shorter sessions operate during school terms, including INSET days. Families needing care through school holidays should account for that calendar when assessing the fit.
• Learning follow-through. The September 2022 improvement points concerned communication about next steps and independent access to early reading and writing resources. On a visit, ask how staff now share home-learning ideas and make those resources accessible.
• School connection. Children use school facilities and take part in preparation activities, while the nursery remains independent. Treat the shared site and school experiences as part of the nursery day, and plan school applications separately.
• Booking and exit terms. Care is charged in day or half-day units, and the written notice period excludes holidays. Consider how those terms would work if your required hours or circumstances changed.

St Joseph's suits families seeking term-time care with a choice of full days, morning sessions or afternoons. The organic garden, library access and cooking activities give the offer concrete substance, while age-related provision takes children from baby play towards phonics and greater independence.

The September 2022 Good judgement provides a positive dated assessment, with two clear improvement points to pursue during a visit. The strongest practical fit is for families comfortable with the school-term calendar, parent-supplied essentials and day-based charging, who value the opportunities available through a shared school site.