St Margaret's Pre-School, Olton Primary

In May 2024, sunflowers, magnetic blocks and a home library gave St Margaret's a recognisable character: practical play with something children could carry into family life. Based at Chapel Fields Children's Centre in Solihull, it caters for children aged 2 to 5 and has capacity for 30 children. This is a preschool setting rather than provision for babies.

At its 3 May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and judged that children made good progress across the areas of learning. The detail matters as much as the grade: children pursued their own interests, used outdoor equipment creatively and practised doing things for themselves. Singing, rhythm and rhyme needed more attention. Morning and afternoon sessions can be combined, with breakfast and after-school care extending the day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum shapes the educational programme: children develop language, movement and relationships alongside early reading, number work, creative expression and exploration of their surroundings. These are connected areas of learning, so play can bring several together rather than dividing the day into separate lessons. It is the shared early-years framework, rather than an additional branded programme.

In May 2024, children's interest in sunflowers led to planting, painting and looking at books on the same subject. That connection gave an interest several ways to develop. Staff used their observations to plan the next learning experiences, while children chose activities and resources for themselves. The balance was between adult planning and children's own decisions.

Magnetic blocks provided another example during that visit. Children worked together on tall constructions, then used digital cameras to photograph what they had made. Building, cooperation and recording an achievement belonged to the same activity. Small-group stories also followed children's requests, giving books a place within their chosen play.

Outdoor and Community Life

In May 2024, children could move into the outdoor learning space throughout the day. They rearranged equipment to test their own ideas, with physical effort forming part of the play. Getting ready mattered too: children practised putting on wet-weather clothing themselves, supported by patient prompts rather than adults immediately taking over.

Family involvement also has a practical role. A parent committee meets each term and helps organise fundraising for equipment beyond everyday running costs. The Matched Giving Scheme involves employers matching money raised or supporting employees' volunteering time. For parents who enjoy contributing, there is a route into the preschool's organisation as well as its social life.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who learns about their preferences, interests and individual requirements. Progress records are open to parents, who can add their own contributions. This gives family knowledge a place in planning, rather than leaving communication solely to updates from staff.

In May 2024, cosy spaces and dens helped children who were upset or finding separation difficult. Staff also used timers to make turn-taking easier to understand. These are concrete responses to two common preschool challenges: becoming comfortable away from home and sharing with other children.

The home library and activities to continue at home featured in the May 2024 visit, alongside parents' evenings with children's key people. Books could therefore connect preschool and home, while conversations offered time to discuss development beyond everyday exchanges.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that the SENCo helped staff recognise developmental concerns, worked with families and other professionals to arrange prompt support, and liaised with schools over transitions for children with special educational needs and disabilities. That finding concerns how support was organised, rather than a promise about any individual child's future experience.

The current staff structure includes a SENCo role and a manager with designated safeguarding responsibility. Staff training covers childcare, first aid, food handling and safeguarding. Those arrangements give parents identifiable responsibilities within the team.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Chapel Fields Children's Centre, Lyndon Road, Olton, Solihull, B92 7QF. Attendance is term-time, with school holidays closed. The preschool offers a morning session from 9am to noon and an afternoon session from 12.30pm to 3.30pm; children can attend both and bring a packed lunch.

Breakfast club runs from 8.30am to 9am, while after-school care runs from 3.30pm to 6pm. This creates options for a single preschool session, a combined day or care before and after the main sessions. The 2025-2026 terms required at least two sessions each week and allowed bookings of up to ten. That dated booking rule is useful context for families comparing shorter attendance patterns.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and visits are arranged by appointment. The optional uniform includes polo shirts and sweatshirts, allowing families to choose whether to use preschool clothing.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education for children aged two, three and four was part of the May 2024 provision. The 2025-2026 terms also offered 30 hour funding within the term-time model, with additional hours charged separately. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; eligibility and a particular funded booking should not be assumed.

Under those 2025-2026 terms, families supplied packed lunches for combined days and could make a voluntary weekly contribution towards snacks for funded children. Parents also supplied nappies, wipes and sun lotion, with alternative arrangements potentially possible where providing these was difficult. Food and non-food supplies therefore need separate consideration in a family's budget.

The same dated terms included a non-refundable registration charge covering a T-shirt and required a month's notice to withdraw. Fees remained payable during absence, including illness and holidays. These conditions make the written booking agreement important alongside the session pattern. The fees and policies page brings the arrangements together.

• Language through music. Singing, rhythm and rhyme were the improvement priority in May 2024. At a visit, ask how these now feature in an ordinary session, alongside stories and conversation.
• Term-time attendance. School holidays are closed, while morning, afternoon and combined sessions serve different weekly routines. Match the calendar to your childcare needs, and discuss how the earlier minimum-session rule applies to your proposed booking.
• Lunch and supplies. Combined sessions require a packed lunch. The 2025-2026 terms also put nappies, wipes and sun lotion with parents, so review the current agreement for funded snacks and everyday supplies.

St Margaret's suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those combining both with breakfast or after-school care during term time. Its clearest strengths in May 2024 were practical independence, child-led choices and family connections through the home library and key-person conversations.

The Good judgement gives a useful quality reference, with a specific improvement point around musical language experiences. For parents choosing between morning and afternoon sessions, the appeal is the attendance choice alongside the May 2024 picture of a preschool day built around play, relationships and growing independence.