Harleston Preschool Nursery

Free-flow play indoors and outside gives Harleston Preschool Nursery its character: children have an outdoor area to explore within the primary school grounds, while the former Children’s Centre houses their nursery day. This is a community nursery managed separately from the school. Its school-site setting matters, but its offer extends to families from surrounding towns and villages.

With capacity for 24 children aged two to five, the preschool combines play-based learning with practical support for starting nursery. At its 11 May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good and judged safeguarding effective.

Stay and Play sessions let children spend time with staff and resources while a parent remains alongside them. Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance sit alongside term-time and year-round options, giving families more than one way to organise care.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care, covering children’s language, physical development, relationships and early skills in areas such as mathematics and literacy. It is the common foundation for early years provision; here, play and playful experiences shape how children encounter it. Play supports emotional, social, physical and intellectual development.

In May 2022, children chose resources and initiated their own play, while adults built activities around what they already understood. Dance involved movement, songs and actions, with younger children joining at a level that suited them. Story sessions brought books into both small-group and whole-group activity. Bears, cups and other story props helped children participate and remember what happened, making storytelling something they could join rather than simply listen to.

Communication has concrete tools behind it. BSL, or British Sign Language, supports communication across the setting, alongside pictures, displays and an iPad. Those different routes give children ways to understand and express themselves beyond spoken words alone. The curriculum information also introduces Universally Speaking, booklets explaining the stages of children’s communication development, as a resource for adults.

Outdoor and Community Life

Indoor and outdoor play are connected through the free-flow arrangement. The outdoor area is within the school grounds, and casual clothing is part of the practical expectation: children should be able to use messy materials without worrying about keeping an outfit pristine. Aprons are offered, but wearing one is not enforced when it would restrict participation.

Label clothes and take belongings home daily. The lost-property box is in the conservatory outside the main building.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with familiar company. Parents are encouraged to accompany their child for the first one or two settling sessions, running from 9.30am to noon, and can extend the settling period when needed. Stay and Play also runs during school holidays, allowing children to become familiar with the setting before attending independently; parents remain with them throughout these sessions.

The Learning Story records a child’s development and invites parents to contribute achievements and experiences from home. It creates a shared account rather than leaving progress entirely to staff observations. Consultations, conversations, newsletters, telephone contact and email provide other routes for exchanging information. Information about an individual child’s day is kept out of public social-media discussion.

In May 2022, each child had a key person, and staff used knowledge of family life in their conversations with children. Adults also encouraged sharing and turn-taking through consistent expectations. The current behaviour policy describes redirection, encouragement and help to understand the effect of actions on other people. Making amends can involve speech, signing or a picture, so the response can match a child’s communication skills.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support for SEND has a defined sequence: assess the need, plan support, put it into practice and review progress. Parents participate in that process, and their consent is sought before requesting outside-agency help or additional funding. SENCO roles, individual education plans, play plans and health-care plans provide mechanisms for organising support. At the May 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff understood children’s individual SEND needs and provided one-to-one help where appropriate.

Access and communication also receive practical attention. A ramp provides access for people with reduced mobility, and the nursery works with sensory-support services. Communication methods can be adapted for families, rather than relying on one channel.

Staff training includes safeguarding and first aid, with designated safeguarding lead roles in place. A collection password system identifies adults authorised to collect a child. These are arrangements, not a substitute for the dated safeguarding judgement.

Snacks are supplied without a charge for both paid and funded attendance, while children remaining for lunch bring a packed lunch from home. Families also supply consumables, including nappies and sun cream.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Harleston Childrens Centre, School Lane, Harleston, IP20 9HG. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Children can attend during term time or throughout the year, and the admissions policy provides for early education across 50 weeks.

Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions are sold. The session examples used for pricing run from 9am to 12.45pm, 1.30pm to 5pm and 9am to 4.30pm respectively, with extensions possible. The charging policy also describes individually agreed arrangements: morning starts between 8am and 9am, finishes at 12.30pm or 1.30pm for lunch, and all-day attendance ending from 3pm onwards. Afternoon timings are agreed individually. The difference between these descriptions deserves attention when setting up a weekly schedule.

Applications specify required days, sessions and times; enquiries go to 01379 853403. If full, the preschool operates a waiting list, with possible priority through Social Services or Health Visitor recommendations, or staff discretion.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the universal entitlement of 15 hours a week during term time from the term after a child’s third birthday, working-parent funding for eligible children, and funding for eligible two-year-olds from lower-income families. The fees and funding information describes 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements. Children start at this setting from their second birthday, even where a wider funding scheme applies to younger children.

Funding can be taken during term time or stretched, using fewer hours each week and retaining hours for school holidays. Hours beyond a child’s funded entitlement are paid privately. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, so the attendance agreement should distinguish funded time from additional paid hours.

The charge structure is straightforward: snacks cost families nothing, packed lunches come from home, and parents provide non-food consumables. These arrangements apply to funded attendance too. There is no deposit or registration charge. Invoices arrive through the Famly App at the beginning of each month, with weekly or monthly payment arrangements possible and the balance due by the end of term.

Ending the childcare agreement requires four weeks’ written notice. Charges are not reduced for family holidays or sickness. These terms matter when budgeting for attendance across the year, especially if a family’s working pattern changes.

The nursery describes close working links with Harleston Primary school and occupies a building attached to the local primary school. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still use the local authority admissions process. Familiarity with the school site and an admissions entitlement are separate matters.

• Agree the clock times. Priced session examples and the charging policy give different morning and full-day timings. At a visit, ask which start and finish times will form your child’s written weekly agreement, including any lunch period or extension.
• Time to finish, and reasons for self-care. In May 2022, routines sometimes cut short children’s chosen play, and staff missed opportunities to explain why drinking water matters after activity. Ask how children now finish an activity and learn the reasons behind healthy habits.
• Lunch and everyday supplies. Packed lunches, nappies and sun cream come from home, although snacks are free. Build preparation and replenishment into the family routine alongside childcare costs.
• Changing an attendance agreement. Four weeks’ written notice is required, and holidays or sickness do not bring a fee reduction. Families with changing work commitments should weigh those terms before agreeing recurring sessions.

Harleston suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as full-day attendance, with a choice between term-time and year-round care. Free-flow play, parent-accompanied settling and several communication tools give its offer a clear practical shape.

The May 2022 improvement points concerned uninterrupted play and self-care. Families supply lunches and consumables; the school-site location confers no guaranteed Reception place.