Harpsden Pre-School

A strip of woodland within the grounds gives Harpsden Pre-School its character: children can hunt for minibeasts, construct dens and turn natural materials into artwork. Based at Harpsden Village Hall near Henley-on-Thames, it combines outdoor exploration with a preschool day built around play. There are 25 places in total, with a current age range of 30 months to five years.

At its September 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that staff worked successfully with parents and outside agencies to support children with special educational needs and disabilities. That is a dated assessment. Its strongest practical attractions today are the woodland activities, individual key-person arrangements and the opportunity for parents to follow learning through a child's Learning Journey.

Attendance can combine morning or afternoon sessions, a full day and additional clubs. This is principally a term-time preschool, with separate Easter and Summer Clubs for older children.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children's learning and care: here, play connects language, physical development, early mathematics and creative exploration. Children choose activities alongside those led by adults, with outdoor learning given substantial emphasis. Dough and clay, gardening, cooking, rhyme and role play provide different ways to explore an idea rather than confining learning to a single activity.

The weekly activities sheet gives parents an advance picture of planned learning, while plans can change with children's interests that day. Early reading, writing and mathematical skills develop across activities.

Forest School adds practical exploration of the woods: children can create insect habitats, collect materials for collages, build dens and investigate plants and animals. The approach involves encounters with nature and challenges through which children practise new skills. The Tuesday Forest School afternoon is reserved for children in their final preschool year before starting school; woodland afternoons also feature on Monday and Wednesday.

Other named sessions give the week a different rhythm. Big School Club runs during the summer term for school leavers, while Thursday afternoons combine Multisports & Extracurricular Activities and Friday mornings include Dance class. Those distinctions matter when choosing attendance days: the morning and afternoon offers are not interchangeable copies of one another.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2021, children explored wooded ground, worked around obstacles and used crushed blackberries for camouflage painting. Books were also part of outdoor life, with children looking at them in a wigwam. These examples show how the outdoor space served imaginative play, physical exploration and quieter activity during that period.

There was a teaching limitation alongside that enthusiasm. In September 2021, children's interest in insect legs was not consistently developed into deeper counting work, and conversations sometimes stopped short of extending what children already understood. Outdoor activity alone does not settle the question of how effectively adults build learning from it.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who observes their play and plans what comes next around their interests and ways of learning. Parents have a particular member of staff to connect with.

The Learning Journey gathers photographs, observations, drawings and early writing. Parents can read this account of learning with their child, and it goes home when the child leaves.

In September 2021, staff encouraged practical independence through finding belongings, handwashing and toilet training. Regular meetings with parents and guidance on supporting learning at home were also part of practice then.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a designated SENCO role and an assess, plan, do and review cycle. Parents participate in assessment, planning and decisions, while links with external agencies and routes to further assessment form part of the arrangements. Families needing additional support therefore have a defined process for assessment, planning and review.

The staff structure includes designated safeguarding lead and deputy roles, paediatric first aiders and a language lead. These describe responsibilities and arrangements; the dated safeguarding judgement sits above.

Children take a packed lunch and drink from home, with families asked to support healthy-eating and nut-free policies; the paid After School Club includes an afternoon snack. That makes lunch preparation a daily family responsibility, while the later club has its own food arrangement.

Moving towards school involves visits to children's new schools and visits from their new teachers to the preschool. The setting works with the primary schools children will attend, helping children become familiar with people and surroundings before the move.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Harpsden Village Hall, Harpsden, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 4HH. Standard morning sessions run from 9am to noon, afternoons from 1pm to 3pm, and the full-day option runs from 9am to 3pm. Lunch Club occupies noon to 1pm, and children can extend a morning through lunch each day.

Early Drop-off runs Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 9am. Thursday has a separate Breakfast Club from 8.30am to 9am, while After School Club runs Tuesday to Friday from 3pm to either 4pm or 4.30pm. Early Drop-off and After School Club are non-funded sessions. Regular bookings and ad-hoc bookings are both accepted, subject to availability.

The usual intake is September, with additional starts possible at half term or after a child's second birthday where availability permits. The current age range begins at 30 months, so an earlier start needs particular attention. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at enquiries@harpsdenpreschool.co.uk or by telephone on 01491 598280.

Easter and Summer Clubs accept children aged three to five, with siblings welcome up to eight. Children below three and siblings above eight cannot attend these holiday sessions. The clubs are a separate option from term-time preschool attendance, with different age boundaries.

Funding and Paid Extras

Universal funding, Working Parent Funding up to 30 hours as applicable, and two-year-old funding for families receiving certain benefits are accepted. The 15-hour universal entitlement starts in the term after a child's third birthday; additional hours are privately paid where a child is not eligible for 30 hours. Funded preschool attendance follows the term-time offer; entitlement and eligibility still determine which hours a family can use.

Packed lunches and drinks are supplied by parents, including during funded attendance. Certain consumables, sundries and extra activities currently carry no separate charge under the committee's arrangements; a change requires at least six weeks' term-time notice. That qualification matters: the arrangement concerns certain items, and the separately paid wraparound sessions remain distinct.

The preschool can claim Early Years Pupil Premium and Disability Access Fund support. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the fees and session information brings the attendance options and funding structure together.

• Learning beyond the activity. In September 2021, the improvement priorities concerned counting and more challenging staff conversations. On a tour, ask how adults now extend a child's woodland discovery or play idea into further learning.
• Starting age and intake. The current age range starts at 30 months, while the intake arrangements allow possible starts after a second birthday. Establish the appropriate starting point for your child before planning attendance.
• Woodland days. Tuesday Forest School is for children in their final preschool year, alongside Monday and Wednesday woodland afternoons. Discuss which sessions suit your child's stage and how woodland participation works across their chosen days.
• Food and family involvement. Parents are asked to support the healthy-eating and nut-free policies when preparing packed lunches, and parents are asked to help with at least one fundraising event during the year. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food practice, and all families should consider the participation expected by this parent-led setting.

Harpsden suits families seeking morning preschool sessions, afternoon attendance or a full day, with some additional time available through its clubs. Woodland exploration is a clear reason to choose it, backed by practical activities rather than a label alone. Key-person planning and the Learning Journey give parents a way to stay connected. The September 2021 assessment was positive, with improvement priorities around counting and extending conversations.