Brook Early Years

Language has a substantial place in Brook Early Years’ day: weekly storytelling sessions sit alongside structured listening programmes and a tool for identifying communication needs. Outdoors, a secret garden, climbing wall and herb garden give children different ways to explore. This is a setting with practical detail behind its emphasis on learning through play.

Based within the grounds of Beechwood Junior School on Juniper Road in Southampton, Brook has capacity for 52 children aged 2 to 5. At its September 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. That judgement belongs to an earlier chapter of its operation, so the activities observed then need to be distinguished from the current offer.

Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance sit alongside term-time and 44-week provision. The useful distinction for parents is between a shorter preschool session and a longer day, rather than one fixed attendance pattern.

Rooms and Ages

Open-plan spaces bring together materials for sensory exploration, places for stories, creative activities and mats used for movement. These give children opportunities to shift between quieter play and more physical activity. Resources support communication, social interaction and solving problems through play.

Outside, the secret garden offers foliage to investigate, while the climbing wall creates a physical challenge. The growing section and herb garden introduce caring for plants; water play, drawing with chalk and toy cars add other ways to experiment and move. Outdoor learning has several different forms here, rather than depending on a single play structure.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework: children develop language, physical skills and relationships through play, alongside early literacy, mathematics, creative expression and understanding their surroundings. Brook’s curriculum puts exploration and active participation into that daily work. The framework is the shared foundation; its named language programmes add more specific structure.

Narrative uses a weekly session to help children understand the parts of a story, including its characters, setting and events. BLAST, short for Boosting Language Auditory Skills and Talking, runs through 30 consecutive sessions addressing listening and language. These are different routes into communication: one builds storytelling, while the other gives language skills sustained attention.

Pre-Ling is a six-week programme covering early communication skills, including attention, listening and eye contact; all 2-year-olds take part when they start. WELLCOMM combines screening with intervention resources, helping staff identify communication needs and choose activities to address them. The curriculum also includes weekly group yoga activities, bringing movement into work on emotional wellbeing.

In September 2022, children experimented with water flowing through tubes and pipes, changing the amount to see how boats moved. Activities involving tweezers exercised the small movements needed for writing. These examples show how practical play could connect curiosity with developing control of the hands.

There were limits to that teaching in September 2022. Staff did not consistently stretch children’s thinking through questions or allow sufficient thinking time before an answer. Support for children learning English as an additional language also needed more consistent use of the resources and strategies already available. Both points matter alongside the current language programmes: having a programme and using it effectively are separate questions.

Relationships and Communication

Settling begins with several ways for a child to become familiar with Brook. A Stay and Play Session introduces the child’s key worker, and a Home Visit allows staff to meet the child in familiar surroundings. After enrolment, a Transition Book supplies photographs of staff and the setting, giving families something concrete to look through together before the first sessions.

Blossom is the online learning journal used to share observations and milestones. Parents receive email notifications when it is updated, can contribute photographs and comments, and control who can access their child’s profile. That creates a route for information to travel both ways, rather than making communication solely a staff update.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Children can receive help with toilet training, and being in nappies does not exclude them from attending. Staff also support everyday independence, such as managing outdoor clothing. For families approaching preschool while these skills are still developing, that is a useful practical position.

At the September 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described individual support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including referrals and advice from external agencies. These are dated findings, rather than a fresh assessment of present practice.

In September 2022, emotional learning included using mirrors to explore facial expressions and discussing what made each child individual. The current curriculum continues to include work on emotions and relationships, with weekly yoga alongside it. The combination gives emotional development an explicit place in the planned day.

Sessions and Attendance

Sessions run Monday to Friday: Morning is 8.30am to 11.30am, Afternoon is noon to 3pm, and All Day is 8.30am to 4pm. Breakfast runs from 7.30am to 8.30am. Families can choose term-time provision or attendance across 44 weeks, making the calendar as significant as the length of each session.

The registration form collects the child’s details, requested sessions and information staff should know. Brook operates a waiting list. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email to admin@brookearlyyears.org.uk or by telephone on 02380 332557.

Funding and Paid Extras

Brook offers Universal Entitlement for 3–4-Year-Olds, Funding for 2-Year-Olds and Funding for Working Parents. Universal funding begins in the term after a child’s third birthday and is delivered across 38 term-time weeks; funding for eligible 2-year-olds also follows a 38-week term-time pattern.

Eligible working parents can access 1140 funded hours across 44 weeks, subject to HMRC requirements and a valid eligibility code. The attendance rule normally requires this stretched calendar; parents must revalidate their code every three months. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Getting There

The address is Brook Early Years, c/o Beechwood Junior School, Juniper Road, Southampton, SO18 4EG. Sharing the school grounds does not guarantee a Reception place: families still need to use the local authority admissions process.

• Language teaching in practice. In September 2022, questioning and support for children learning English as an additional language needed greater consistency. During a visit, ask how Narrative, BLAST and WELLCOMM shape support for your child, including any languages used at home.
• Settling together. A Home Visit, Stay and Play Session and Transition Book offer different ways to prepare. Visits can be arranged with prior notice; use one to discuss which settling steps would help your child most.
• The funded calendar. Working-parent funding normally requires 44 stretched weeks. Confirm whether a 38-week arrangement can be agreed for your child, along with the full charge structure, in the written quotation before agreeing a pattern.

Brook suits families seeking either morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those needing an all-day pattern and a choice of term-time or 44-week attendance. Its strongest practical attractions are the structured language programmes, varied outdoor spaces and settling arrangements that include parents.

The September 2022 Good judgement provides a dated assessment, with clear teaching improvements attached. For a child who would benefit from deliberate work on communication and a gradual introduction to nursery life, Brook has concrete arrangements worth examining closely.