Happy Bunnies Pre-School

Language, outdoor discovery and growing independence give Happy Bunnies Pre-School its character. This charity-run setting in Sholing, Southampton, combines a parent-and-community committee with a practical emphasis on learning through play. It caters for children aged two to four and has capacity for 32 children in total.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and found safeguarding effective. The garden supplied some of the strongest examples of everyday learning: children investigated wildlife, experimented in a mud kitchen and used outdoor resources to develop movement and balance. These were purposeful experiences, with adults helping children extend their ideas.

Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance fit within a term-time timetable. That makes this a preschool offer shaped around school terms, with a choice between shorter sessions and a complete preschool day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the basis for learning: children develop language, social understanding, physical skills and early literacy and maths through play. Sharing, managing feelings and taking turns sit alongside stories, creative work and practical exploration. Children develop these skills through play.

Counting can accompany play, while scales and measuring jugs introduce weight and volume through sand and water activities. Songs connect words with actions; instruments, dance and pretend play give children other ways to express themselves. These examples help parents picture what learning means at preschool age: conversation, movement and experimentation.

Every Child A Talker (ECAT) adds an explicit language initiative. Staff plan opportunities for children to experiment with words, extend vocabulary and build sentences through activities connected to their interests. Adults encourage conversation during ordinary tasks, and parents have a role in continuing that work at home. Language development therefore runs through the day rather than depending on one isolated activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2024, outdoor learning included exploring snails and other wildlife, with adults helping children handle living things carefully. Sensory herbs and plants added another way to investigate the natural world. Rockers and stepping stones provided opportunities to practise balance and movement, making the garden useful for physical development as well as discovery.

A permanent writing station outside brought early literacy into outdoor play. Children could select materials for themselves, while the mud kitchen encouraged imaginative cooking and conversation. These details matter because outdoor time could include language and mark-making as well as energetic play.

Independence also had a physical basis in June 2024: labelled resources were positioned within children's reach, and children practised putting on their own outdoor clothing. Magnetic shapes prompted sustained construction play and opportunities to share finished creations with friends. The activities gave children reasons to choose, persist and explain what they had made.

Each child has a key person who helps with settling, works with parents around the child's interests and needs, and maintains progress records. Those records are shared regularly. Having an identified first contact gives families a clear route for discussing concerns and keeps knowledge of the child connected to daily planning.

Staff undertake further training, and the team includes designated safeguarding lead roles and a mental health and wellbeing lead role. These are arrangements for organising responsibilities; the dated safeguarding judgement belongs to the inspection.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children, including those with SEND and those learning English as an additional language, progressed well, and that the special educational needs coordinator worked effectively with other agencies to obtain support. That finding gives substance to inclusion beyond a general statement of welcome.

In June 2024, staff gathered information about children's existing skills when they started and discussed session activities with parents at daily handovers. They also offered ideas for learning at home and a book-lending library. This connected the preschool day with family life, giving parents both an account of what had happened and something practical to continue together.

There was an important limitation. In June 2024, some younger children occasionally lost interest during larger group activities and missed the learning intended for them. Improving how those gatherings were organised was the required next step. Families choosing an early start at preschool should give this point proper weight.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 6 Viceroy Road, Sholing, Southampton, SO19 8FJ. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Opening hours are 8.45am to 2.45pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am, afternoons from 11.45am to 2.45pm, and All Day attendance from 8.45am to 2.45pm. The different patterns allow families to choose a shorter preschool session or combine the morning and afternoon within the same day.

Clothes suitable for messy activities are requested, with a spare change brought from home. Uniform is optional. A named water bottle and weather-appropriate items, including wellies, help children take part in the practical and outdoor activities that feature in the day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded attendance begins in the term after a child's third birthday, subject to securing a place. Private paid sessions are also offered, with payment required in advance; current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

Parents supply lunch for afternoon and all-day attendance; a cooler is recommended because lunch boxes cannot be refrigerated at the setting. Families also provide sun cream and, for children who need them, nappies, wipes and nappy sacks.

• Younger children in group activities. In June 2024, some younger children occasionally disengaged during larger gatherings. On a visit, ask how these activities are now organised for children at different stages.
• A term-time working week. The day ends at 2.45pm and attendance follows school terms. Families need childcare arrangements that fit that finishing time and cover school holidays.
• Lunch travels from home. Afternoon and all-day children bring a packed lunch, with a cooler recommended. This adds food preparation and suitable storage to the family's daily routine.

Happy Bunnies suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting an all-day preschool pattern during term time. Its clearest strengths are the combination of play-based language work, outdoor exploration and a key person who connects care with parents' knowledge of their child.

The June 2024 findings give those priorities concrete substance, while the concern about larger group activities deserves attention for younger starters. For families whose timetable fits the early finish and school holidays, this is a preschool with a clear emphasis on communication and practical independence.