Little Berries Preschool, Bassett

Cornflour, fractions and butterfly movements gave learning a concrete shape at Little Berries Preschool, Bassett in June 2025. Children explored halves and quarters while mixing, investigated minibeasts and expanded their vocabulary through movement and conversation. These examples give families a useful picture of how play and teaching worked together.

At its June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Outstanding across all its graded areas, found safeguarding effective and praised the personalised support that helped children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make rapid progress. The judgement covered both education and care.

The preschool is at 425 Winchester Road in Southampton, SO16 7DE, and accepts children aged 24 to 60 months. Morning, afternoon and Pre-School Day sessions run during term time, giving families several ways to organise attendance around the preschool day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning and care. In June 2025, this translated into children developing conversation, counting and early reading through activities supported by staff. Younger children used their growing vocabulary to explain what they knew; older children sounded out letters to read words and counted to large numbers.

Learning followed a sequence, with staff adjusting activities to what individual children needed next. In June 2025, practitioners positioned themselves near children's play so they could join conversations and extend an activity as it unfolded. For a parent, the important detail is the connection between a child's chosen play and the adult contribution: staff were actively involved in developing the learning within it.

A cornflour-and-water activity brought mathematical ideas into something children could handle. During June 2025, staff introduced halves and quarters as children mixed, while children connected the ingredient with their earlier learning about a mill. This gave a practical context to both mathematical language and remembering something already learned.

Minibeasts supplied another thread. In June 2025, children explored their characteristics and habitats, then moved like butterflies while staff introduced words about expanding and contracting. Movement, vocabulary and knowledge about living things belonged to the same activity. That is a more useful picture of the day than a curriculum label alone.

The Bassett team includes an Every Child A Talker lead role. This sits alongside its special educational needs coordinator role, giving families identifiable responsibilities to discuss when considering their child's communication and support needs.

Relationships and Communication

Home visits formed part of the preparation for starting in June 2025. Staff met families before children began attending, learning about individual needs so that they could plan the child's experience. The practical value is an opportunity to share routines, interests and concerns before preschool becomes part of family life.

During June 2025, staff also gathered words from bilingual families' home languages and information about their cultural backgrounds. These details informed conversations about traditions and celebrations. Family knowledge therefore contributed directly to children's experiences, rather than stopping at the initial introduction.

Support extended to parents. In June 2025, drop-in opportunities allowed staff to offer individual guidance, including help with potty training and preparing children for school. Families were also invited to regular events and encouraged to take part in their children's learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff used individual targets and strategies for children with SEND, working closely with parents and other professionals to provide early support. This gives families a concrete mechanism to explore: how a child's needs become agreed targets, and how the adults involved work together on them.

The current Bassett team has designated safeguarding lead roles and a special educational needs coordinator. These are responsibilities within the team, while the dated inspection judgement provides the assessment of how safeguarding operated.

Relationships between children also mattered in June 2025. Children invited others into their play, treated one another considerately and saw staff model respectful behaviour. For a child learning to join a group, those small social exchanges are an important part of the preschool experience.

Sessions and Attendance

Bassett offers sessions from Monday to Friday during term time: Morning runs from 9am to noon, Afternoon from noon to 3pm, and the Pre-School Day from 9am to 3pm. Applications must request at least 12 hours a week to progress, so the choice of session also needs to fit that minimum attendance pattern.

Applications go onto a waiting list for the relevant academic year. Children aged three and above receive priority by date of birth, with session requirements, age and individual needs also considered. Families accepting an offer must return the forms within 14 days. These rules make the application and response timetable worth planning around.

The Bassett address is 425 Winchester Road, Southampton, SO16 7DE. Admissions and funding enquiries use admissions.littleberries@gmail.com; the Bassett contact number is 02380 773 206.

Funding and Paid Extras

For children aged three and four, funding starts in the term after their third birthday, with 15 or 30 hours a week depending on eligibility. Eligible two-year-olds can receive up to 570 hours a year over at least 38 weeks from the term after their second birthday, capped at 15 hours in a week. Bassett's attendance patterns are term-time; the additional holiday club operates at Hollybrook.

Hours before funding eligibility or beyond the funded entitlement are privately paid. A funding form and a copy of the child's birth certificate must be returned promptly after an offer to prevent funding being delayed and payment becoming due.

A separate consumables fee helps pay for snacks, cooking ingredients, cleaning, resources, play equipment, music enrichment and Tapestry. This charge applies alongside attendance, including funded hours; parents supply nappies, wipes, nappy sacks and creams for children who need them.

New starters pay a refundable deposit, returned after one year's attendance, with the alternative of transferring it into a charity donation. Fees are payable in advance, absences remain payable, reducing sessions requires at least four weeks' notice, and session changes attract an administration fee. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• A term-time timetable. Bassett's morning, afternoon and preschool-day patterns finish by 3pm, and applications require at least 12 hours each week. Consider how that combination fits work and other family commitments.
• Funded hours and extras. The consumables fee covers snacks and other items, while parents supply personal nappy-changing essentials. Build these arrangements into the decision alongside any privately paid hours.
• Starting and individual support. Home visits and personalised targets were part of practice in June 2025. During a tour, ask how the settling process and support planning would work for your child now.
• Application commitments. Children aged three and above receive application priority, and offer forms must be returned within 14 days. Choose the requested sessions carefully, since later changes incur an administration fee.

Little Berries Preschool, Bassett suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting the complete 9am-to-3pm preschool day. Its June 2025 examples give substance to the Outstanding judgement: conversation, mathematical ideas and early reading developed through supported play, with individual support built around children and their families.

The practical decision turns on the 12-hour application minimum, the term-time timetable and the charges alongside funded attendance. For families whose arrangements fit those terms, the combination of detailed teaching examples and personalised care makes Bassett a compelling preschool option.