Lordswood Community Preschool

Woodland surroundings and a large outdoor space give Lordswood Community Preschool a clear character: children have room to investigate nature alongside play indoors. Based at Lordswood Community Centre in Southampton, this committee-run preschool accepts children aged two to five and has capacity for 36 children. Its appeal lies in the combination of outdoor exploration, communication support and a key-person approach that connects home with preschool.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. That is a dated assessment, rather than a description of today's staffing or daily practice. The useful detail beneath the grade includes children sharing stories, developing independence and investigating the natural world, alongside a specific improvement point about extending mathematical learning.

Term-time attendance includes morning and afternoon sessions, with Breakfast Club and Afterschool Club extending the day. A separate Holiday Club covers selected school-holiday periods. This gives families several attendance patterns to consider rather than a single daily booking window.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, with adults observing children's development and planning their next steps. It is the foundation of the provision. Key people observe each child's development and use those observations to plan what comes next.

Every Child a Talker (Ecat) adds a specific communication process: staff monitor speech and language development, identify where extra help may be needed and build that into short-term planning. Parents receive guidance about supporting language at home. This gives communication a practical place in planning, rather than leaving it as a broad aspiration.

In January 2023, stories were a strong part of the day. Younger children discussed a transport book with their key person, while older children anticipated familiar parts of group stories. Other activities involved mixing paint by hand and moving coloured sand with shells. These examples show how conversation, sensory exploration and coordination could sit within the same play-based curriculum.

Mathematics was the area needing more attention in January 2023. Adults introduced size vocabulary when children investigated worms, but did not consistently develop those exchanges further. The improvement point was to extend children's emerging mathematical skills. For parents, the question is how staff now turn an interesting discovery into a fuller conversation about size, quantity or comparison.

Outdoor and Community Life

The large outdoor space is a substantial part of the current offer, with woodland surroundings providing opportunities to explore nature. It gives children a setting for discoveries that can become material for conversation and play, rather than outdoor time serving only as a break from indoor activities.

In January 2023, children rode bicycles, climbed large play equipment and searched for worms in a mud digging area. Nesting boxes also prompted discussion: children remembered a previous family of birds and wondered what might happen next. These are useful examples of movement, observation and recall sharing the same outdoor setting.

School preparation also had a practical element in January 2023, when staff developed links with local primary schools. This was transition work, helping children prepare for their next educational stage.

Relationships and Communication

A key person helps a child settle, develops the relationship with their family and plans around their interests and needs. Parents can share concerns privately with that person. The arrangement gives families an identifiable point of contact, especially while a child is adjusting to spending time away from home.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to share observations, photographs and progress. Parents can view entries, leave comments and contribute their own observations. That makes communication a two-way exchange: something noticed at home can become useful context for the adult planning a child's activities at preschool.

In January 2023, communication also included daily feedback and communication books, and parents had opportunities to read to children in the setting. Independence appeared in small routines: younger children worked on putting on coats, while older children washed their hands and located their name cards before snack. These were manageable steps towards doing more for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SEND Coordinator shares learning from external training with the team, and the preschool works with professionals including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and portage. An Early Years Support Teacher advises on support and individual targets. Parents' observations are included in decisions, giving family knowledge a defined place in the process.

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that knowledgeable key people supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, using Makaton signing and the Picture Exchange Communication System to help communication and participation. Those are dated examples of how support worked in practice, rather than a blanket assurance about any individual child's needs.

Emotional support also had concrete examples in January 2023: key people comforted children who became frightened during an activity and helped them understand what had worried them. At snack, children served themselves fruit and talked with adults about healthy food and recognising thirst. Care was expressed through everyday exchanges as well as planned activities.

Sessions and Attendance

The preschool is at Lordswood Community Centre, Sandpiper Road, Southampton, SO16 8FD. Term-time sessions run Monday to Friday: there is a morning session and an afternoon session from 12pm to 3pm. Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am, and Afterschool Club from 3pm to 4pm. Families can therefore consider a session within the school day or additional care at either end.

Holiday Club accepts children aged two to six, including those who do not attend the preschool. It runs during every half-term break, one Easter-holiday week and the first three weeks of the summer holidays, with sessions from 9am to 12pm and 12pm to 3pm. Sessions can be cancelled if enrolment is insufficient, so this is a conditional holiday arrangement rather than guaranteed cover.

Joining uses a waiting-list form, with an email alternative for families unable to use it. A prospectus can also be requested by email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for eligible two-year-olds, alongside 15 government-funded hours for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday and 30-hour funding for eligible children. For funding requiring a code, the preschool needs it before funded sessions start; the additional entitlement requires a valid code in the preceding term. Parents must reconfirm their details every three months.

Families have flexibility over which sessions use their funded hours. Paid sessions and the clubs at either end of the day are also part of the charge structure. Current prices should come in the preschool's written quotation, with the fees and funding page setting out the categories.

Payment is in advance, with termly invoices allowing weekly, monthly or termly payment arrangements. Closures are not charged, but a booked session remains chargeable when a child is absent, except when the child is in hospital. That distinction matters for budgeting: a family holiday and a preschool closure are treated differently.

• Session planning. Morning and afternoon sessions, Breakfast Club and Afterschool Club are offered. At a visit, ask which combinations can be booked and what time the morning session finishes.
• Outdoor mathematics. In January 2023, mathematical conversations around discoveries such as worms needed further development. Ask how staff now extend counting, comparison and size vocabulary during outdoor play.
• Holiday cover. Holiday Club covers specified breaks and can be cancelled when enrolment is insufficient. Families relying on those sessions should discuss how cancellation decisions are communicated.
• Food and everyday supplies. When discussing your funded and paid sessions, ask how meals and non-food consumables are handled.

Lordswood suits families looking for morning or afternoon preschool sessions; Breakfast Club and Afterschool Club are also offered. Its woodland setting, large outdoor space, Every Child a Talker planning and Tapestry communication give parents concrete reasons to consider it. The January 2023 Good judgement adds a useful quality reference, while the mathematics improvement point gives a visit a clear educational question.

The separate Holiday Club may help families seeking selected holiday sessions, including children who are not enrolled at preschool, but its cancellation condition matters. For a family whose attendance pattern fits the term-time offer, the strongest proposition is the connection between child-led play, communication planning and an identifiable key person.