Mansbridge Community Pre-School

Signing, conversations and learning beyond the setting give Mansbridge Community Pre-School its character. Its curriculum puts expressing needs and taking turns in conversation alongside practical independence, while local outings connect play with everyday life. This community pre-school occupies a site on Mansbridge Primary School's grounds in Southampton and has capacity for 30 children.

At its May 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Outstanding across all assessed areas, found safeguarding effective and reported rapid progress for children, including those with SEND and those learning English as an additional language. Those findings give substantial weight to the emphasis on communication and individual support.

September 2026 brought an expanded offer for children aged three months to five years. Attendance remains term-time only, with morning, afternoon and all-day sessions plus breakfast and after-school options.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the required framework for learning and care: children develop language, movement, relationships and early mathematical and creative skills through play and activities guided by adults. Mansbridge uses Development Matters, guidance on children's development, to help plan those experiences. It informs the choice of equipment and activities rather than replacing staff judgement about an individual child.

Communication has concrete goals here. Signing helps children express what they want, while conversation practice includes listening, responding and waiting for a turn. Books, remembered stories and rhymes sit alongside this work. For a child still finding their voice, the emphasis is on having usable ways to communicate throughout the day.

Practical skills receive equally specific attention. Children practise handling tweezers, scissors and pegs, develop balance and coordination, and work towards managing clothes and toileting. The curriculum includes pedalling a tricycle and exploring plants and small creatures. These are useful foundations for participation and independence, rather than preparation confined to pencil work.

In May 2025, story sessions introduced medical vocabulary before a nurse's visit, connecting new words with someone children would meet. Construction play also involved working out which toy animals would fit into spaces between blocks. That example brings together collaboration, spatial thinking and persistence in a task children had a reason to complete.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play includes activities chosen by children and experiences led by adults. Children go outside in different weather, so clothes that can withstand messy play matter. The daily pattern also allows quieter activities and rest as energy changes during an all-day session.

Local visits can involve feeding ducks at the river, posting letters, visiting a care home or spending time in a park. In May 2025, outings also included travelling by bus to the theatre. These experiences put community life within children's learning, giving them people, places and journeys to talk about afterwards. Occasional supervised animal visits add another encounter with living creatures.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who works with the family on their needs and interests, supports settling and acts as the first contact for discussions. Turtles, Narwhals and Jellyfish are among the named key groups. These are relationship groups, rather than a basis for assuming separate rooms or fixed age bands.

In May 2025, staff visited children at home before their start and used those meetings to plan settling and choose a suitable key person. For families, the useful principle is continuity: getting to know a child before deciding how best to support them.

Tapestry is the app used for learning journals and communication. Parents can see observations and photographs, exchange messages and contribute pictures from home; reports, documents and invoices can also be accessed there. This gives families a way to follow learning and share experiences that staff can draw on, rather than receiving information in only one direction.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDCo role sits within the team, alongside designated safeguarding lead roles. The admission form gathers information about medical needs, allergies and dietary requirements, and seeks permission for sharing information with professionals where additional support is involved. These are mechanisms for coordinating care around a particular child.

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that prompt referrals and close work with other professionals helped children receive support early, while resources for learning at home were tailored to individuals. The practical value is support that connects the setting, family and other services.

In May 2025, shared meals also provided opportunities for conversation and independence, with children cleaning their own plates and utensils afterwards. The current routines make provision for rest and quieter activities, recognising that an all-day session requires a different pace from a shorter visit.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Octavia Road, Southampton, SO18 2LX, within the grounds of Mansbridge Primary School. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone, and admission involves completing an application form.

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am; afternoons run from noon to 3pm. The all-day option lasts from 8.30am to 3pm, incorporating a lunch period from 11.30am to noon. These are term-time patterns from Monday to Friday, so families can choose shorter attendance or combine learning and care across the main day.

Breakfast club runs from 7.45am to 8.30am. After-school choices begin at 3pm and finish at 4pm, 5pm or 5.30pm; wraparound care for children aged four to eleven also includes a 4pm to 5.30pm option. These extensions add flexibility around the core sessions, but holiday care needs separate planning because attendance is term-time only.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday, the 30-hour working-parent entitlement for eligible families, and eligible two-year-old funding from the term after turning two. Delivery is term-time, and additional private sessions can be booked alongside funded hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the sessions and funding page explains the attendance and payment structure.

A separate consumables and activity contribution supports snacks and additional activities; for funded hours, this contribution is voluntary. Fees are paid ahead of attendance, using weekly, monthly or termly payments, and must remain at least a week in advance. Uniform is optional, while purchasing a book bag is required.

Being based on the primary school's grounds does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process. Children's records can be passed to their next school or early years setting to support the move.

• Care for the youngest children. The offer expanded to three-month-olds in September 2026. On a visit, ask how sleep, feeding and settling are organised for babies alongside the established pre-school routines.
• Term-time attendance. Morning, afternoon and all-day patterns serve different schedules, with extensions around them. Families needing care during school holidays should factor that into their arrangements.
• The full payment structure. Funded hours carry a voluntary snack and activity contribution, private attendance is paid in advance, and a book bag must be purchased. A written quotation should distinguish the sessions and extras your family chooses.

Mansbridge suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions as well as those choosing the all-day pattern with additional breakfast or after-school care. Communication, practical independence and community experiences give the offer a clear direction, supported by the May 2025 findings.

The newer baby offer deserves its own discussion during a visit. For preschool families, the key person arrangement and two-way Tapestry communication provide concrete ways to connect home and setting, while the school site makes careful attention to the separate Reception application essential.