Oasis Academy Lord's Hill Pre-School

A mud kitchen, a reading nook and a garden used for play give Oasis Academy Lord's Hill Pre-School a practical, hands-on character. On Green Lane in Southampton, it combines activities chosen by children with planned learning, while individual settling arrangements let parents remain involved as their child gets used to preschool life.

At its 14 February 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Good and found safeguarding effective, with children interested in learning and staff supporting their communication and emotional wellbeing. Two improvements matter for families: information needed to reach other professionals more promptly, and assessment needed to identify children's next learning steps more precisely. These are useful points to explore alongside the positive judgement.

The preschool accepts children aged two to four and has capacity for 40 children in total. Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon, school-day and full-day options.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides the day: children build language, physical skills and relationships through play, alongside early experiences of reading, mathematics and the world around them. This is the framework all early years providers follow. Here, activities draw on children's interests and include cookery, role play, sensory exploration and making marks, with both adult guidance and time for children to choose what to do.

A make-believe play area gives children somewhere to act out ideas, while the arts and crafts corner supports making and experimenting. Books have several places in the day, including the reading nook and a separate area for shared stories. The library receives donated books from parents and organisations. For a child who alternates between busy play and quieter activities, those different spaces provide different ways to take part.

Alongside the framework sits the group-wide Oasis 9 Habits, an approach to character development that encourages qualities including patience, honesty and compassion. The preschool actively practises these habits, connecting its values with how children and adults treat one another. Its ethos is Christian-inspired, with inclusion and equality central to its stated values.

In February 2025, children made shapes with sensory lights and moved water with pipettes during pretend potion-making. Returning to the pipettes gave them further practice in handling small tools.

Outdoor and Community Life

The compact outdoor area contains a mud kitchen, space for water play and sand building, and gardening activities. Outdoor play is used throughout the year, with experiences adjusted to children's interests. Wellies and a named sunhat are part of what families bring, so the outdoor offer also has a straightforward clothing implication.

In February 2025, children climbed and balanced outdoors, cared for stick insects and took weekly farm visits. Animal care gave them concrete responsibilities, while cooking workshops introduced different foods and healthy living. The morning squiggle and wriggle dance combined music with movement. These were experiences at that time, rather than a promise that every activity follows the same timetable now.

Family participation extends beyond daily conversations. Regular open events include sports day and beach day, as well as themed sessions and outings. For events such as farm visits and sports day, accompanying parents retain responsibility for their child, with staff helping. That arrangement matters when deciding whether a family can take part in an outing.

Relationships and Communication

Each child's key person observes development, works with parents and helps with toileting and snacks. This provides a consistent contact while children mix with others and receive care from the wider team.

Settling arrangements are agreed individually. Parents can remain with their child as needed, using settling sessions to discuss routines, medication, allergies and support. Those conversations help staff understand each child's care needs.

Tapestry, the online learning journal, lets parents see observations and photographs of their child's experiences. The preschool also shares a personal Learning Story each term, with more frequent access through Tapestry, and offers review meetings at times arranged with families. Books can go home in a supplied book bag, while Home Link sheets may carry a song, poem or activity to share. Parents have several concrete ways to contribute.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SEND arrangements centre on the key person, the SENCO and an Individual Education Plan agreed with parents. Reviews bring the family back into planning, and outside advice or referrals require parental permission. Support can draw on a Local Area Advisory Teacher and Speech and Language Therapists, among other services. These are mechanisms for organising support, rather than a guarantee of any particular intervention.

The February 2025 findings identified collaboration with professionals, but also information-sharing delays and imprecise assessment. Families needing coordinated support should weigh both improvement priorities.

The purpose-built building is on ground level, with double doors, children's toilets and an accessible toilet with handrails. Child-height sinks and soap dispensers support everyday self-care. Collection arrangements use parental authorisation and a password for another person collecting a child. These practical details sit alongside the personal support arrangements.

Morning and afternoon snacks are included in fees, while families supply a labelled lunch box and Lunch Club carries a separate charge. The preschool has a no-nuts policy and caters for dietary needs and allergies; allergy-affected families should confirm current practice before their child attends.

Moving towards school involves sharing development records with parental consent, teacher visits and opportunities to visit schools. The preschool also aims to use school photographs and uniforms to support discussion. These activities help children become familiar with the change ahead. They are transition preparation, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Green Lane, Maybush, Southampton SO16 9FQ. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, during term time. There are five inset-day closures each year, so families need to fit attendance around both school holidays and those additional closures.

The session menu includes AM from 9am to noon and PM from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Longer choices are Long AM, 8am to 1pm, and Long PM, 1pm to 6pm. School Day runs from 9am to 3pm, while Full day covers 8am to 6pm; Lunch Club runs from noon to 12.30pm. Flexible sessions are also offered, with a minimum session length of three hours.

Families can begin with one or two sessions a week and discuss increasing attendance later. Applications and tour bookings can be made by telephone on 02380 743399. The admissions pattern includes a September intake for children aged two to four, with starting arrangements discussed individually.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education includes fifteen hours a week for eligible children aged two, three and four, delivered over 38 weeks rather than stretched across the year. The funding arrangements also cover enquiries about 30 hour funding. Eligibility is a condition, and additional attendance beyond funded entitlement is paid privately.

Funding requires a declaration and the child's original birth certificate. Private fees are payable in advance, including during absence. Current prices come in a written quotation; the fees and funding information explains payment arrangements.

• Term-time calendar. The preschool closes during school holidays and for five inset days each year. Families needing care beyond term time must account for those breaks when planning attendance.
• Additional support and next steps. The February 2025 findings raised information-sharing delays and insufficiently precise assessment. During a tour, ask how professional advice now reaches the key person and how individual learning targets are reviewed.
• Lunch and allergies. Families provide lunch, snacks are included in fees and Lunch Club is charged separately. Discuss the no-nuts policy and your child's allergy arrangements, and request an itemised quotation showing how food and consumables are treated for your chosen funded or private sessions.
• Family outings. Parents accompanying children on events such as farm visits retain responsibility for them. Ask how this arrangement works for your family before committing to an outing.

Oasis Academy Lord's Hill Pre-School suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting a school-day or full-day pattern. The compact garden, play spaces and individually agreed settling arrangements give parents clear reasons to consider it.

The Good judgement in February 2025 is accompanied by useful detail about learning and care, but the two improvement priorities deserve attention. For families needing additional support, the key question is how individual plans, assessment and communication with other professionals work together in practice.