Olive Tree Pre-School

Language, child-led play and practical family support give Olive Tree Pre-School its character. At 33b Windrush Road in Southampton, this setting has capacity for 33 children, with a day shaped by children choosing resources, developing communication and becoming more independent.

Ofsted rated the setting Good at its 3 February 2025 inspection and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest practical additions include Every Child a Talker (ECaT), which uses language-development guidance and audits, and In The Moment Planning, which connects observations of children's play with their next learning steps.

Attendance is term-time, with morning and afternoon sessions, combinations that make full days, and flexible arrangements subject to a minimum booking. That gives families more than one way to organise the preschool week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering development such as communication, emotional understanding, creativity and early maths. This is the foundation of the day. Olive Tree's additional approaches give more detail about how activities and adult involvement are organised.

In The Moment Planning starts with what children choose to do. Resources are accessible, and the workshop-style arrangement extends indoors and outside, allowing children to select materials for their own activity. Staff observe and interact as play develops, using those moments to plan what comes next. For a child absorbed in an idea, the practical benefit is scope to pursue it rather than immediately move to an adult-selected task.

Individual observation also brings parents into planning. When a child is selected for closer attention, a consultation sheet may invite families to share significant events or interests beforehand. Activities and observations then become part of learning journeys. This creates a route for knowledge from home to influence the preschool day.

Every Child a Talker (ECaT) adds a specific communication strand. Staff use its tips and guidance, while audits track language development and help identify needs early. Families can also use activity posters at home, giving them concrete material for continuing conversations and play beyond the setting.

In February 2025, themed activities included vehicles, seasons and space. One listening activity paired vehicle sounds with pictures, giving children a clear task involving attention and recognition. Singing, stories and repetition of unfamiliar words also featured in language work. These examples show how an ordinary topic can carry a deliberate learning purpose.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can choose resources in the indoor and outdoor workshop-style spaces. This links the environment to the child-led planning approach: materials support what children decide to investigate, rather than serving only activities already arranged by adults.

The Healthy Early Years Award (HEYA) is a Southampton scheme concerned with young children's health and wellbeing. Olive Tree participates in the scheme and sets out aims for active play, daily opportunities indoors and outside, and resources suited to children's physical development. These are practical health priorities rather than a substitute for the learning framework.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person responsible for wellbeing and communication about development. Brief conversations are possible at the beginning and end of the day, with appointments for discussions that need more time. That distinction is useful: a quick update and a detailed conversation have different demands.

In February 2025, children had established relationships with their key person, and younger children received comfort before exploring toys. Families also received development updates through an online system. Home-learning bags and a music-and-movement class formed part of the additional opportunities described at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2025 inspection, Ofsted found effective support for children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language, alongside exceptional support for disadvantaged families, including help obtaining funding for travel costs, additional attendance, specialist learning and hot food. These findings concern the help delivered at that inspection, rather than an entitlement to any particular package now.

Current support arrangements include a SENCO role, early identification of additional needs and work with health professionals and Speech and Language Therapy. Parents therefore have a defined route for discussing concerns and involving specialist services, rather than relying solely on informal conversations.

In February 2025, children practised everyday independence through handwashing, using cutlery and preparing for lunch. Toothbrushing followed snack time, and home-cooked meals were available. Work with other settings and schools supported continuity, while emotional understanding and independent toileting formed part of preparation for moving on in education.

Teaching had two areas to strengthen. In February 2025, some staff struggled to sustain children's attention in larger groups, and training needed sharper targeting to address differences in teaching practice. Small-group interaction and larger-group organisation therefore deserve separate consideration.

Sessions and Attendance

Olive Tree Pre-School operates at 33b Windrush Road, Southampton, SO16 9DD. Sessions run Monday to Friday during term time, across 38 weeks each year.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon; afternoons are 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Breakfast runs from 8am to 9am, and lunch from noon to 12.30pm. Sessions can be combined into full days. Flexible session times can also be discussed with staff, who will try to accommodate childcare needs, but the minimum booking is three hours. The flexibility is therefore an arrangement to agree, rather than unrestricted hourly attendance.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 07719 524795 or by email at contact@olivetreepreschool.co.uk. These provide direct routes to the setting for joining enquiries.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 30 hours for three- and four-year-old children whose parents are employed, subject to eligibility. Attendance remains term-time. Private hourly charges apply where funding is unavailable, so funded entitlement and privately paid attendance are separate parts of the cost structure. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Term-time attendance. Sessions cover 38 weeks, with a three-hour minimum booking. Morning, afternoon and combined-day patterns offer different options, but families needing childcare through school holidays should weigh the term-time calendar carefully.
• Larger-group teaching. In February 2025, maintaining attention in bigger groups and targeting staff training were improvement points. On a visit, ask how group activities are organised and how staff development addresses those specific issues.
• The complete quotation. Funding and private hours sit alongside session choices. Before agreeing a booking, ask how meals, snacks and non-food consumables are handled for both funded and privately paid attendance.

Olive Tree suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon sessions or combined full days during term time, with a child-led approach and an explicit communication programme. Accessible resources, individual observations and key-person conversations give parents concrete ways to understand how the day works.

The February 2025 Good judgement provides the inspection position. The teaching improvements keep the assessment balanced: the appeal lies in the practical learning and support arrangements, while larger-group organisation is a useful point to explore before choosing the setting.