Sticky Fingers Pre-School

A toddler area alongside a preschool based at Newlands Primary School gives Sticky Fingers Pre-School its particular shape. This is the Newlands setting in Millbrook, Southampton, with capacity for 40 children in total. The Toddler area opened in January 2025 and accepts children from 9 months old.

At its September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. The practical choice spans morning, afternoon and full-day sessions, rather than a single attendance pattern. For families comparing arrangements for a younger child and an older preschool child, that combination deserves attention.

Rooms and Ages

The Toddler area extends the setting to younger children, with its own waiting-list form and the same morning, afternoon and full-day patterns as the main preschool. Its opening matters: families considering a baby have a specific younger-child area to discuss, rather than simply an older preschool age band.

In September 2025, the preschool operated from a room within Newlands Primary School. Outdoor activity was a regular part of children's experience, including climbing and balancing. Those activities gave children opportunities to practise physical skills and learn how to approach manageable risks. The whole-setting capacity should not be read as the size of an individual group.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care; here, the September 2025 day included practical exploration, play and growing independence. Children investigated numbers, patterns and shapes through activities they could handle and try for themselves. Learning was connected to doing.

Ofsted found in September 2025 that mathematics was a strength, but other learning areas offered less challenge and progression, language support varied between staff, and the newly introduced curriculum needed more consistent delivery. That is the central qualification to the Good judgement. A lively activity is only part of the picture: the adult's response needs to help the child develop the idea or find the words to explain it.

The September 2025 routines also included children pouring drinks and looking after their belongings. These are small tasks with a clear purpose. They let children practise taking responsibility during ordinary parts of the day, alongside more deliberately planned learning.

Relationships had a practical role in September 2025. Children developed close connections with their key person and talked about their families, bringing familiar people into their preschool conversations. Staff used resources to help children identify feelings and manage emotional responses. For a child learning to spend time away from home, those routines connect care with the social demands of a group.

Self-care was another visible part of that September 2025 experience. Children practised handwashing, nose-blowing and toothbrushing, rather than relying on adults to complete every task. This gives independence a concrete meaning: managing the everyday actions that accompany playing and learning together.

Tapestry provides the current communication channel for memos, reminders and termly newsletters. That gives families a named place to follow setting updates. In September 2025, an online assessment tool also carried updates about children's learning, while sharing books supported reading at home. The two strands serve different purposes: practical messages help families organise attendance, and learning updates connect the preschool day with conversations at home.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 8.40am to 11.40am, afternoons from 12.20pm to 3.20pm, and full days from 8.40am to 3.20pm. The same times apply to the Toddler area. Families can therefore compare a shorter session with attendance across the day using clear start and finish times.

In September 2025, the preschool opened Monday to Friday during school terms. That dated operating pattern is useful context when weighing how preschool attendance fits around family routines.

The address is C/O Newlands Primary School, Windermere Avenue, Millbrook, Southampton SO16 9QX. Enrolment follows the waiting-list and admissions policy, with a separate application form for Newlands Toddlers.

Funding and Paid Extras

Working-parent funding for children from 9 months is supported in the Toddler area. It must be claimed before the relevant term's deadline; a later claim starts funding in the following term. This timing matters when planning the first attendance date.

Private sessions are charged by age band. A lunch-space charge should be distinguished from a charge for food. There is no consumables fee. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Moving on to School

Sharing a site with Newlands Primary School does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process. The preschool setting and the school-place decision are separate considerations.

• Consistency of teaching. September 2025 improvement priorities concerned adult support for speech and language and consistent delivery of the new curriculum. During a visit, ask how staff now extend children's conversations and put the curriculum into practice.
• The younger-child arrangement. The Toddler area accepts children from 9 months and shares the preschool's session times. Ask how settling, sleep and daily care are organised for a child of your baby's age.
• Lunch and funding. Working-parent funding has a term deadline. Ask what food and everyday supplies your child should bring, and obtain the complete charge structure before choosing sessions.

Sticky Fingers suits families considering morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting a full day, with a younger-child option through the Toddler area. Its school-site setting, practical independence routines and named communication channel give parents concrete points to weigh. The Good judgement carries a clear qualification: consistency in language support and curriculum delivery was the September 2025 improvement priority.