Trinket Box Pre School

A book-borrowing scheme and outdoor learning on the Greenways site give Trinket Box Pre School a recognisable character: stories travel home, while school leavers explore nature through Forest School, a programme of practical learning outdoors. The preschool has its own building on the Thorpe Greenways Schools site in Southend-on-Sea. It operates independently of the schools.

At its 24 April 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Outstanding and found that children made exceptional progress in communication and language. That judgement has concrete examples behind it, including storytelling, imaginative play and conversations in which children contributed their own experiences. These are observations from April 2023, rather than a description of today's individual groups.

Children can join from age 2, and the setting has 58 places in total. Morning, afternoon and day sessions provide different attendance options, with breakfast and after-school clubs extending the working day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, covering children's communication, physical and emotional development alongside literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Activities combine children's own choices with adult guidance. This gives play an educational purpose while allowing children to develop their ideas.

Books have a practical route into family life. Through the preschool's library scheme, children choose a title, borrow it using their library card and share it at home. Stickers and certificates recognise participation. The useful feature is the connection between choosing a book themselves and having someone read it with them later.

Read Write Inc. is used as a resource for early language and writing, with letter sounds introduced to families through a demonstration clip. Home learning sheets and maths bags provide another connection between preschool and home: parents have materials to use together with their child, rather than simply receiving a description of an activity.

In April 2023, children mixed powder paints using a colour chart, exploring how different combinations changed the result. Story sessions invited them to contribute ideas and practise listening. Elsewhere, children joined lengths of tubing to make a ball chute, then worked out how to extend it when their supplies ran out. These examples show the learning task clearly: experiment, explain an idea and adjust it when something does not work.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School runs over six weeks and includes learning about nature, building dens, climbing trees and practising fire safety. The school-leaver programme includes this provision; occasional taster sessions for children over 3 carry a separate charge. Its practical appeal lies in giving children tasks that use their bodies, judgement and cooperation outdoors.

The programme introduces children to outdoor learning spaces on the Greenways site. Tool use is matched to the group's age and ability. In April 2023, children explored pond wildlife, including frogs and newts, and followed the growth of caterpillars indoors. Those experiences connected living things with questions about change and caring for nature.

The garden provides space for physical play and exploration. Inside, art materials support creative expression, including for children who find expressing an idea in words difficult. Enhanced Provision adds educational visits by external providers, while the broader activity offer includes visits involving a mobile farm, science, storytelling, police and firefighters. These bring new subjects and people into preschool life without requiring every experience to be a trip away.

Relationships and Communication

A half-termly newsletter keeps families connected with preschool life, with an emailed version and a paper alternative. The WOW MOMENT SHEET gives parents a way to share an achievement from home, which can then be discussed with their child and added to their learning journey. It recognises that development happens beyond the preschool day too.

Speech and language development is monitored against children's ages. The team includes an early language lead practitioner with ELKLAN training, alongside a learning supervisor responsible for planning the curriculum. These are identifiable responsibilities, rather than a general promise of individual attention.

In April 2023, children prepared fruit and vegetables, used the snack bar independently and helped younger or less experienced children. Independence was practised through ordinary tasks. Preparing food and deciding how to help a friend gave children something useful to do for themselves and others.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for disadvantaged children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities, carefully targeted, with gaps in learning closing rapidly. This is a dated assessment of practice, not a guarantee about an individual child's support today.

Current team responsibilities include a lead SENCo, another Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator and a Mental Health Champion. Designated safeguarding roles also sit within the team. These give families clear areas of responsibility for discussing learning needs, wellbeing and concerns; they do not replace an individual conversation about what their child requires.

The breakfast club includes a healthy breakfast. For children using an early start, food is therefore part of that club's daily arrangement.

Sessions and Attendance

Trinket Box operates Monday to Friday, opening at 7.45am and closing at 4pm. Its address is c/o Greenways Primary School, Greenways, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 3BS.

Morning sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am; afternoons run from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. The day session starts at 9.30am and ends at 3.30pm. Breakfast club begins at 7.45am, with an alternative early start at 8.30am, and after-school club extends collection to 4pm. These extensions carry additional charges.

Lunchtime supervision also attracts an additional charge when added to a morning or afternoon booking. Families may collect at 3pm, although an earlier collection does not reduce the standard session charge. The distinctions matter: a day session and a morning session with lunch are different bookings.

Applications go through an online waiting-list form and require a non-refundable waiting-list fee. September is the main intake, with entry at other times conditional on a place becoming available. The form requests preferred days and sessions. General enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email at enquiries@thetrinket.org.uk or by telephone on 01702 582533.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare of 30/15 hours can be used for the morning, afternoon and day sessions. It cannot cover breakfast club or early starts: funded hours apply only within the core session periods. Private session bookings are also offered.

An additional Enhanced Provision fee is tiered according to attendance and covers provision beyond the basic offer, including educational visits. Breakfast and after-school clubs, early starts and added lunchtime supervision have their own charges. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the admissions and fees information explains the booking structure.

Although the preschool shares the school grounds, attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority's school admissions process. Familiarity with the site and an admissions entitlement are separate matters.

• Settling and outdoor participation. Visits are by appointment. Use the visit to discuss how initial sessions would help your child settle and how their needs would be accommodated during Forest School activities.
• Core hours and extras. Funding applies to the named morning, afternoon and day periods, while early starts and clubs are charged separately. Assess the written quotation against the hours your family will actually use, including Enhanced Provision.
• A shared site, separate admissions. The preschool has its own building within the school grounds. That can make the setting familiar, but it does not secure a Reception place; school applications remain a separate process.

Trinket Box suits families choosing morning or afternoon preschool sessions as well as those wanting a day session with optional extensions. Its book borrowing, home learning materials and six-week Forest School programme give parents specific ways to understand what their child will experience.

The April 2023 Outstanding judgement supplies a strong dated assessment, backed by examples of language development, problem-solving and independence. The practical decision is how the core sessions, separately charged extensions and Enhanced Provision fit the family's routine and budget.