Trentham Pre-School

A small, purpose-built setting with a learning garden and a parent Trustee Committee gives Trentham Pre-School a recognisable character. Fees and fundraising go back into equipment and practitioner training, while parents can take a role in how the setting runs. This is a preschool with an emphasis on play and preparation for the next stage of learning.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Trentham Pre-School Good and judged safeguarding effective. That judgement is dated: the strongest examples of daily practice below belong to February 2023, rather than being promises about today's experience.

There are 24 places in total at 40 New Inn Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8EX. Children aged two to five are catered for, with morning, afternoon and full-day attendance within a term-time week.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, with activities supporting children's development across its areas of learning. Here, planned play is especially important for younger children. The purpose-built building has a garden arranged to bring those areas of learning outdoors, giving indoor activities an outdoor counterpart.

In February 2023, hands-on exploration included weighing pasta, working with dough and experimenting with sand. These were useful, concrete ways to encounter weight, practise hand movements and investigate materials. Letters and pencils gave children opportunities to recognise letter shapes and try writing. Books and singing also featured in their play.

Language work went beyond naming objects. In February 2023, staff used a local-authority screening initiative to assess children's speech development and made referrals when needed. Questions encouraged longer responses, while an activity with coloured rice prompted children to describe sounds and textures. In February 2023, staff used play activities to encourage children to describe sounds and textures.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden is a substantial part of the setting's physical offer. In February 2023, the outdoor play space was secure and large, with basketball nets, bicycles and toy cars supporting movement. Throwing, pedalling and pushing gave children different ways to use their bodies alongside the smaller movements involved in dough and pencil activities.

Independence was another practical thread in February 2023. Children collected their clothing, dressed themselves and poured their own drinks, choosing between milk and water. Listening and following instructions featured in group discussion. These everyday tasks linked school preparation to things children could actually do for themselves.

Relationships and Communication

In February 2023, children who needed extra help separating from parents received support from their key worker, reassurance and access to favourite toys. Parents could accompany a child inside when necessary. Familiar play provided a route into the day, with the response adjusted to the child rather than one fixed method of separation.

Parent evenings provided updates on children's development in February 2023. However, lending books and activity packs were not reaching families effectively because parents were not routinely coming inside. Improving learning links with home, including reading, was an action for the setting. The distinction matters: discussing progress and helping families continue learning at home are related, but separate, tasks.

Parents can also join the Trustee Committee, subject to spaces on the committee. This gives families a route to contribute to decisions about the preschool itself, beyond conversations about their own child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support, including individually adapted interactions, links with other agencies and sensory bags that helped some children move outdoors. That example gives substance to the judgement: support involved changing the way an activity or transition worked for a particular child.

Current support includes a SENDCo contact role and adaptations to the physical setting, teaching methods or adult assistance according to individual needs. Children may receive individual help with speech sounds, join language or social-skills groups, or take part in small-group activities supporting English as an additional language. These are concrete mechanisms for discussing a child's needs with staff.

Emotional regulation needed further work in February 2023. Some children became distressed or angry when others interfered with their activity, and staff reminders about sharing did not consistently help. Developing different strategies was an improvement action. Alongside this, children practised handwashing around outdoor play and eating, and the setting offered toothbrushes and toothpaste without charge.

Sessions and Attendance

Trentham Pre-School opens on weekdays during term time, from 8.15am until 4.30pm. Its attendance choices cover mornings, afternoons and full days. Morning patterns run from either 8.15am or 9am until 12.45pm; the afternoon runs from 1pm until 4.30pm. Full days start at either 8.15am or 9am and finish at 4.30pm.

That gives families a choice between a shorter morning, an earlier morning start, an afternoon and a day extending into late afternoon. Term-time operation remains the defining practical boundary. These patterns suit different weekly routines, but the opening window should not be mistaken for year-round childcare.

The address is 40 New Inn Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, ST4 8EX. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01782 642352, by email at info@trenthampreschool.co.uk or through the contact form. Application and consent forms are also offered for download.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and paid sessions are offered. In February 2023, funded early education covered children aged two, three and four. The funding information explains the 15-hour universal entitlement and 30-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds, alongside information about two-year-old funding; those descriptions should be kept separate from an individual family's eligibility and booking agreement.

Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation. For families comparing a funded arrangement with paid sessions, the useful comparison is the complete attendance agreement, including additional hours and any agreed extras, rather than the headline entitlement alone.

• Managing strong feelings. In February 2023, reminders about sharing were not consistently effective. At a visit, ask how staff now help children handle frustration when another child interrupts their play.
• Reading at home. In February 2023, lending books and activity packs were not reaching parents effectively. Ask how families now receive and use these resources between sessions.
• Term-time routines. Morning, afternoon and full-day patterns are offered, but operation is term-time only. Families needing childcare through the holidays should weigh that boundary before choosing their attendance pattern.
• The complete cost agreement. Paid sessions and funding are both part of the offer. What would your written agreement specify about funded hours, meals and non-food consumables for your chosen pattern?

Trentham Pre-School suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting a full day within a term-time routine. Its purpose-built setting, learning garden and parent Trustee Committee give the choice practical substance. Planned play shapes its educational approach. In February 2023, children practised everyday independence through dressing themselves and pouring drinks.

The February 2023 Good judgement provides a positive inspection baseline, with useful examples of language work and adapted support. The same dated findings also identify two questions worth pursuing: how children are helped through strong feelings, and how learning reaches home. Those details make the decision more useful than the grade alone.