Harbury Preschool

Harbury library visits, village shopping trips and a carnival float give this small preschool a recognisable village character. Books connect with experiences beyond the setting: children hear stories, explore shops and turn their own artwork into a community celebration. Harbury Preschool has 16 places in total.

At its 5 June 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the preschool Outstanding, found excellent progress across children's learning and judged safeguarding effective. The practical detail behind that judgement matters: conversation, independent self-care and sustained play were central to the children's experience.

Parents also have a role in running the preschool. A committee elected by attending families oversees its business and charitable funds, giving parent involvement a formal place alongside everyday contact with practitioners. Attendance is term-time, with morning, afternoon and full-day bookings.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, including communication, physical development, early mathematics and relationships. Harbury's approach connects those areas through practical experiences: stories prompt conversation, water play creates mathematical problems, and making puppets gives children material for their own storytelling.

The book area supports reference and stories. Regular book-reading visits to Harbury library extend that interest, while borrowing books for home helps families continue shared reading between sessions.

Climbing and gym equipment with safety mats, bicycles, hoops and large building blocks support physical play. Garden tools, scissors and drawing materials give children practice in careful handling.

In June 2025, recycling activities introduced differences between materials, and a story about rubbish affecting sea creatures connected books with environmental questions. Water activities outdoors brought capacity and volume into conversation. Children also made and painted minibeast models for the carnival, linking creative work with a shared village event.

Outdoor and Community Life

Regular trips to village shops include the greengrocers, where children discuss produce and money. A Post Office visit can involve sending a letter home, making communication a practical experience.

In June 2025, children selected and weighed produce at the local market, then prepared it for snacks, connecting shopping with food preparation.

The June 2026 carnival float used stories and book characters as its theme, with children's paintings forming part of the decoration and children dressing as characters. That month's activities also included watching caterpillars develop and making fruit smoothies with safety knives. The smoothie-making experience then became a pretend kiosk, equipped with scales, a till and recipes containing fruit-counting tasks. A familiar activity became a route into imaginative play and number work.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who maintains contact with home and adapts learning to the child's needs. Before starting, families complete an All About Me form covering interests and hobbies; a parent stays for part of the first session while staff introduce how the preschool works. Settling therefore starts with information about the individual child and time together in the setting.

At the June 2025 inspection, Ofsted found parent partnership exceptionally effective, with information from families and staff observations shaping individual learning. That finding adds substance to the key-person arrangement: the relationship informed planning rather than serving only as a point of contact.

Everyday communication includes an informal conversation after sessions, a half-termly newsletter and regular parents' evenings. Weekly planning can be sent to parents on request. Travelling animals and rhyming books also go home, giving children and adults something specific to share and discuss. Families can contribute to fundraising and join the committee, extending their involvement beyond progress conversations.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND co-ordinator roles provide a contact for discussing additional needs before a child starts and during attendance. Harbury also holds recognition through the Warwickshire Inclusion Kitemarking Scheme (WincKS), an award for inclusive early-years provision for children with SEND, received in June 2024 and again in June 2025. The setting can claim EYPP or Disability Access Funding for eligible children to support resources or training.

Designated safeguarding lead roles oversee child-protection arrangements. Staff and volunteers receive child-protection training, and families can read policies covering matters such as safer eating, recruitment and intimate care.

In June 2025, visual prompts helped children understand the sequence of activities, while a system using five superheroes supported learning about behaviour and its effect on others. Everyday independence included opening lunch containers, selecting fruit with tongs and pouring drinks from small jugs. These routines put practice into ordinary moments rather than reserving it for a separate lesson. At that time, the preschool employed seven childcare staff with early-years qualifications at level 3 or level 5.

Sessions and Attendance

Harbury Preschool's address is High Street, Harbury, Leamington Spa, CV33 9HW. It opens Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 3.30pm, during term time. The operating year covers 39 weeks, excluding teacher-training days; funded entitlement covers 38 weeks, so the additional week is chargeable.

Morning sessions run from 8.30am to 11.30am, afternoons from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, and full days from 8.30am to 3.30pm. Lunch Club runs between 11.30am and 12.30pm. A minimum of two sessions applies, with three recommended, preferably across two different days.

Extra sessions and Lunch Club attendance can be arranged in advance when staffing ratios permit. These ad hoc additions are paid privately. Contracted sessions require a month's notice to withdraw, and fees can be paid monthly, half-termly or termly. Enquiries are handled through enquiries@harburypre-school.org.uk, with email the preferred contact method.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded provision includes universal 15-hour education for three- and four-year-olds and a 30-hour offer for eligible working parents who have obtained a funding code, starting in the term after the child's third birthday. Two-year-old funding is also accepted, with the funding offer specifying entry from two years six months in September and January for eligible families with a code. Funding is delivered over term time, and additional private hours can be purchased.

Snacks and non-food consumables are charged separately through a voluntary session contribution on funded and private bookings. Parents who opt out provide the specified healthy snacks and items including nappies, wipes, nappy sacks and a named towel; dairy-intolerant children also require oat milk under that arrangement.

The contribution also covers activities and outings, with separate payment possible when families opt out. Examples include cooking, yoga, gardening and celebrations. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the sessions and fees page explains the booking and charge structure.

Moving on to School

The preschool describes close links with Harbury Primary School: children who will attend visit with preschool staff in the preceding term, and the Reception teacher visits preschool for circle time. This provides contact with the next setting before the move. Preschool attendance does not guarantee a school place; families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Starting age. The funding terms specify entry from two years six months in September and January, while the general introduction gives two years nine months. Confirm which starting point applies to your child before choosing an intake.
• Term-time costs. Opening spans 39 weeks but funding covers 38, and the voluntary contribution covers snacks, consumables and activities. Decide whether to use that contribution or supply the specified items and pay separately for activities.
• Upfront payment terms. The fees terms describe a deposit credited to the first invoice, non-refundable if the child does not start and waived for families with a 2HELP code; the enquiry terms describe an administration payment refunded when attendance ends. Obtain written clarification of which arrangement applies.
• Seeing a session. An informal visit with your child is encouraged before enrolment. Use it to discuss the key-person relationship, settling arrangements and, where relevant, how SEND support would fit your child's day.

Harbury Preschool suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a full preschool day during term time. Its village links have practical substance: library reading, shop visits and carnival participation connect learning with familiar places and shared events.

The Outstanding June 2025 judgement supports the educational picture, while the key-person system and structured contact with families give the offer a clear personal dimension. The decision hinges on matching the intake age, term-time calendar and payment arrangements to your family. For parents who also want a role in a committee-led preschool, there is a direct route into its community life.