Hollytree Community Pre-School

A community hall, an enclosed garden and neighbouring woodland give Hollytree Community Pre-School a day that extends well beyond indoor play. Based at North Baddesley Community Centre, it combines child-chosen activities with smaller-group language work and practical links between preschool and home. The setting has 26 places in total.

Ofsted rated Hollytree Good at its May 2021 inspection. Its current offer centres on play, a continuing key-person relationship and opportunities to use the surrounding field, park and woodland. Morning, afternoon and whole-day sessions run during term time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes learning through play, conversation, movement and relationships, alongside early reading, number work and creative activities. At Hollytree, children choose activities, play together or independently, and also join activities guided by adults. That gives the day room for individual interests as well as shared learning.

The routine is deliberately flexible. A morning typically moves from free play to a snack and then further play with some group work; older children may tackle phonics or maths. Stories, music or rhymes bring children together before lunch. Later group activities can include dance, singing, physical activity or a park trip. These are examples within the routine, rather than a fixed daily checklist.

Jolly Phonics introduces interested older children to letter shapes and their sounds. When a child shows an interest, a Sound Book goes home, with their key person adding sounds. Early reading books and words can follow when the child is ready. Number activities use games and rhymes to practise recognising numbers and counting, keeping this work connected to play rather than making the whole session formal.

Outdoor and Community Life

Secret Garden adds a substantial enclosed outdoor area behind the preschool, with tree shade and a covered section extending its usefulness across the seasons. The main hall is bright and spacious, with a cloakroom, kitchen facilities and toilets close to the children. Outdoor play therefore sits alongside an indoor space equipped for the practical business of a preschool day.

Beyond the garden, the adjacent field and woodland support games, sports, nature walks and treasure hunts. Visits also take children to the Community Library, local shops and recreation ground. These give them things to explore and talk about beyond the hall. Families choosing Hollytree are choosing a setting that makes use of its village surroundings as well as its own play space.

Relationships and Communication

Each child belongs to a key group and keeps a key person throughout their time at preschool. That adult observes learning, plans next steps and builds a relationship with the family. Smaller key-group activities can include cooking, stories and games, giving children another setting in which to practise friendships and take part together.

The Family Bag lets children bring photographs, toys, books or souvenirs from home to share with their group. Hollytree Toy Library works in the other direction: staff select a game, puzzle or activity linked to a child's next steps, and send it home for a week. A counting game or rhyming activity makes the connection practical. Parents have something specific to use together, rather than just a broad instruction to practise.

Book bags offer another regular link, with children choosing preschool books to take home. Superstar Bears recognise kindness, listening, turn-taking and care for toys; a chosen child takes a bear home and receives a certificate. These home links give families several ways to participate in the child's preschool life.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Language Group supports communication through work on listening, understanding, speaking or confidence. It can also include a programme directed by a Speech and Language Therapist. Staff usually lead these activities with three or four children, a stated size for this particular activity rather than a cap on the preschool's wider groups.

Two qualified teachers lead the setting. The practical support described here rests on continuing relationships, observations and planned activities. Lunch is eaten together as a social part of the day; sunny weather may bring an outdoor lunch or a picnic on the field.

Sessions and Attendance

Hollytree opens Monday to Friday in term time, from 9am to 3pm. Families can book a morning from 9am to noon, an afternoon from noon to 3pm, or the whole day from 9am to 3pm. The difference matters: children attending across lunch take part in the midday group activity and meal, while morning and afternoon attendance offer shorter stretches.

Enquiries go to info@hollytreepreschool.org.uk. The setting also has a waiting-list application route. This is an attendance model built around the term-time preschool day, so its published hours are a concrete consideration for families arranging work and other care.

Getting There

The address is North Baddesley Community Centre, Fleming Avenue, North Baddesley, Southampton, SO52 9AQ. There is ample parking, and the hall has good access.

Moving on to School

Hollytree describes links with North Baddesley Infants, including regular visits by older children to the Year R area later in the year. Children can use the outdoor area or library and meet staff, making the next setting more familiar. Attendance does not guarantee a school place.

• Term-time timetable. Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside a whole-day option, all within the 9am to 3pm opening window. Match that timetable to the care your family needs around it.
• Shared community premises. The hall can be used for polling, which can close the preschool for the day. Such interruptions matter when arranging dependable weekday care.
• Your child's attendance package. At a visit, ask how your child's age and settling needs, any funded entitlement, and the arrangements for lunch and personal-care items would shape their attendance.

Hollytree suits families seeking term-time morning sessions, afternoons or whole preschool days, with child-chosen play and smaller-group learning in the same routine. Secret Garden and the neighbouring woodland give outdoor activity a substantial place, while the key-person system and Hollytree Toy Library connect preschool learning with home. Its Good judgement dates to May 2021; the decision today also turns on whether the community-hall setting and daytime timetable fit your family's needs.