Woodley Pre-School

A tool bench made with help from Romsey Men's Shed and visits from Healthy Heroes give Woodley Pre-School a recognisable community character. In May 2024, those links brought practical making and oral-health learning into children's experience. This is a committee- and charity-supported pre-school in Romsey, with local fundraising helping to pay for resources and experiences.

At its 8 May 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Woodley Pre-School Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received very effective support. The same visit identified two improvements: clearer, more consistent responses to children's behaviour and stronger early mathematics teaching. Both matter to the everyday experience.

Children can start from 2 years 9 months, and the setting has 24 places in total. Attendance is term-time only, with morning, afternoon and full-day patterns, although Friday finishes at lunchtime.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, the May 2024 examples show what that can mean in practice: planting seeds, learning new vocabulary, experimenting with tools and developing coordination through play. These are connected experiences rather than learning confined to a table.

During May 2024, children planted lettuce seeds and explained the importance of sunshine and water. Staff revisited earlier learning and used questions to encourage children to think for themselves. Words associated with planting, including compost, gave the activity a language purpose as well as a practical one. Children could connect a word with something they were handling.

Mathematics was less consistently developed within these activities. In May 2024, staff sometimes missed chances to explore ideas such as capacity and size. For parents, the useful distinction is between having an engaging activity and using it fully: planting can invite comparison and measurement as well as conversation, but those mathematical opportunities needed more attention.

Outdoor and Community Life

In May 2024, outdoor play included a mud kitchen and washing toy cars with brushes and sponges of different sizes. Running and handling these tools gave children opportunities to practise both larger movements and finer hand control. Staff also joined imaginative play, helping activities develop through interaction.

Romsey Men's Shed contributed resources for the outdoor area, including a tool bench, in May 2024. This connected community support with something children could use, offering opportunities to experiment with equipment and learn safe handling. It is a more concrete contribution than fundraising alone.

Healthy Heroes, community health development workers visiting in May 2024, helped children learn about oral health and healthy lifestyles. Other visitors included doctors and petting farms. These encounters brought people and animals into children's learning about the wider world; their value lay in making that world less abstract.

Relationships and Communication

In May 2024, unsettled children received comfort through reassuring conversation and cuddles. That detail matters for families whose child needs emotional support before joining an activity: staff responded to the child, rather than simply expecting them to participate.

Communication with families also had practical substance during May 2024. Staff explained children's experiences and the learning they intended to develop next. Parents were invited to fundraising events, connecting family involvement with the pre-school's community-supported model. Knowing the next learning steps gives parents something more useful than a general account of a busy day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The team includes a SENCO, a deputy SENCO and a role providing individual SEN support. Safeguarding responsibilities include a designated lead and two deputies. These are identifiable responsibilities within the team, rather than an assurance about how every situation will be handled.

In May 2024, support mechanisms included identifying additional needs, making referrals to other professionals and arranging targeted activities such as speech and language groups. The approach combined help within the setting with access to specialist input. Families considering additional support can use those mechanisms as the starting point for a discussion about their own child.

School transition work was another practical strand in May 2024. Teachers were invited to the pre-school, while children and staff made regular school visits. Building familiarity with school staff before the move gave children a connection to the next stage.

Sessions and Attendance

Woodley Pre-School is based at Cuperham Infant School, Bransley Close, Romsey, SO51 7JT. It opens during term time, from 9am to 3.15pm Monday to Thursday and from 9am to noon on Friday.

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon. Afternoon sessions run from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, and full days from 9am to 3.15pm; afternoons and full days operate Monday to Thursday. The full-day pattern has a stated maximum of 16 children. That is a limit for that attendance pattern, not the setting's overall capacity.

Applications begin by email or the contact form, after which families receive an application form. The contact email is woodleypreschool1@gmail.com and the telephone number is 01794 512396.

Being based on an infant-school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process. The transition visits described above support familiarity, rather than conferring an admissions advantage.

Funding and Paid Extras

Woodley accepts 15 hours funding from the term after a child's third birthday, together with eligible two-year-old funding. Attendance is term-time only. Additional hours outside funding, and hours for children without funding eligibility, are paid privately; current prices should come in the nursery's written quotation.

Snacks attract a separate contribution, invoiced each term. The funding information also refers to changes during 2024, so the funding decision point below is important for families planning attendance now.

• Behaviour and early mathematics. In May 2024, staff responses to challenging behaviour varied, and some opportunities to develop mathematical understanding were missed. At a visit, ask how staff now explain sharing and expectations, and how they build counting, comparison and capacity into play.
• The weekly pattern. Friday ends at noon and attendance is term-time only. Families needing Friday afternoons or holiday care will need arrangements that fit those closures.
• Funding for your child. The funding information combines eligibility conditions with a reference to changes during 2024. What entitlement and snack arrangements would apply to your child's proposed sessions now?
• Starting comfortably. Children can begin at 2 years 9 months, and the May 2024 account describes reassurance for unsettled children. Ask how settling visits and individual support would work for your child, including any speech or language needs.

Woodley suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting a full day Monday to Thursday. Community contributions, practical outdoor play and school familiarisation give its May 2024 experience clear character. The Good judgement sits alongside specific work needed on behaviour and mathematics. For families, the deciding fit is the combination of those learning and care priorities with a week that finishes at lunchtime on Friday.