Hartfield Playschool

An old railway platform doubles as sheltered outdoor play space at Hartfield Playschool, while the garden opens directly onto The Forest Way. The former Hartfield Railway Station gives this community playschool a recognisable character: climbing, gardening and exploring the natural world have substantial physical space behind them. Outdoor play is a central attraction here.

Children are accepted from nine months until statutory school age, and the setting has 49 places in total. At its 6 January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Hartfield Playschool Good overall. That judgement relates to an older age range: the children attending at that visit were aged two to four, so it should be read separately from today's offer for babies.

Morning and afternoon sessions sit alongside Early Risers, Lunch Club and Extended Afternoon bookings. Those separate blocks make the practical offer useful for families whose childcare needs vary around the core sessions, although the minimum attendance requirement is two sessions.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the required framework for learning through play, covering communication, physical skills, relationships and the foundations of literacy and mathematics. Hartfield's approach gives children opportunities to connect these areas through ordinary games: snap, for example, brings recognising shapes and taking turns together with conversation. The point is learning through something children can participate in, rather than treating each area as a separate lesson.

Choice has a substantial role in the session. Children can use construction materials, paint, explore water or sand, make things with play-dough, look at books or join imaginative play. Short shared activities also bring the group together for stories, music, games and discussion. For parents, that means the approach combines time to pursue an interest with opportunities to listen and contribute alongside other children.

Forest School adds outdoor exploration to this framework. Its weekly planning responds to children's interests, using the field garden and Forest Way for experiences that include searching for insects and learning skills around fire lighting. A Forest School Leader supports the approach. The emphasis is on children exploring and making discoveries, with adults adjusting the planned learning to what catches their attention.

Mindfulness & Yoga is also part of the weekly routine, using breathing and movement to help children explore feelings and practise slowing down.

In January 2023, play in the mud kitchen involved herbs, mixing ingredients and talking about imaginary baking. Familiar experiences from home gave children something to discuss while they experimented. Language teaching also included introducing vocabulary during messy play. However, adults sometimes moved to another question before children had time to answer, and quieter children were not consistently drawn into activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

The old railway platform provides cover for a wooden climbing frame and play equipment, including scooters and a water table. In the garden, a wooden fort, monkey bars and an underground tunnel create different opportunities for movement and exploration. The covered sand pit sits within a shaded decked area, giving another place to play outside.

A living willow structure and the vegetable and flower patch add a different kind of outdoor experience. Children help maintain the planting, so the garden provides something to care for as well as somewhere to climb. Direct access to The Forest Way supports nature walks during better weather; that weather condition matters when considering the balance between sheltered play and outings.

Community involvement has a practical expression through The POOHS, the Parents Organisation of Hartfield Playschool. Volunteer parents organise fundraising across the year, with proceeds supporting equipment, activities and excursions. Families who want to contribute to playschool life have a defined route to do so.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who observes learning and records achievements. This gives parents an identified practitioner with responsibility for understanding their child's experiences. Famly is the current learning journey system, allowing families to follow the record of learning at playschool.

In January 2023, children approached staff when they needed comfort, and adults used their knowledge of individual children to plan activities. Staff also shared assessments and observations with families.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCO role and an Assess, Plan, Do and Review process structure support for children with additional needs. The cycle means identifying a need, planning an approach, putting it into practice and reviewing it. Individual educational plans can be discussed, and the admissions approach includes seeking advice or funding when equipment or access needs adapting, subject to the setting being able to accommodate the child's needs.

At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and judged support for children with special educational needs and disabilities positively, including work with families and external services. At that time, support included individual learning activities and targeted strategies. The current staff structure includes a Designated Safeguarding Lead and practitioners with paediatric first aid training.

Everyday independence also featured in January 2023: children practised putting on coats, washing hands and helping put toys away. These small routines matter alongside planned activities because they give children opportunities to manage familiar tasks themselves. Healthy eating was discussed during the day, and staff supported families with their choices of snacks and meals.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Old Station, Edenbridge Road, Hartfield, East Sussex, TN7 4JG. Joining enquiries and viewing bookings go through office@hartfieldplayschool.co.uk or 01892 770830.

Morning Sessions run from 9am to 11.30am, followed by Lunch Club from 11.30am to 12.30pm. Afternoon Sessions are 12.30pm to 3pm. Early Risers covers 8am to 9am, while Extended Afternoon runs from 3pm to 4pm.

Children must attend at least two sessions for continuity. Applications should be made by 30 April in the intended starting year, and allocation follows the admissions criteria. The 2026–2027 calendar includes autumn, spring and summer terms with half-term breaks; families arranging attendance around work need to account for those breaks as well as the session times.

Written notice is required for both leaving and reducing sessions, including funded attendance. Deadlines depend on the half-term period affected, so a change needs planning in advance. Without the required notice, full fees are charged for the relevant half term.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the three-year-old entitlement of 15 hours per week, starting in the term after the third birthday, and 30 hours funding for working parents. Private hours are also offered. Funded hours can be used throughout the opening hours, with charges applying when attendance exceeds the child's entitlement.

Food consumables and non-food consumables carry separate optional charges, as does enrichment; parents choose whether to opt in or out when registering. The funded-hours arrangement therefore needs to be considered alongside those choices. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, and the sessions and fees page sets out the charge structure.

A non-refundable application deposit applies when securing a place before nine months of age. That age condition matters: it should not be read as an application charge for every child.

• Care from nine months. The current intake includes babies, while the January 2023 assessment covered children aged two to four. At a viewing, ask how sleep, feeding and settling are organised for the youngest children.
• Time to answer. In January 2023, questioning sometimes moved too quickly, and quieter children missed parts of activities. Ask how practitioners now pace conversations and include children who are less likely to volunteer an answer.
• Booking blocks and term breaks. Lunch Club and the early and late extensions have their own times, alongside a two-session minimum. Match the proposed booking to the term calendar before applying.
• Optional extras and changes. Food, non-food consumables and enrichment involve opt-in choices, while reducing attendance requires written notice. Review those choices and the relevant notice deadline together before agreeing the booking.

Hartfield Playschool suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions, with separate lunch and extension options, and children who enjoy substantial outdoor play. The sheltered platform, garden and Forest Way access give its play-based approach concrete resources. Forest School and weekly Mindfulness & Yoga add further shape to the experience. The Good judgement from January 2023 is a useful reference point, balanced by the specific concerns about questioning and quieter children's participation. For families starting with a baby, the younger intake makes the details of care and settling especially important.