Stone Cross Independent Pre-School

In January 2024, children at Stone Cross Independent Pre-School’s Nursery Unit used the school running track, explored story-inspired tea-making play and chose creative materials at a creation station. This is the Adur Drive setting within Stone Cross School, with a purpose-built base and an enclosed playground. Its offer centres on children aged three to five, preparing for the next stage through play, conversation and physical activity.

At its January 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The useful detail beneath that judgement is how learning connects: a story becomes imaginative play, pouring becomes practice for hand control, and outdoor exercise becomes a conversation about the body.

The setting has 25 places in total, while the Nursery Unit operates with a maximum of 24 children per session. Those are different measures, rather than a statement about how many children attend on any particular day. Morning and afternoon sessions can be taken separately or consecutively during term time.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework sets out areas of learning, with children developing through play, stories and physical activity. Here, the daily routine gives children choices between activities led by adults and those they choose themselves, with time both indoors and outside. That makes exploration part of the timetable rather than something squeezed between group sessions.

Storytelling has a practical follow-through. In January 2024, play linked to The Tiger Who came to Tea used cups, teapots, teabags and tongs: children poured pretend tea and handled pretend sugar cubes. The activity brought a familiar narrative into their play while exercising the small hand movements needed for later writing.

During the same month, the creation station gave children access to mixed materials for making their own artwork. Watercolour painting prompted conversations about their ideas. The emphasis was on what children wanted to express, giving adults an opening to listen rather than simply direct the finished product.

The current afternoon routine includes story time and phonics, alongside parachute games or outdoor circle songs. Children also help prepare their shared snack. These are concrete opportunities to take part in the day, with quieter group moments alongside more freely chosen play.

Outdoor and Community Life

The purpose-built Nursery Unit is within the primary school building and has an enclosed playground. Indoor and outdoor play recur through the daily routine, giving children repeated opportunities to change activity and setting.

In January 2024, children regularly used the school running track and discussed how exercise changed their heartbeat. An outdoor obstacle course involved balancing, jumping and crawling. Physical activity therefore extended beyond running around: children tried different movements and talked about what their bodies were doing.

Social learning also came through practical problems that month. Children worked out how to share play equipment so everyone could join in, and adjusted their building play when they recognised that falling bricks might hurt friends. These examples show the kinds of everyday situations used to practise cooperation and consideration.

Relationships and Communication

The Unit’s supervisor holds the SENCO and designated safeguarding lead responsibilities. A deputy safeguarding lead provides another named role within the structure. This gives families identifiable responsibilities for discussing development, additional needs and concerns, without confusing those arrangements with an inspection judgement.

In January 2024, families could borrow books to continue learning at home. That offered a straightforward connection between shared stories at pre-school and time with parents, extending a familiar activity beyond the session.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with developmental delays made outstanding progress through targeted work involving staff, families and external professionals. The finding concerned practical support, including strategies for individual needs and opportunities to develop physical skills.

Current staff training includes speech and language support, Makaton and Lego Therapy courses. Those are relevant additions to the SENCO role, although attendance on a course does not by itself establish how any individual child will be supported. The Unit team also has paediatric first-aid training.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9am to noon, and afternoon sessions from noon to 3pm, Monday to Friday. Families can combine the two consecutively. The pattern accommodates either a shorter session or attendance across the main day.

Breakfast Club runs from 8am to 9am before the main sessions. Lunchtime club runs from noon to 1pm, allowing morning-session children to stay for lunch and play before going home. These are separate extensions to the core session pattern, rather than evidence of an evening childcare offer.

Attendance is term-time only, generally following East Sussex County Council term dates. The pre-school recommends at least two sessions each week as beneficial for children; this is a recommendation, rather than a stated compulsory minimum booking.

Getting There

The Nursery Unit address is Stone Cross School, Adur Drive, Stone Cross, BN24 5EF. Admissions and enquiries go through the office on 07864 295888.

Being within the primary school building does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still use the local authority admissions process for a state-school place, so nursery attendance and school admission should be planned separately.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early Years Education Entitlement (EYEE) funding is accepted for three- and four-year-olds, with funded hours between 9am and 3pm on weekdays during term time. Hours exceeding a child’s entitlement attract full session fees, while the extra hour before school hours is separately charged, outside funded hours and invoiced monthly.

A holding deposit is payable at registration and refundable subject to the terms and conditions being followed. Absence, sickness and holidays during term time remain chargeable at the full rate, with concessions at the management committee’s discretion. Uniform is available to buy but is optional; current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, with the charge structure on its funding and fees page.

• Session preferences. Requested sessions cannot be guaranteed, and an administrator manages a waiting list when needed. Consider whether your intended morning, afternoon or combined pattern gives you enough flexibility.
• Preparing to start. Once a place is offered, families are invited to visit with their child before starting. Use that visit to discuss how the key-person relationship and the first sessions will work for your child.
• Lunch and personal supplies. For a child staying through Lunchtime club or consecutive sessions, ask what families need to provide for meals and personal care, and how any associated charges apply to funded attendance.
• School-site expectations. The Unit shares the primary school building, but attendance does not secure a Reception place. Keep the separate school application in your plans.

Stone Cross suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, with the option to combine them and add breakfast or lunchtime care. Its enclosed outdoor space and school-site setting give the day practical variety, while the January 2024 examples connect stories, creativity, movement and social learning. The strongest fit is for families who value that preparation for school and can work with the session timetable and term-time calendar.