Highfield Pre-School

A community-centre base, capacity for 24 children and a named key worker for each child give Highfield Pre-School a clear identity: a small preschool where family knowledge shapes the care. Based at The Pastures Community Centre in Kingsthorpe, Northampton, it accepts children from 30 months until they turn 5, before Reception. This is provision for the preschool years rather than baby care.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated Highfield Good and judged safeguarding effective. That dated assessment sits alongside a current approach built around individual settling support and regular exchanges with parents. Morning sessions run during term time, with an online learning record connecting activities at preschool with experiences at home.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: in everyday terms, play supports learning across different areas rather than being separate from it. Highfield draws on sections of Development matters and Birth to five, two guidance documents used to support its curriculum. These are planning resources, rather than separate enrichment programmes. The stated aim is practical life skills and confidence for the next stage of learning.

Individual pace matters here. Planning considers what adults can provide to help each child learn, while progress monitoring and conversations with parents bring together learning at home and at preschool. For families, that makes the child's interests and next steps more useful than a fixed expectation that everyone should develop identically.

In June 2022, shared stories involved children completing familiar sentences and joining in with an adult. Another play example involved children collaborating on a bridge for a car track. These give a concrete picture of language and cooperation being practised through an activity children already wanted to do. A dinosaur discussion also prompted children to seek an answer from their friends, making peer knowledge part of the exchange.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2022, the outdoor space included a road track for wheeled toys. Children steered around obstacles and responded to signs held by other children, with adults offering reminders about direction. The physical feature gave movement a social dimension: children had to respond to one another as well as control their toys. Outdoor painting was also responsive to children's requests, with an easel and paints set up when children wanted them.

Community connections include Health Visitors, other healthcare professionals and advisers from the Northamptonshire Early Years Team. These relationships give the preschool routes for professional input alongside its work with families. They are a useful part of the setting's community identity, rather than a claim to a particular school destination.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Worker System assigns a familiar adult to learn about each child and their family and support settling. Its practical value is continuity: information about the child has a person responsible for understanding and using it. Initial conversations, one-page profiles and a baseline document help staff build that picture before relying on their own observations alone.

Tapestry, an online record of children's learning, carries weekly uploads of text, photographs and video from activities and free play. Parents receive an individual login and can add their own observations and memories. This gives families concrete examples to discuss with their child and lets the key worker hear about experiences beyond preschool. Staff also aim to have brief daily conversations with parents; that is an intention rather than a promise of a daily meeting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In June 2022, key-person support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) included gentle individual interaction and physical comfort. Staff could explain children's characteristics and what they needed to learn next. The practical detail matters more than a broad assurance: support involved knowing the child and responding personally.

During that same month, safeguarding practice included regular training, questions to refresh staff knowledge and communication between adults when someone accompanied children to the bathroom. These are dated examples of how supervision was organised. Current staffing arrangements include an experienced, qualified team and DBS checks for all staff.

Preparation for school also had a personal element in June 2022. Teachers visited the preschool, and information about individual children was shared with them. Meeting a future teacher in a familiar setting gave children an introduction before the move to school; it did not establish an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9.15am to 12.15pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. This pattern suits families seeking a preschool morning with care arranged separately for the rest of the day and school holidays.

An application form can be requested through the contact form, or a paper copy requested by contacting the preschool. The waiting list follows date-of-birth order, and places are allocated when they become available. That is a durable allocation rule, rather than an indication of how many places are free.

The address is The Pastures Community Centre, Welford Road, Kingsthorpe, Northampton, NN2 8PN. The community-centre setting is the base for the preschool's sessions.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid sessions are offered within the term-time pattern. Universal funding starts in the term after a child's third birthday, with up to 15 hours each week, subject to availability. Funding is also offered for eligible two-year-olds; eligibility and a place should not be assumed from a child's age alone.

Private sessions are invoiced at the start of each term, with payment due within two weeks to secure the term's place. Absences remain chargeable, including illness and holidays. Families should obtain a current written quotation for prices and terms.

• Morning, term-time attendance. Sessions finish at 12.15pm and operate during term time. Consider how this fits the family's wider care arrangements.
• Stretching learning. In June 2022, Ofsted identified uneven teaching, with some staff missing opportunities to challenge more able children or extend those who were less confident. At a visit, ask how practitioners now adapt play for these different needs.
• Funded-place costs. Universal funded hours are subject to availability, while private-session absences are charged. Ask how meals, non-food consumables and any additional charges apply to the proposed funded or private booking.

Highfield suits families seeking term-time preschool mornings, a named adult to support settling and regular access to examples of their child's learning. The Key Worker System and parent contributions through Tapestry give that family relationship practical structure.

The June 2022 Good judgement is a useful dated benchmark, with consistency in extending children's learning the central reservation. The decision rests on whether the morning pattern fits family life and whether today's teaching offers the challenge each child needs.