Simon De Senlis Pre-School

Woodland learning, an enclosed outdoor play area and a classroom on the Simon de Senlis Primary School site give Simon De Senlis Pre-School a clear identity. This voluntary committee-run setting in East Hunsbury, Northampton, combines play-based learning with practical preparation for school. Its capacity is 26 children in total, a whole-setting figure rather than a group size.

At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Outstanding, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), made rapid progress. The detail behind that judgement matters: children were exploring fractions with pretend pizzas, organising bicycle routes together and taking responsibility for preparing snacks. Learning had practical purpose.

The classroom provides play areas for children aged two to five. Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance fit within a term-time timetable, making the setting relevant to families seeking shorter sessions as well as a complete preschool day.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS shapes learning through play, with activities chosen around children's development and interests. Some experiences begin with children's own ideas; others have an adult guiding participation. This gives children opportunities both to make choices and to encounter something new. Observations and photographs help staff plan what comes next, while parents contribute knowledge of interests and achievements at home.

First-hand experience is central to the preschool's approach, including questioning, exploring, sharing responsibility and treating others respectfully. Preparation for school includes confidence and relationships alongside early knowledge.

In July 2024, mathematical ideas were introduced through play dough and shape cards. Children divided pretend pizzas into fractions and explored how shapes fit together. The materials made abstract ideas something they could handle and discuss. Language learning also happened within play: staff added vocabulary during sand activities, while children practised speaking to a group about their abilities.

In July 2024, children discussed the direction of chalk arrows for their balance-bicycle routes, practising cooperation through decisions about their shared play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds regular outdoor sessions in local woodland or the preschool's outdoor area, including sessions in different weather conditions. Children explore the natural world and practise judging manageable risks with support. The programme is a continuing sequence of experiences, with planning and review connecting sessions, rather than an occasional outing.

An enclosed play area provides outdoor space on the school site. The preschool encourages outdoor activity each day regardless of the weather, and its routines combine free play, adult-guided activities and small-group time. Children attending all day can choose quiet time. For a child who needs a pause during a busy day, that is a useful part of the routine.

Relationships and Communication

A personal key person supports each child's settling and works with parents on individual interests and needs. Before starting, children can become familiar with the setting through Stay and Play, a session shared with a parent, or a visit during a preschool session. Parents are encouraged to complete an information sheet about their child so that staff can plan around familiar interests.

Tapestry is the preschool's interactive online learning journal, used by staff and parents to record and follow a child's development. It gives families a way to contribute as well as receive updates. The key person uses the learning record with parents to consider the child's next steps, connecting activity at preschool with knowledge from home.

In July 2024, parents received daily feedback, and their accounts of home interests and achievements shaped planning. Everyday exchanges influenced activities.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The manager and deputy roles include SEND coordination and designated safeguarding responsibilities. The SEND procedure sets out a graduated response: staff adjust strategies, discuss continuing concerns with parents and the coordinator, and develop an action plan where needed. Plans specify support, resources and responsibilities, with reviews agreed with parents at least termly. Medical support can be incorporated through a health care plan.

Admissions procedures also address preparations for children with more complex needs. Where adjustments are necessary, the manager sets a timeframe covering matters such as staff training, risk assessment and a health care plan. Families and relevant agencies receive updates during that preparation. This gives parents a defined process for discussing what their child needs before attendance begins.

Emotional support includes helping children understand feelings and resolve disagreements. The behaviour policy rejects humiliation and isolation as punishment; a distressed child can instead be supported in a quiet area by their key person. In July 2024, children also practised mindfulness and took on snack-monitor responsibilities, linking emotional awareness with opportunities to do things for themselves.

Snacks are provided with dietary needs considered, while children staying for lunch bring a packed meal. In July 2024, oral-health activities included brushing model dinosaurs' teeth and using a sand timer to discuss brushing duration, turning a self-care routine into something children could practise and understand.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Simon de Senlis Primary School, Hilldrop Road, Northampton, NN4 0PH. Attendance runs during term time, Monday to Friday: mornings are 8.45am to 11.45am and afternoons 12.15pm to 3.15pm, with lunch between 11.45am and 12.15pm. Families can choose sessions, a session with lunch, or all-day attendance.

The terms require at least six hours each week, preferably spread across two days. They also specify one month's written notice when withdrawing a child or reducing attendance. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. These arrangements make the weekly commitment and the process for changing it part of the decision, alongside the session times.

When applications exceed sessions, the waiting-list order gives priority first to children with a current or previous sibling connection who will attend at least two sessions weekly, then to children starting school the following September with the same attendance condition. Other applications follow the order in which a place was requested. This is a priority rule, rather than a statement about present vacancies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes Universal Entitlement of 15 hours weekly for three- and four-year-olds, Disadvantaged Entitlement of 15 hours weekly for two-year-olds, and Extended Entitlement of 30 hours weekly for eligible working families with three- and four-year-olds. Delivery follows the term-time timetable. Additional hours beyond funded entitlement are charged privately and invoiced monthly.

The calendar needs attention: the preschool opens for 190 days across 40 complete or partial weeks. Some children can exhaust their annual funded allocation before the school year ends. Families receive an indication of their likely claimed hours and advance notice of additional charges, with payment either in the final term or spread across the year.

A voluntary monthly contribution supports activities and consumables, separately from paid childcare hours. Parents supply nappies, wipes and nappy sacks for children who need them, and provide packed lunches for lunch attendance. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation; the costs and charges page explains the charging structure.

Moving on to School

School preparation includes visits before children move on, visits from Reception teachers and learning records passed to the next setting. Sharing records helps the next team understand a child's development. The preschool occupies the primary school's grounds, but attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Term-time calendar. Morning, afternoon and all-day patterns sit within school-term attendance. Families needing childcare during holidays will need an arrangement that covers those periods.
• Funding across partial weeks. Attendance can use up an annual entitlement before the end of the school year. Consider the preschool's annual hours estimate alongside any private-hours quotation.
• Preparing for outdoor learning. Forest School includes different weather conditions, and lunch attendance requires a packed meal. A visit is a useful opportunity to discuss outdoor clothing and how any dietary or allergy needs will be handled.
• School-site expectations. Being on the primary-school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Treat the preschool choice and the local authority school application as separate decisions.

Simon De Senlis Pre-School suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions, as well as those wanting all-day attendance. Forest School and Tapestry give its outdoor learning and parent communication clear, practical form; the July 2024 judgement adds substantial weight to that offer.

The term-time calendar and annual funded-hours calculation need to work for the family. For parents who value outdoor play and contributing to their child's learning record, this is a compelling preschool choice.