Little Fishes Pre-School

A high-ceilinged community hall, a garden with grass and hard surfaces, and woodland reached through neighbouring school grounds give Little Fishes Pre-School its character. This Maidenhead charity combines play-based learning with an unusually direct role for parents: a voluntary parent-led committee helps run the setting, while families support its fundraising. It is a setting to participate in as well as use.

Little Fishes has 30 places in total and welcomes children aged two to five at Furze Platt War Memorial Hall. Ofsted rated it Good at its November 2022 inspection. That dated judgement sits alongside a current offer built around a key person, individual learning records and school-transition activities.

Term-time attendance combines morning and all-day sessions, with a minimum of two mornings weekly.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) supplies the educational framework: children develop language, physical skills and relationships through play, alongside early reading, number work, creativity and exploration of the world. It is the common foundation for early-years provision. At Little Fishes, activities respond to children's interests and needs, with learning taking place inside and outdoors.

The high-ceilinged hall has ample daylight and an accessible enclosed garden with grass and hard surfaces. Year-round outdoor play calls for clothes suited to weather and messy activities.

In November 2022, children chose their own activities and selected a picture to identify where their belongings belonged. Each half term, they jointly selected the theme for one week's activities. Those are small, practical ways of exercising choice: children have a say in their surroundings and in what the group explores.

In November 2022, books and themes introduced vocabulary, while pictures and signing supported communication. Garden play included passing hoops and superhero games.

Outdoor and Community Life

Woodland visits take children to the Early Years area at Furze Platt Infant School, where they explore and play games. The pre-school describes a relationship with that school which enables access through a rear garden gate and across a field at Furze Platt Senior School. The route gives the woodland a connection to children's eventual move to school, as well as providing somewhere different to play.

A summer-term outing includes parents. Previous destinations have included Braywick Nature reserve and a Berkshire College of Agriculture Zoo tour; these are examples of past trips, rather than a promise of the next destination. Bringing parents along makes this a shared family experience beyond the usual session.

Fundraising also shapes community life. Summer and Christmas fairs recur each year, with stalls, refreshments and activities supported by families and local businesses. These events have a practical purpose: fundraising helps meet costs that fees and local funding do not cover. Parent involvement is part of how this charity operates.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who follows their learning and provides a regular contact for the family. The Learning Journey brings together photographs, observations and children's own work to record significant developments. Parents can share it with their child, contribute information from home and keep it when their child leaves. This gives conversations about progress something concrete to work from.

Fortnightly development emails include photographs. Regular stay and play sessions let parents share learning journals, alongside informal conversations with the key person or manager.

Settling starts before ordinary attendance. A separate registration appointment deals with paperwork, and new starters are introduced gradually across the term's intake. Staff and parents agree how to support the individual child. The settling policy expects a parent or familiar adult to remain for much of the first week, with separation increasing as the child can manage it; families should allow time for that involvement.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staff structure includes a special educational needs coordinator, safeguarding lead and deputy. Practitioners hold at least a Level 3 qualification. These are concrete staffing arrangements, rather than a claim that qualifications alone establish the quality of care.

The SEN policy uses an assess, plan, do and review cycle, involves parents in decisions and provides for work with outside agencies. At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and additional funding beneficial to children with SEND, while identifying that staff needed to adapt support so children requiring extra help did not absorb attention at other children's expense. That qualification matters as much as the positive finding.

Emotional support had a physical place in November 2022: children could use the calm corner with an adult, books, pictures and the wobble monster, a comfort toy. Stories, play and familiar songs helped staff respond to difficult feelings. These were practical responses to distress, with an adult alongside the child.

School preparation includes managing coats, recognising names, washing hands, handling cutlery and pouring drinks. Little Fishes works with children's next schools; visits to those schools and visits from new teachers can help make the change more familiar. The emphasis is on everyday independence and relationships.

Sessions and Attendance

Little Fishes operates during term time at Furze Platt War Memorial Hall, 75 Furze Platt Road, Maidenhead, SL6 7NG. Monday and Thursday opening hours are 8.30am to 2.30pm; on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday they are 9.15am to 1pm. Those differences matter when matching collection times to work or other commitments.

Morning sessions and all-day sessions can be combined. The minimum booking is two mornings per week, intended to help children settle through repeated attendance. The terms provide for closure on bank holidays and staff-training days. This is a term-time arrangement, so school holidays need a separate plan.

Applications use the admissions form, and the enquiry contact is admin@little-fishes-preschool.co.uk or 07855 572 336. An offered place is secured with a refundable deposit, returned six weeks after the child starts. The terms require six weeks' notice to reduce attendance or leave; insufficient notice leaves fees payable for the notice period. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid attendance are both offered. Little Fishes accepts up to 15 funded hours weekly for three- and four-year-olds, starting the school term after their third birthday and lasting until the term of their fifth birthday. It also accepts eligible working-parent funding and RBWM support for eligible two-year-olds. Funding is used during term time. The setting also accepts 30-hour funding for eligible families, but its stated weekly opening total is 23.25 hours, so that entitlement cannot all be used here.

Funded hours carry no extra charges. An annual parental contribution is voluntary, and fundraising helps sustain this arrangement.

Lunch comes from home: children bring a packed lunch, including when attending funded hours. A shared mid-morning snack is provided, with families asked to donate snack foods; dietary needs and allergies are used to plan provision. Donations of tissues and hand soap are also encouraged through fundraising.

Moving on to School

The woodland relationship with Furze Platt Infant School supports visits and conversations about moving on. Attendance at Little Fishes does not guarantee a place there; families still use the local authority's admissions process. Transition support is useful preparation, but it should be kept separate from the school-place decision.

• Outdoor learning. In November 2022, the outdoor curriculum needed further development to serve children who preferred learning outside. During a visit, ask how learning now extends across the garden and woodland, beyond access to outdoor space.
• Attention across the group. The November 2022 improvement point concerned balancing additional support with time for other children. Ask how practitioners organise that support during a typical session, especially if your child needs extra help.
• Settling and attendance. The minimum is two mornings weekly, and the settling policy anticipates substantial parent involvement initially. Discuss how the first week would fit your child's experience of separation and your own commitments.
• Food and personal supplies. Packed lunches come from home and snack donations are requested. Families managing allergies should confirm current food-handling practice.

Little Fishes suits families seeking term-time morning sessions, all-day sessions or a mixture of the two, with an active connection to a community charity. The hall, enclosed garden and woodland access give it a recognisable setting; fortnightly key-person updates and individual Learning Journeys give parents a clear way to follow development.

Parent participation, settling time and holiday arrangements need to fit family life. The November 2022 concerns about outdoor learning and staff attention remain important discussion points.