Foundations Community Pre-School, New Life Church

A greeting chosen by the child, stories dictated to an adult and responsibility for preparing snack: Foundations’ September 2021 nursery day gave children a meaningful say in small things. That is the strongest thread here. At its September 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the pre-school Outstanding and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective.

Based at New Life Church on High Street in Old Woking, Foundations Community Pre-School, New Life Church has capacity for 40 children aged 24 to 60 months. In September 2021, the pre-school operated from the church hall. Its observations offer a detailed picture of practice at that time, while the current attendance choices include mornings, afternoons and days joined together through Lunch Club.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for children’s learning, development and care: learning through play sits alongside support for communication, movement and relationships. It is the common foundation for nursery education. At Foundations, children who opt out of chargeable extras continue to receive this curriculum, with suitable alternatives where needed.

In September 2021, learning followed children’s interests as well as planned activities. A child’s curiosity about a guitar became an opportunity to investigate sound, turning its tuning keys and listening to the change. This was a concrete example of an adult extending an interest already underway, rather than interrupting play to introduce an unrelated task. For a parent, it gives substance to the idea of learning through everyday exploration.

Helicopter Stories, in which children told stories for staff to put into writing, was part of the September 2021 experience. It connected children’s spoken ideas with written language and gave their imagination a visible product. Morning wake up, shake up movement sessions brought physical activity into the day. These were different routes into participation: storytelling for expression, movement for active involvement.

The same September 2021 account described children helping prepare snack and washing their own plates afterwards. Responsibility was attached to a real job. Preparing food for friends and clearing up afterwards made independence part of shared daily life, rather than something reserved for a separate activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

In September 2021, additional funding supported outdoor improvements aimed at children whose access to outdoor space at home was more limited. That detail matters because it ties spending to children’s circumstances. The outdoor provision was being considered as part of access to experiences, rather than simply as somewhere to let off energy.

Visits to a local care home also featured in September 2021, giving children opportunities to spend time with older people beyond their usual nursery relationships. Foundations Trust had been established to help families, and sponsorship of a child overseas introduced children to other people’s circumstances. These examples placed kindness and consideration in practical situations. They describe the inspection-era experience, rather than a timetable of current trips.

Relationships and Communication

In September 2021, children could select a greeting using pictures, choosing a wave, a handshake or physical affection, and adults honoured the choice. The important point is the decision itself: children could express how they wanted an interaction to begin. It is a useful example of respect being made understandable at preschool age.

Key-person relationships were part of the September 2021 experience, alongside friendships between children. Parents were involved in learning from the outset, and staff shared information about progress through conversations and online communication. This combination gave families both immediate contact and another way to follow their child’s development.

The current optional enhanced-provision package includes EY Log, an online learning journal carrying photographs and daily updates. It gives parents a way to see aspects of the nursery day, but belongs within the charge structure rather than being treated as an automatically included service.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2021 inspection, Ofsted found exceptional support for children with special educational needs, describing careful attention to their preferences, family circumstances and needs, supported by relationships with parents and professional agencies. The practical strength in that finding is the individual starting point: support was informed by knowledge of the child rather than a uniform response.

In September 2021, staff also considered how to support communication for children learning English as an additional language and how additional funding could be used effectively. The greeting choices and snack responsibilities described above belong to that same dated picture of daily care. Families choosing now should weigh those detailed observations alongside the time that has passed since the inspection.

Sessions and Attendance

New Life operates term time only and closes during school holidays. Morning sessions run from 8.45am to noon, Monday to Friday. Afternoon sessions run from 12.45pm to 4pm, Monday to Thursday. An 8.30am start can be requested each day. These are different attendance choices, rather than one continuous opening window that every child must book.

Lunch Club runs between noon and 12.45pm and connects the morning and afternoon into a full day from 8.45am to 4pm. Friday has the morning pattern only. For families planning work or other commitments, the distinction between Friday and the rest of the week is consequential: the afternoon option does not extend across all weekdays.

Getting There

The address is New Life Church, High Street, Old Woking, Woking, GU22 9BX. General enquiries go through the office contact route, while the New Life telephone contact is reserved for parents or carers whose child is attending that day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use funded early education entitlements of 15 or 30 hours per week, and funding is accepted throughout the day. Additional hours outside the entitlement are charged separately. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the sessions and fees page explains the attendance choices and charge categories.

Healthy snacks carry a separate optional charge, including for funded attendance. Non-food consumables also carry a separate optional contribution, covering items such as emergency nappies, nappy disposal and emergency sun cream.

Foundations’ group-wide enhanced-provision package includes activities that change each term, with music, drama and sport given as examples, alongside cookery, gardening resources, celebrations and EY Log. These extras are optional and are not a condition of taking up funded education. Families can opt out by writing to the office; children retain their entitlement and EYFS curriculum, with appropriate alternatives where required. This makes the distinction between funded education and the additional package important when comparing a quotation.

• Friday is a shorter day. Morning sessions operate throughout the working week, but afternoons run only Monday to Thursday. Match the actual pattern to your weekly commitments.
• Optional charges need an individual decision. Snacks, consumables and the enhanced-provision package sit outside the funded entitlement, with written opt-out arrangements. Consider which additions you want before agreeing the quotation.
• A detailed but dated inspection. The Outstanding judgement and the observations about key-person relationships, storytelling and inclusion date to September 2021. During a visit, ask how settling and individual support work for children joining now.

Foundations suits families seeking morning sessions, afternoon attendance or a joined full day at New Life Church. The September 2021 picture has a clear character: children making choices, taking responsibility and developing ideas with adult help. Its strongest decision value comes from those concrete examples, rather than the grade alone.

The practical balance is equally clear. Friday requires a different plan from the other weekdays, and funded attendance has an optional package of separately charged additions. Families comfortable with those arrangements have a substantial inspection account to weigh alongside their experience of the setting today.