Mayford Preschool

Woodland walks and a large village hall garden give Mayford Preschool its character. Based at Mayford Village Hall in Woking, it combines a sizeable indoor play space with opportunities to explore outdoors. The practical appeal is clear: children can play inside, investigate the garden and spend time in nearby woodland.

Ofsted rated the preschool Good on 5 July 2021. It has capacity for 40 children in total. Morning sessions can be extended with an optional lunch club, making this a setting to consider for families seeking a shorter preschool day.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning: play and activities support children's development, with experiences adapted to their interests and ages. A different topic each half term gives the activities a shared thread. This creates room for common experiences while allowing children at different stages to take part differently.

Forest School adds an outdoor approach in which children explore a natural space over time. Here, woodland walks and the village hall garden provide the settings. Some sessions have planned activities, including hunting for mini-beasts or playing hide-and-seek; others allow children to initiate their own exploration. Both adult-led games and children's ideas have a place.

The emphasis on familiar outdoor spaces matters. Returning to them gives children opportunities to notice changes in weather and seasons, rather than treating outdoor learning as an isolated outing. The garden also brings that exploration into the preschool's own surroundings.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor exploration includes simple sensory experiences: feeling the wind and hearing dry leaves underfoot. These give children concrete ways to experience weather and seasonal change. Planned games sit alongside activities children start themselves, so the outdoor approach leaves room for their own interests as well as a shared activity.

Seasonal celebrations have included experiences beyond the hall. For Christmas Service 2024, children sang at St Emmanuel's Church, Woking. The previous year's service involved a walk to the local church, handmade star headbands, a story and songs children had practised. These were opportunities to connect making and singing with a shared occasion involving families.

At Christmas Service 2023, parents and staff joined the children, and refreshments followed before the return walk. The occasion brought several activities together: making headbands beforehand, practising songs and then taking part in the service. Families shared the celebration rather than only hearing about it afterwards.

Mothers Day 2024 involved children making gifts. Alongside the church celebrations, this gives another concrete example of creative work linked to a family occasion, with something children made themselves forming part of the celebration.

Those examples belong to their respective years. They illustrate the preschool's community activities without turning past celebrations into a promise about the next calendar.

Individual support and working with parents are part of Mayford's approach. Staff help children develop independence through exploration, treating mistakes as part of learning. For a child gaining independence, the useful balance is between trying something themselves and having an adult to approach.

Family participation has taken a concrete form through Stay and Play: parents joined children for shared play in November 2023. This gives a more tangible example of parent involvement than a general statement about partnership, while remaining a dated event rather than a regular timetable commitment.

Before a child starts, families receive the preschool's policies and procedures by email and are asked to acknowledge that they have read and understood them. Hard copies can also be viewed at the preschool. That gives parents a defined opportunity to understand its arrangements before attendance begins.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning sessions run from 9.15am to 12.15pm. An optional lunch club extends attendance until 1.15pm, with children bringing a healthy packed lunch from home. The maximum weekly offer is 20 hours. This is a short-day arrangement, so families planning work around preschool need to account for the early finish.

Opening hours are 9.15am to 1.15pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. The choice is between the morning session and adding lunch, rather than assuming that the whole opening window is the standard booking. Telephone and email enquiries are supported, and an enrolment form can be downloaded.

Getting There

The address is Mayford Village Hall, Saunders Lane, Woking, Surrey, GU22 0NN. Indoor space, the hall garden and surrounding woodland are the physical features that shape the preschool experience.

Funding and Paid Extras

Mayford accepts FEET Funding and Working Parent Funding for two-year-olds, alongside Universal Funding and Working Parent Funding for three- and four-year-olds. FEET offers eligible families up to 15 hours a week; eligibility depends on qualifying criteria. Attendance follows the term-time timetable.

Private sessions are offered, and lunch club carries a separate charge. Families supply the packed lunch themselves. A deposit applies when securing a place, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Early Years Pupil Premium Funding and childcare vouchers are also accepted.

• Short attendance window. The morning ends at 12.15pm, or 1.15pm with lunch club. Match that finish with your family's work and collection arrangements.
• Outdoor exploration. Woodland walks and garden activities are central to the offer. A visit can help you judge whether this style of preschool suits your child.
• Starting together. Policies are emailed before attendance begins. How will settling and individual support be organised for your child?

Mayford suits families choosing morning preschool or a morning extended by lunch club, with term-time attendance and outdoor exploration high on their priorities. Its village hall space, garden and woodland walks give the day a clear identity. The Good judgement dates to July 2021; the practical decision rests on whether this shorter attendance pattern and play-based approach fit your family.