Laugh And Learn Tarring

A spacious hall, a quieter room for reading and a large outdoor play area give Laugh And Learn Tarring three different settings for a preschool day. Children can move between activities rather than follow one whole-group timetable throughout. The practical appeal is that choice: space for active play alongside somewhere for smaller, calmer activities.

Based at West Tarring Young Peoples Club on High Street in Worthing, the setting has 38 places in total. Ofsted rated it Good at its inspection on 29 June 2021. That is a dated judgement, while the everyday offer centres on play, growing independence and relationships beyond the immediate family.

Morning sessions and longer preschool days are offered, with an Early Bird session for an earlier start.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play and activities supporting children's communication, physical development, relationships and early learning. Planning combines activities led by adults with those children choose themselves, taking account of individual developmental needs. The framework is the shared foundation for early years provision; the useful detail here is how children spend their time within it.

Free flow play lets children choose activities and move around the preschool's spaces. Practitioners join their play to extend learning, while the session also has recognisable points such as snack and stories. This gives children room to make decisions within a familiar routine, rather than making every activity a compulsory group task.

Rolling Snack is a child-chosen snack time: children decide when to join the table and help with preparation, including cutting fruit or pouring drinks. It puts everyday skills into the session. Selecting their name before sitting down also makes the snack routine something children participate in, rather than simply receive.

Stories bring sessions towards their close. Children listen in separate groups, with circle time, nursery rhymes and action songs also part of the routine. Listening and joining in sit alongside the more freely chosen play earlier in the session.

Outdoor and Community Life

The main hall provides space for shared activity, while the quiet room accommodates reading and small-group work. A large outside play area adds another setting for play. These are different environments with different uses, useful for children who enjoy busy activity but also need calmer stretches of the day.

Named Wellington boots can be kept at preschool for wet weather, and children are encouraged to wear clothes suitable for getting messy. The expectation is practical participation. Families can prepare for outdoor play without treating preschool clothes as something that must stay pristine.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who observes their development and records it in a Learning Journal. Parents and that practitioner work together on progress and the child's next steps. This creates an identifiable point of contact and connects observations at preschool with what families notice at home.

Parents can access their child's Learning Journal whenever they wish, and regular parent drop-in sessions provide time for discussion. Individual development records give those conversations something concrete to draw on. Communication is therefore more than a brief account of which activities happened that day.

Staff offer additional help when a child finds separation difficult. The approach also encourages children to manage everyday tasks, with adult assistance for belongings and coats. Independence is introduced through ordinary routines, while support remains part of the arrangement.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Children who wear nappies can attend, with parents supplying nappies and wipes in a named bag. When toilet training begins, practitioners continue the child's home routines and families provide spare clothes. That continuity matters: preschool participation does not depend on a child having completed toilet training first.

For children staying until 2.30pm, parents provide a packed lunch with a freezer block because lunch boxes cannot be refrigerated; the preschool has a no-nuts policy. Families also supply named sun cream for afternoon reapplication in warm weather.

Sessions and Attendance

Monday to Friday, the morning session runs from 9am to noon and the longer session from 9am to 2.30pm. Early Bird runs from 8.30am to 9am. The two main patterns offer a clear choice between a morning of preschool and a day that includes lunch, with the earlier session available as an additional arrangement.

Attendance must cover at least two sessions each week. The preschool operates for 38 weeks a year, so the regular offer follows a term-time pattern. Receipt of the application form and registration charge leads to written place confirmation and a timetable setting out the child's sessions for each term; the charge is waived for families already holding a letter confirming two-year-old funded entitlement.

Applications are handled in the order received. Withdrawal requires 12 weeks' written notice, making the booking a continuing commitment rather than an occasional drop-in arrangement. For sickness or diarrhoea, children must stay away until 48 hours after the last episode.

Getting There

The address is West Tarring Young Peoples Club, High Street, Worthing, BN14 7NN, with the preschool set back from traffic. Pushchairs, bicycles and scooters cannot be stored on the premises, which affects how families organise the return journey after bringing a child.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid hours are both offered. Entitlements include funding for eligible two-year-olds, the universal three-year-old entitlement of 15 hours for eligible children and an additional 15 hours of extended entitlement for qualifying working parents, who must make their own application for that extension.

Funded hours can cover all hours attended. Unfunded attendance is charged by the hour, and there is a voluntary consumables contribution for each session. Parents separately provide packed lunches, nappies, wipes and sun cream where needed; these supplies remain part of the family's preparation for attendance.

A registration charge is credited against fees after the child takes up their place. It is waived for families already holding a letter confirming entitlement to two-year-old funding. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the session and fees information explains the attendance and funding arrangements.

• A term-time commitment. The regular offer runs for 38 weeks, with a minimum of two sessions weekly. Consider how that pattern fits work and care during holidays.
• Packed lunches and allergies. Lunch comes from home and cannot be refrigerated. Allergy-affected families should confirm current practice around the no-nuts policy before attendance.
• Settling into shared spaces. The hall, quiet room and outdoor area serve different activities. At a visit, discuss how the key person would help your child settle into that free flow routine.
• Transporting belongings. Pushchairs, bicycles and scooters cannot stay on site. Plan how to take them away after bringing your child.

Laugh And Learn Tarring suits families seeking either morning preschool or a longer term-time day with lunch, with an Early Bird option for an earlier start. Its appeal lies in the combination of shared play space, a quieter room, outdoor activity and small tasks that children do for themselves.

The Learning Journal and key-person relationship give parents a concrete way to follow development. Balance those arrangements against the minimum weekly commitment, holiday planning and the supplies families bring from home.