Phoenix Under 5s Preschool

Woodland activities and time in Park Grove reception classes give this small York preschool its character. Phoenix Under 5s Preschool has 24 places in total, its own indoor space within the school and access to shared outdoor grounds. The scale is small; the spaces children can use extend beyond the preschool room.

Ofsted rated the setting Good on 5 April 2022. Its strongest current features are practical ones: outdoor learning throughout the week, targeted language support and a school transition programme that introduces children to reception classrooms before they move on. Morning and afternoon sessions, with a lunch club between them, run during term time.

Parents elect the charity's voluntary management committee at the Annual General Meeting, giving families a formal role in preschool governance.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning here, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and later foundations such as literacy and mathematics. In everyday terms, children learn through a combination of activities guided by adults and play they initiate themselves. The framework is the statutory foundation; Phoenix's outdoor sessions, yoga and language intervention are the concrete additions to consider.

Morning activities include construction, imaginative play and creative work led by children's own ideas. Sensory experiences and quieter corners allow for both activity and time to pause.

Afternoons include mindfulness, yoga and opportunities for children to choose their own play. Songs, stories and discussion of favourite moments bring the session to a close. These are different ways of participating: moving, listening, creating and talking about what has happened, rather than spending the whole afternoon on one kind of activity.

Two-year-old mornings combine outdoor play and a story in the forest with indoor activities, snack and songs. The sequence introduces younger children to the preschool's spaces and routines through play. It also makes the garden part of their experience from the outset, rather than reserving outdoor learning for children approaching school age.

In April 2022, children practised counting through songs and explored quantities and patterns in play. Insect-inspired drawing and cutting developed hand control, connecting learning with their interests.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest school activities take place throughout the week, exploring seasons, nature and how being outdoors affects feelings. Shared spaces include the buzz garden, playing field, climbing frame and woodland area, as well as an outdoor classroom. There is room for both physical play and slower observation of the natural world.

In April 2022, insect investigations with magnifying glasses, listening for birds and pedalling on a track combined close observation with physical activity.

Community involvement has a seasonal rhythm. Easter Bonanza takes place in spring, and Phoenix's Strawberry stall forms part of Park Grove's summer fair in late summer. These sit within the preschool's fundraising calendar, connecting the charity's finances with events involving its wider school community.

Relationships and Communication

Practitioners observe their groups of key children and work closely with parents, giving each family's relationship with staff a clear structure.

An online learning journey lets parents follow their child's development beyond everyday conversations. Settling is approached individually, recognising that children may need time to adjust.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCo works with families, practitioners and the Specialist Early Years Team. Staff are trained to offer Early Talk Boost, a targeted intervention supporting children aged 3–4 with delayed language development.

At its April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities making very good progress through staff collaboration with families and other agencies.

Rising 5s introduces school starters to Park Grove reception classes on Wednesday mornings during the summer term. Children meet staff and play in the reception spaces; weekly visits continue until the school's full-morning transition arrangements begin. Children unable to attend those mornings can spend time in reception with their key worker, and transition meetings pass relevant information to the early years teacher.

The practical benefit is familiarity with people and spaces. Attendance at Phoenix does not guarantee a Reception place at Park Grove Primary Academy, and families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Sessions and Attendance

Phoenix operates Monday to Friday in term time, following Park Grove Primary Academy's calendar. The morning session runs from 8.30am to 11.30am, lunch club from 11.30am to 12.30pm, and the afternoon session from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Children attending in the afternoon may join children who have been there since the morning or lunchtime.

Wednesday mornings are reserved for children starting school the following year. That restriction matters when choosing a weekly pattern, especially for younger children. The two-year-old offer also needs careful attention because two different timetables are given, as explained below.

Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form. The Annual General Meeting usually takes place in autumn and welcomes parents and staff.

Getting There

The preschool's address is Park Grove Primary School, Dudley Street, The Groves, York, YO31 8LP. Pedestrian and cycle access is through the school's Park Grove entrance, with Dudley Street access during school drop-off and collection times; cycle parking is outside reception, while nearby car parking requires residents' permits.

Bus routes 1, 5 and 5a serve Haxby Road, and routes 13 and 14 serve Huntington Road. For families travelling by car, access from Haxby Road is affected by bollards and one-way restrictions, making the approach from Huntington Road relevant to journey planning.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15 hours universal entitlement from the term after a child's third birthday, the 30 hours extended entitlement for eligible working parents of children aged 3–4, and early education funding for eligible two-year-olds. Funding can be used across sessions for 38 weeks each year; it is term-time provision and cannot be stretched into additional weeks.

For the working-parent entitlement, families must apply through Best Start in Life and provide a valid eligibility code before the relevant term begins. Parents claiming funding complete a Parent Declaration Form each term, recording both the hours claimed and any optional additional charges agreed.

Hours beyond a child's funded entitlement, and attendance before eligibility, are paid privately. Invoices are issued ahead of each half-term. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation, and the fees and sessions information explains the distinction between funded hours, private hours and extras.

Cooked lunches are prepared by the Park Grove school kitchen; meals and snacks carry a separate voluntary charge, including during funded attendance. Consumables are also charged separately and voluntarily, covering items such as wipes, sun cream, nappy bags and baking ingredients, with neither category a condition of accessing a funded place.

Specialist enrichment activities are optional and charged separately by term. Recent examples include Rhythm Time music sessions. Families receive details and costs at the start of the term, so participation is a separate choice from their child's ordinary attendance.

• Two-year-old timetable. The two-year-old sessions run daily from 8.30am to 11.30am, while Tweenies Group also has a Thursday timetable of 9am to 11am for children aged 2–3. These conflicting arrangements need resolving when discussing a place, alongside the Wednesday restriction for school starters.
• Engagement in learning. In April 2022, some children did not participate fully enough to benefit from the intended learning, and improving engagement was the development priority. On a visit, ask how staff recognise a child who is drifting between activities and adapt what happens next.
• Term-time attendance and extras. Funding covers 38 weeks and cannot be stretched, while food, consumables and specialist activities are separate voluntary charges. Compare the proposed attendance pattern and agreed extras in a written quotation, including how attendance works if you decline an additional service.
• School transition. Rising 5s uses Wednesday mornings in the summer term for reception visits, with alternative time alongside a key worker for children who cannot attend. Discuss how your child's sessions would connect with this programme, while keeping the Reception application separate.

Phoenix suits families seeking either morning or afternoon preschool sessions during term time, with lunch club as another part of the attendance pattern. Its appeal lies in a small setting with access to substantial school outdoor spaces, language support with a named intervention and concrete preparation for moving into reception.

The unresolved two-year-old timetable and April 2022 engagement concern are the main considerations alongside an offer built around child-directed play, outdoor activity and reception visits.