About Us
Welcome to our amazing pre-school!
We are proud to be able to say that we have been an ‘Outstanding’ setting since 2007 and have maintained the high quality of care and education in our setting. We remain in the top 2% of the country to have achieved and maintained an outstanding judgement. During our last inspection Ofsted reported “The children are enthusiastic learners, who love coming to pre-school and thrive as a result of the rich and ambitious curriculum”.
We are a unique setting as we employ three qualified early years teachers, who work alongside a fantastic team of qualified early year educators.
Some Background Information On Our Teachers
Kathy Hardy
Kathy is the pre-school proprietor who has 23 years experience teaching in early years. Her degree is in paediatric nursing specialising in child and adolescent mental health. (CAMHS). Kathy also holds a current level three qualification in counselling and psychotherapy.
Melek
Melek jointly manages Southborough Pre-School. She has achieved her early years professional status and has a degree in childcare. Melek is an early years expert who provides guidance for other settings for the department of education. She also holds a level two counselling qualification.
Tara
Tara is our deputy manager. She is also a qualified early years teacher. She holds a post graduate certificate in education. Tara taught GCSE and ‘A’ level dance at a local secondary school, prior to joining us in 2017. Tara went on the achieve a master’s degree in Dance culture which she applies to our early years curriculum.
We are dedicated and passionate about early years and have solid foundations and a firm belief in the importance of a positive start to a child’s learning journey. In order to sustain our high quality care and education all of our staff are proactive in continuing their professional development. We have designated trained special educational needs coordinators, designated health and safety officers and designated safeguarding leads covering all sessions.
We are privileged to have two purpose built, early years classrooms on the Southborough Primary School site. The children have continuous access to our garden, which is a secure, bright and spacious outdoor play area. We also have an in-house qualified forest school leader. We have two forest schools sites on the grounds. We are fortunate to have weekly access to explore the nature environment.
Southborough Pre-School is currently a term time only setting and accommodates children aged 1-5 years. We pride ourselves on the fact that we provide flexible, affordable childcare. The free entitlement hours can be accessed using a combination of all sessions provided.
Our Vision For Our Children
Our priority is to place equal importance on supporting your child’s social and emotional development as well as other key areas of learning. We are passionate about your child’s value as an individual. We set high expectations for your children as we want them to be positive, resilient and confident learners. We support your child to manage and enjoy being in a group and being able to share and take turns. This is how they learn to respect and appreciate others. We want our children to be excited and curious of the world around them and encourage them to share their thoughts and opinions. Our curriculum represents the aspirations of our community and we are confident that our daily practice provides challenging and exciting learning opportunities to support this.
| Opening Hours | |||
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Pre-school Day |
9.05am – 3.20pm (Monday – Friday) |
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Funded Morning Session |
9.05am – 12.05pm (Monday – Friday) |
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Funded Afternoon Session |
12.30pm – 3.20pm (Monday – Friday) |
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Full Day |
8am – 6pm (Term Time Only) |
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*Your funded early years entitlement can be taken up by selecting five mornings, five afternoons or a combination of both.
*We offer the option to bridge our morning and afternoon sessions 9.05-3.20am, incorporating a lunch club for a fee. (Children to bring a healthy packed lunch)
*Wraparound care (Coming soon) We will be extending our services to children of Southborough Primary School by offering a wraparound care service.
*All above is subject to availability
| Term Dates 2025-2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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AUTUMN TERM |
Monday 1st September – Friday 17th October 2025 |
(Half term 20th Oct – 31st Oct) |
Monday 3rd Nov – Friday 19th December 2025 |
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SPRING TERM |
Monday 5th January – Friday 13th February 2026 |
(Half term 16th Feb – 20th Feb) |
Monday 23rd February –Friday 27th March 2026 |
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SUMMER TERM |
Monday 13th April – Friday 22nd May 2026 |
Bank holiday Monday 4th May (Half term 25th May – 29th May) |
Monday 1st June – Friday 17th July 2026 |
*Dates may be subject to change
New Parent/Carer Information
Click to download the following information.
Healthy Early Years London
In order to achieve Healthy Early Years London Bronze Award, settings/childminders have to meet standards in three core areas: Personal development, behaviour and welfare. Quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Effectiveness of leadership and management.
Millie's Mark for Nurseries
What is Millie’s Mark?
Millie’s Mark will be awarded as a special endorsement to childcare providers that go above and beyond these minimum requirements by having 100% of staff trained in paediatric first aid, and also ensuring that everything learned during the course is kept alive and in the forefront of practitioners’ minds so that they are confident, ready and capable.
When your setting gains the Millie’s Mark accreditation, you provide reassurance for your parents that all childcare practitioners know what do to in paediatric first aid situation.
It acknowledges that children’s safety is at the forefront of your mind when you care for the children.
Who can become accredited?
Millie’s Mark is available to nurseries, nursery schools, preschools, primary schools and childminders in England and Scotland.