Kingsclere Preschool
Kingsclere Preschool is a pre-school in Newbury for children aged 2 to 4, with 25 registered places. Ofsted report card, 8 May 2026: Strong standard in 1 area, Expected standard in 5 areas; safeguarding standards met.
The Scout Hut, Strokins Road, Kingsclere, Newbury, RG20 5RH
Key facts
- Type
- Pre-school (Sessional day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Ages
- 2 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered places
- 25 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 15 December 2023 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:30 - 15:00
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 8 May 2026
Who runs it
Kingsclere Preschool is run by Kingsclere Preschool (Ofsted register).
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
- Achievement: Expected standard
- Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
- Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
- Leadership and governance: Expected standard
- Safeguarding standards met
Source: Ofsted, inspection on 8 May 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children arrive happy and ready to start their day. They separate from parents and carers well, and children who are new to the setting are given extra support and reassurance from their key person. Children feel safe and form positive relationships with staff and their friends. They enjoy playing with others. For example, they excitedly wait to be invited into the 'farmer's den' inside the circle during song time. All children and their families are welcomed, and staff promote a sense of belonging. They celebrate important events with families and use key words in their home language with children during play.
Children are content and enjoy learning through play. They participate in a wide variety of activities that support them to make progress in all areas of their learning. For example, they learn to take turns through playing games and enjoy stories, singing and dancing. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning are supported to access the full curriculum. Any necessary adaptations ensure they are always included and barriers are reduced or removed. All children are well prepared for their next steps in learning, including starting school.
Children behave well. They listen carefully to adults and other children. They follow instructions and have typically positive attitudes, celebrating their achievements with staff. Children are kind and caring towards their friends, for example, sharing their toys and offering to help their friends. Children's attendance is prioritised and promoted to support positive habits for future learning.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Strong standard
Leaders are committed to reducing and removing any barriers to children's learning. For example, they make great use of strategies such as pictures and visual cues to support children to move between one activity and the next. All staff sensitively support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are attuned to children's emotions and provide dedicated spaces for them to relax and be calm.
Leaders and staff use a 'plan, do and review' approach to support children's learning and development. They work alongside external professionals, parents and carers to ensure support for children is expertly tailored to their needs. They work diligently to close any gaps in learning swiftly and effectively. Staff identify children's needs quickly from the outset. Ongoing, detailed assessments ensure staff know precisely what progress each child has made and what they need to learn next.
Leaders use any additional funding to maximise experiences for children and to support their individual needs. For example, they consider gaps in experience and purchase toys and materials to provide these opportunities for play and learning. Staff make excellent use of these resources to ensure barriers to learning are removed.
Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
Leaders generally monitor the impact of the curriculum to ensure it meets children's learning and development needs. They make changes to enhance experiences for children, for example, to include more opportunities for play in nature.
Staff develop children's communication and language effectively. For example, staff teach children a wide range of vocabulary through interactions, play and daily routines and across all areas of learning. Teaching of mathematical language and concepts is inconsistent. This means children typically gain some mathematical knowledge, but the depth of their learning is inconsistent. Staff talk to children throughout the day and ask questions that promote their thinking skills. Alongside communication and language, staff prioritise children's physical and personal, social and emotional skills.
Staff use assessment to understand what children already know and what they need to learn next. They have an appropriate understanding of children's developmental milestones. They adapt teaching accordingly to reflect children's stages of development and starting points. Staff tailor teaching to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, they plan and adapt children's activities to ensure all children have the opportunity to join in and learn throughout their play.
Achievement: Expected standard
Children make progress in all areas of their development. Children become confident communicators through talking and using sign language, such as Makaton. Children know the signs for please, thank you and more, and use these during snack time. Children learn new words daily through interactions with staff and their friends.
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning make rapid progress from their starting points. For example, they close gaps in speech and vocabulary quickly, play alongside others and take turns. They are ready for their next steps in learning.
Children are well prepared for their next steps in learning, including starting school. They become self-sufficient and practise independence skills. For example, they learn to open the items in their lunch box, put their own shoes on and confidently ask for help when they need it.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
Leaders have developed a positive environment. They have high expectations for all children in all areas of their development. Boundaries in place reflect children's differing stages of development. The daily routine is embedded and supports children to understand what is expected of them throughout the day. For example, children know the sequence of events, such as tidying up then washing their hands before snack. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities with the expectations and daily routine. For example, they use picture cards to show children the sequence of the routine, supporting children to understand what is happening now and what happens next.
Staff build positive relationships with each other and children. They role model skills and behavioural expectations, such as positive manners, turn-taking and kindness. As a consequence, children are very well behaved and kind to others. They play alongside others or together with their friends and enjoy learning new skills. Staff support children to persevere with tricky tasks, such as turning a tap on while holding a pot underneath to collect the water.
Leaders understand the importance of promoting regular attendance and punctuality and actively support parents and carers with this.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
Routines and care practices generally support and meet all children's needs. For example, they provide 'rolling snack' so that children can eat when they are ready to stop playing. This minimises the interruption of learning when children are immersed in and focused on an activity. However, staff do not always link play and mealtime experiences to teach children about the impact of healthy choices and habits on their bodies.
Staff develop secure relationships with all children through warm and caring interactions. They are responsive to children's individual needs. For example, children are comforted with cuddles and kindness when they are feeling unsettled. Staff are warm and kind to children and help them to understand and communicate how they are feeling through reassurance and sensitivity. They use a wide range of resources and books to help children identify and explain how they feel. Staff take an inclusive approach to ensure all children's emotional security is prioritised.
Staff provide opportunities for children to develop their physical skills through dancing and outdoor play, for instance. Children learn how to keep themselves safe through hygiene routines such as handwashing.
Leadership and governance: Expected standard
Leaders generally evaluate the strengths and priorities for development within the setting appropriately. They recognise the areas that they need to improve, such as working alongside parents, carers and staff to ensure children learn healthy habits and the impact of these on their bodies. They have worked to make progress on areas of improvement identified by parents, such as around communication with them. Leaders have taken feedback into account and have considered what information to share. Parents are now happy with the way leaders and staff keep them updated on their children's progress and the setting's progress.
Leaders and governors work together to make decisions with children's best interests in mind. For example, they assess the most effective use of any additional funding to support children with barriers to learning.
Leaders prioritise staff's wellbeing and ensure they have a realistic and manageable workload. For example, those studying are offered a reduced workload to help them balance this alongside their studies. Staff have access to professional development opportunities through training, supervision meetings and staff meetings, for example. However, staff's knowledge of teaching mathematical language and concepts requires further development.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders should develop staff's teaching to support children's learning about the impact of healthy eating and habits on their bodies.
- Leaders should enhance the teaching of mathematics to help children develop their mathematical knowledge further.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 8 May 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
- 8 May 2026: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 1, Expected standard in 5
Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)
Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.
The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.
Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.
Source: Ofsted reports
Funded childcare hours in England
All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.
Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.
Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.
The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.
Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)
Schools nearby
- Kingsclere Church of England Primary School - Primary, 0.2 miles