Arrange a visit

We welcome all prospective parents/carers to visit our preschool, meet the staff and familiarise themselves with our setting. Please telephone the preschool on 07928 013998 during session times to make an appointment. 

Your child’s readiness

We accept children who are at least 2 years 8 months old at the time of admission, but as a preschool we deliver a curriculum tailored primarily to 3 and 4 year olds. Whilst we generally include a ‘calm time’ after lunch in our daily routine, we are not able to facilitate naps, and you should consider whether your child is able to manage a full day at preschool before requesting afternoon sessions. We give priority to 3 and 4 year olds for afternoon sessions as this helps them to begin to prepare for school life.

Registration

We open registrations for each academic year in the preceding September so registrations for the 2024-25 academic year will open in September 2023 and for 2025-26 in September 2024.

Please contact us to check session availability before completing the registration form. We ask that all children attend a minimum of twelve hours each week, which can be taken as two full days (9am-3pm) or as three morning sessions (9am - 1pm). This helps children settle into the preschool quickly and get the most from our weekly programme of activities. Our full Admissions Policy is in our Policies and Procedures document and explains our criteria for offering places at Freshford Preschool.

You can register your child for Freshford Preschool via our online registration form. We will contact you on receipt of your form, but please note that we do not process registrations during preschool holidays.

We also ask that you take the time to review our Policies and Procedures before completing the registration form as you will be asked to confirm your agreement to some of our policies, for example our Fees and Donations Policy, when registering.

Registration donation

We invite all new applicants to make a registration donation of £30. This donation covers the costs associated with new children joining the preschool as well as holding that place for your child. We offer at least one free taster session in Term 6, prior to your child’s start in September and we also arrange a home visit from your child's play partner (key worker). All these activities involve extra staff time which is not covered by the Early Years Entitlement Grant. This payment can be made through our Wonderful donations account.

Primary school links

While the majority of our preschool children transition to Freshford Primary School, attendance at Freshford Preschool does not guarantee a Reception place for your child at the school.  Parents are required to apply for a place at Freshford School through their local authority via the annual school applications process. If you have any queries about this process, please contact Freshford Primary School or your local authority.