where all the fun happens
Please find more information on how to secure your child’s place here: Enrolment & Admissions
Like many Pre-schools, we are a charity (Registered Charity Number 1174604). Our brilliant staff are employees, most of whom have been with us for many years, and parent volunteer trustees form our Management Committee.
Registered with Ofsted, the Charity Commission and the Early Years Alliance; we follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidance and work closely with West Berkshire Council Early Years Services to provide the best possible care to our little people.
Our Ethos
Our staff and committee are highly committed to ensuring each child is safe, secure, making happy memories and at the heart of everything we do.
Our goals are for every child to:
- Enjoy Pre-school and have made many happy memories
- Make the best possible progress with us
- Grow to love learning and have more confidence; making friends and taking part
- Be ready for primary school upon leaving
Setting Outstanding Standards
We are very proud to be considered an “Outstanding” provider by Ofsted in our most recent (2019) inspection. We were also found to be ‘Outstanding’ in 2015 too, and ‘Good’ before that. We continue working hard to maintain our high standards. Please click ‘here’ for a link to our latest Ofsted inspection.
If you would like to contact Ofsted, they welcome parent input and feedback. 
Why are we a great Pre-school?
Outdoor learning
Our children are outdoors as often as possible – unless the weather is really against us. At Cold Ash Pre-school we provide an environment that this interesting, stimulating and encouraging and where the children are actively involved in their learning. Making the best possible progress with us. They are continually learning new things each and every day and in this, they are developing new skills and enjoying themselves in the process.
The benefits to being outside are endless, here are our Top five:
- Encourages an Active Lifestyle
Children who learn to play outdoors are much more likely to continue to enjoy outdoor activities such as walking, running and cycling as they get older. Given the number of gadgets and new technology available to us all, outdoor play is an extremely important factor in combating an increasingly sedentary lifestyle; they establish a sense of their community.
- Appreciation of Nature and the Environment
Learning in an outdoor environment allows children to interact with the elements around us and helps them to gain an understanding of the world we live in. They can experience animals in their own surroundings and learn about their habitats and lifecycles.
- Develops Social Skills
We are very proud of our spacious outdoor environment. We feel that our outdoor space promotes and helps children to join in and ‘come out of their shells’. Giving children outdoor learning experiences offers them a chance to talk about what they have done with their friends, teachers and parents. We want the children to feel confident, safe, secure and happy by making friendships and taking part in all the activities.
- Encourages Independence
The extra space offered by being outdoors will give children the sense of freedom to make discoveries by themselves. They can develop their own ideas or create games and activities to take part in with their friends without feeling like they’re being directly supervised. They’ll begin to understand what they can do by themselves and develop a ‘can-do’ attitude, which will act as a solid foundation for future learning. To encourage the children to be independent gives them the skills to manage their own personal needs, hygiene and self-care and we want them to be ready for Primary school upon leaving.
- Understanding Risk
Being outdoors provides children with more opportunities to experience risk-taking in a safe and secure environment. They have the chance to take part in tasks on a much bigger scale and complete them in ways they might not when they’re indoors. They can learn to make calculated decisions such as ‘should I jump off this log?’ or ‘can I climb this tree?’
Our brilliant staff
All of our early years staff are well qualified and highly experienced in all aspects of early years provision. Our team are dedicated and very hard-working; they……
- Work with the children all day every day, following their interests and enabling them to learn through play.
- Write consistent, focused and efficient observations, demonstrating how each child is developing through their learning journey
- Track and monitor each child’s progress against the set EYFS recommendations
- Focus on school readiness for the older cohort
- Invite parent involvement though Tapestry, stay and play sessions, catch-ups and meetings
Our Business Manager is a former parent, and has a wealth of experience and knowledge. The management committee is made up of volunteers that have links to the children that attend Pre-school; they are fully committed to helping provide the best care for your, and their own, children.
Community involvement
If your child attends CAPs you, as a parent/carer, automatically become a member of the Pre-school community… whether you wish to join the committee and have a say in the management, or would like to help with fundraising and events – or perhaps volunteer during sessions with reading or ‘Topic Talks’ (about your hobbies or profession)… all input is welcome. Simply contact the committee on [email protected]
We would love to become more involved in the local community… inviting sports/crafts/hobby groups in to give us demonstrations, or visiting other local charities and organisations. If you are involved in a group and might like to work with or visit us, please do get in touch.
Professional partnerships and associations
To ensure we maintain our high standards and keep up with all new relevant research, developments and legislation, we work closely with several external professional bodies regarding all elements of early years provision: safeguarding, staff training and development, charity best practice, health and safety, SEN/PEP/LAC, child development of course, and much more.
For full details on how to join CAPs please visit our Enrolment page. Check out our Facebook Page.