Paint Pots Preschool @ St Marks
OutstandingBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Southampton for children from birth to 8+, open 08:15 to 15:15, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in September 2022. Open since 2011, with 31 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Southampton
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Southampton from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
SO15 5TEWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 21 September 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children very happily say goodbye to their parents and carers and confidently enter the pre-school. They show an excellent understanding of the routine as they happily hang up their bags and coats.
Children benefit from an exciting curriculum which has been specifically designed to meet their individual needs. They are learning to be extremely independent and to be effective communicators. Children listen to staff and their peers attentively.
Children display excellent behaviour. They listen carefully and show great determination when making a house from different-size cardboard boxes. Children enthusiastically use all of the available resources to replicate doors, windows and chimneys. Staff skilfully extend children's curiosity by encouraging them to look at the houses around the pre-school and make comparisons to their own models.
- 21 September 2022Outstanding
- 23 May 2014Outstanding
- 26 April 2012Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Paint Pots Preschool @ St Marks
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.