Skylarks Community Pre-School
GoodBirth to 8+Long established
A pre-school in Horsham for children from birth to 8+, open 09:00 to 15:30, 5 days a week. £6.00 an hour. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2017, with 50 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Price: £6 per hour
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
What childcare usually costs in West Sussex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in West Sussex 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
RH12 3LYWhat 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, 8 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children demonstrate their excitement as they rush through the doors and cheerfully greet the staff who are waiting for them. Staff encourage them to independently put away their own belongings. Children quickly seek out their key person and friends to play with, eager to get on with their day. Staff provide a large variety of activities that cover a broad and balanced curriculum. Activities are planned based on children's current interests, such as dinosaurs and numbers. This helps to keep children motivated to learn as they play.
Staff gather detailed information from parents about their children before they start at the pre-school. This enables children to be fully supported to settle quickly as staff have a strong understanding of children's likes, dislikes and existing knowledge. Children who become upset are consoled and cuddled. They quickly develop a secure understanding that the pre-school is a safe and stimulating place to play and learn away from their families. Staff are strong role models for children.
They are kind, loving and respectful and have high expectations for children's behaviour. Older children teach younger children to be kind and share. This has a positive impact on young children's behaviour and their ability to understand the boundaries at the pre-school.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance the monitoring of staff practices to identify and address minor inconsistencies in the quality of teaching n improve the organisation of planned group activities to help all children taking part to remain focused and engaged in their learning.
- 8 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 3 May 2019Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Skylarks Community Pre-School
- 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
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £6.00 an hour still the rate? 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.