St James Church Pre-School CIO
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Reading for children from birth to 5, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2024. Open since 2022, with 20 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 Wokingham
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Wokingham 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
RG5 3LHWhat 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, 13 June 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enjoy spending time in this warm and welcoming pre-school. They settle well and display good levels of emotional well-being as they play harmoniously with their friends. Staff have a good understanding of the children in their care. They invest time in getting to know them before they start attending. This helps to build trusting relationships so that children feel safe and secure.
Outside play and experiences are an important part of the day for all children. Staff make effective use of the garden to provide children with a range of play experiences, based on their current interests. Children delight in exploring for insects in the garden and eagerly show staff the frog and centipede they find. They demonstrate great skills in balance and coordination as they balance along logs and use climbing apparatus with confidence.
Children have a positive attitude to learning and consistently behave well. Staff encourage children to work together during learning experiences to form friendships and further build on their personal, social and emotional development.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to implement the precise learning intentions of activities more effectively so that they are clear about what skills and knowledge they want children to gain n recognise when the quiet and less confident children need help to engage in more purposeful play and learning.
- 13 June 2024Good
Still missing for St James Church Pre-School CIO
- 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.