Howden is where this journey began

Howden Pre-School is set in a woodland environment, located in the Church Hall of Howden Minster and accessed via the beautiful Ashes playing fields. It is a unique and idyllic setting for an early years setting which parents, children and visitors comment on regularly.

Our trustees Carrie and Kate are the managers of Howden Pre-School, they started working together in September 2016, when the setting was a term time only pre-school, which until 2015 offered only morning sessions, with approximately 18 children on roll. Danny joined Howden Pre-Schools board of trustees in September 2016 when his eldest child attended.

During 2016, Carrie, Kate and the trustees worked on rebranding the pre-school. A new logo was introduced and efforts were made to present the pre-school to the local community in more professional capacity. Carrie and Kate worked with the parent’s, trustees, staff and children to identify strengths and weaknesses within the setting and made an action plan of improvements. Parental partnerships were high on the agenda, so they introduced innovative ways to include parents in the setting and their children’s learning. Carrie also began her string of successful funding applications when she applied to the town council for support to build links with the local community.

Improvements from the action plan continued in the following years. In 2017 the setting was chosen as the Coop’s local cause, which supported the setting with improvements to their garden space, they built a roof over their decked area to provide the children with an all weather outdoor space. Requests for a donation of a carpet were listened to by a local carpet shop who supplied and delivered a band new carpet to create a cosy floor space for the children. A parent ran a marathon and raised enough money to provide the children with an interactive white board and the trustees successfully applied to Howden’s joinery for them to donate and install a new kitchen/office – absolutely free!

Although these material items made improvements to the physical environment, Carrie and Kate were working hard on improving the outcomes for children. They began making meaningful links with other professionals and agencies, they saw investing in the staff critical to enhancing children’s outcomes so staff training became an essential part of the action plan

By 2018, the reputation and occupation of Howden Pre-School had began increasing and the recruitment of additional staff became necessary. Jess was successful in filling a level 2 vacancy until the end of the academic year. The links the setting was making with other professional agencies earned them highly valued recommendations to families of children with additional needs and links with the local community, such as The Children’s Centre, the local health visitor and attending community events also supported the increase of families enrolling their children in the setting. The differencing needs of the diverse group of new children the setting were enrolling meant the environment was working as well as it had, not to mention the distinct lack of storage space. Another successful grant application meant the setting could reconfigure the main space into two rooms and install a practical storage system.

2019 saw the start of the settings waiting list; the positive feedback regarding the setting was being shared rapidly in the local community, however it was becoming more and more apparent that parents required full time childcare for their children due to their own work commitments, so the setting began opening for 50 weeks of the year, 8am until 6pm and increased their age range to eleven in their holiday clubs. To help with the capacity of children accessing the setting, more grant successful applications were made to renovate the garden to turn it from a muddy mess to an all weather space for the children to enjoy. They also recruited two apprentices to share their knowledge and expertise with. To top off 2019 – The setting was awarded the highest Ofsted rating OUTSTANDING.

2020 brought even more growth and recognition for Howden Pre-School. They had a growing waiting list of children wanting a place over the following 2 years, their sessions were full and their staff team had grown considerably. Plans were being considered for an extension to the building to allow for more children. More successful fundraising lent itself to renovation of the toilet and changing facilities, to cope with the growing popularity an additional toilet and two sinks were installed. Another top rating was earned – this time by the Food Standards Agency, who awarded the setting 5 stars. They were even finalist in the local business awards for their contribution to the community.

Covid meant that staff had to rethink their roles; they found innovative ways to stay in touch with children and families and to teach remotely. Megan joined as the treasurer of Howden Pre-school in this year too.

2021 saw the build of the extension and renovation of the main room, fully funded by grant applications and fundraising. The new space increased the settings capacity by 50%, however they are still full and their waiting list continues to grow. It was a very exciting time for the staff when they had their first unborn baby register for a place.

Howden Pre-School Image Gallery