We run breakfast and after school clubs offering Child-Led Play at four schools in West Berkshire and Hampshire:

• Mortimer St John’s – Early Little Oaks and Little Oaks
• Mortimer St Mary’s – Early Big Oaks and Big Oaks
• Burghfield St Mary’s – Early Burghfield Oaks and Burghfield Oaks
• Silchester CofE – Early Silchester Oaks and Silchester Oaks

Our clubs are registered with Ofsted and are on the Early Years Register. We are inspected by Ofsted and reports of our inspections are available online.

We operate according to COVID-19 guidelines published by the Department for Education, and work closely with schools for the safety of staff, children, parents and all in our community.

Copies of our policies and risk assessments are available on request.

Breakfast clubs:

Our clubs provide a wide range of breakfast choices including fresh fruit, milk, cereal, yoghurt and water to set children up for the day ahead. After some time to play, children head to their classrooms ready to start the school day.

Early Little Oaks provides a Breakfast Club at The Community Centre (Mortimer) for St John’s children. It runs from 7.30 am and provides a healthy breakfast as well as free play time before ensuring that the children are safely within their classrooms.

Early Big Oaks provides a Breakfast Club at Mortimer St Mary’s School within The Oaks building for all St Mary’s children. It runs from 7.30am and provides a healthy breakfast as well as free playtime before the children walk across the field to the school playground to be collected for registration.

Early Burghfield Oaks provides a Breakfast Club in the Main Hall at Burghfield St Mary’s. It runs from 7.30am and provides a healthy breakfast as well as playtime before the children join the early drop off or head to the school playground.

Early Silchester Oaks provides a Breakfast Club at Silchester Primary School within the school hall. It runs from 7.30am to 8.45am and provides a healthy breakfast as well as free playtime before the children get ready to go to their classrooms via the playground.

After school clubs:

All clubs start at the end of the school day and are held on school premises:

Mortimer St John’s until 6.00pm
Mortimer St Mary’s, The Big Oaks Building, until 6.30pm
Burghfield St Mary’s until 6.00pm
Silchester Oaks until 6.00pm

After school, children can come straight to the club, or attend one of the school-led clubs and then join the after school club. Just let the school know and they will ensure your child arrives safely. Once at the club, children lead the way. Typical activities include outdoor play, ball games, dressing up, board games, drawing, crafts, putting on shows as well as summer and christmas parties. A wide range of healthy, tasty food is on offer during snack time. Often the biggest complaint we get from parents is that the child won’t come home because they’re having too much fun!

In the Clubs

Children are able to choose from a wide range of activities, e.g. indoor play, outdoor play, physical games, creative activities, individual, group, structured, messy, traditional. Activities to choose from are changed frequently, usually daily, and are in step with the daily/weekly/termly rhythms of the school and the weather conditions. We encourage children to make up their own games and rules, and to use objects and the environment creatively.

Club staff are generally facilitators and observers who will step in when needed. Within all clubs, a warm and homely atmosphere is created wherever possible, with comfortable seating, such as sofas and floor mats/cushions. We create an environment of support for children with a range of needs. We oversee outdoor play in all but the most extreme of weather conditions and our staff have a positive attitude to physical activity and the outdoor environment. We do not oversee or encourage homework to be done at the club, however, there is always a space that can be used by a child who wishes to do so.

Familiar Location:  Our breakfast and after school clubs are held on or very near your child’s school. This helps your child relax in familiar surroundings before and after a full school day.  We facilitate and oversee outside play in all but the most extreme of weather conditions.  Our staff have a positive attitude to the outdoor environment and physical activity. 

Child Led Play: Play is one of the most important aspects of a child’s life. Through play, they learn about the world, about others and about themselves. At the Oaks our emphasis is on play, led by the children themselves. Your child is free to choose their own preferred activity; whether they’d like to run around outside, draw with friends or chill out quietly with a book, our staff support children to relax and have fun, whatever their needs or interests.

Expert Staff: Our staff are carefully selected to bring a wide range of skills and experience to each club. Across the clubs, our highly qualified teams have many years of combined professional childcare experience, and all engage in ongoing training and development. We undertake full reference checks and enhanced DBS checks for all staff prior to employment.

Healthy Food: Breakfasts and snacks after school are healthy and varied. We can accommodate any dietary requirements or preferences.

Special Needs and Inclusion: We aim to support all of the children and parents/carers in the communities we live, and work in, including the children who have special educational needs and/or physical disabilities. Our aim is to operate such that children of all abilities can be included, be kept safe, and enjoy and learn from our activities.

Safeguarding:  We take our responsibility for protecting children in our care very seriously.  We have a designated Safeguarding Leads and a Child Protection Officer and will respond promptly and appropriately to all incidents or concerns regarding the safety of a child.