Pre-school Life at Highfield

Children are able to join Highfield Pre-School in the heart of Harrogate, from two years of age and progress through until they join school.

For further information about joining Highfield Pre-School, please visit the Admissions Section of our site.

Highfield pre-school Year Groups

Children are arranged within Highfield Pre-School by academic year groups, or cohorts, so that they spend the majority of their time developing, playing and forming friendships alongside the children that they will start school with:

• Foundation 1 – for children who will start school in three years’ time

• Foundation 2 – for children who will start school in two years’ time

• Transition – for children who will start school in the next academic year

Highfield Pre-school Sessions

The day is arranged around morning and afternoon sessions with lunch in between (to find out more about our excellent home cooked, hot lunches please visit the Pastoral Care section of our site) and optional Before and After school sessions.

We understand that family life can be hectic and sometimes unpredictable, so we let you choose the number of sessions per week and the length of sessions that will suit you and your family, subject to availability. We do however recommend a minimum of two sessions per week as we find this helps children to become familiar with the pre-school routines and helps them to settle more quickly.

• Before School session – 7.30am-9am

• Morning session – 9am-12pm

• Lunch –12-1pm (available for children staying all day, or just part of the day)

• Afternoon session – 1pm-4pm

• After School session – 4pm-6pm

Highfield Pre-School Daily Timetable

While no two days in Highfield Pre-school are ever quite the same, life is based around a daily routine. Children enjoy this structured approach and it enables us to ensure that children experience a balanced programme of activities and development, regardless of which sessions they attend. Visit our Curriculum page to discover more about the daily timetable. 

Holiday Care

Our term dates are aligned with Highfield Prep School and Harrogate Ladies’ College. Outside of our standard term time, we have an optional EYFS Holiday Programme.

find out more about wrap around care and our eyfs holiday club