“Over the past 7 years my 3 children have attended Rainbow Pre School.  Rainbows was recommended to us and from our first visit I could see why.  The ‘Aunties’ were so caring and welcoming, it felt like they wanted to do everything they could for you and your child and all my children have settled with no problems right from the start.

I have never once worried about sending my children there as they feel like an extension to the family, teaching my children in the way that I would and helping them grow in their education but also their personalities.

Whilst they are now located in a much nicer location than they have been in previous years, it was never about the building that they meet in, rather than what they provide and do with the children in their care.

My youngest will leave Rainbows this year and I think it will be harder for me to part than for my child, as the ‘Aunties’ have played such a big part in mine and my children’s lives and I am so grateful to have found such a wonderful pre school for them to attend and set them up in their early years.” – Claire, Mother of three

“Our son, who has autism joined Rainbows in January 2020. At that point Parker had not been officially diagnosed with autism however he was being assessed. From day one the Rainbows staff were nothing short of amazing with their handling of him and his needs. His confidence from that day has grown significantly. At first he was tentative in regards to leaving my side but after a short while the
reassurance and care given to him from the staff made preschool a normal for him.

During his 2 years at Rainbows he has been officially diagnosed with autism and been decelerated from starting infants school. None of this would have been possible without the support for not only him but ourselves as parents. He is thriving under the guidance of the Rainbows team and it was agreed he would thrive more with the amazing staff at Rainbows. The patience and devoted time and attention that Rainbows have given to him in ways which are better suited to helping him learn such as bucket time have made a huge difference to his everyday life, and in turn our lives as parents with their guidance. For an autistic child like our son to be at ease within the Rainbows setting especially during tough times such as covid, really does speak volumes about the work that the staff do. We are forever grateful and could not recommend Rainbows highly enough. A truly remarkable team.” – Sinead, Mother of two

“My 3 daughters have attended rainbow preschool since the age of 3 (since 2016), with the youngest soon to leave for school. Despite all struggling with separation anxiety initially, the aunties welcoming, friendly and nurturing approach helped them to settle. They took the time to get to know my girls and worked with me to help them to grow to love going. Importantly, they always let me know when they were settled and happily playing.

The girls were/are all well prepared on an independence , social and learning level for transitioning to the local infant school with which the preschool have great links. In my girls own words they “had so much fun” at Rainbows and describe each day as “brilliant” – Katherine, Mother of three

 

“Our son joined Rainbows in September 2020, part way through the COVID pandemic.  The preschool is in a lovely setting, with excellent facilities, a variety of toys and activities for the children to enjoy and a wonderful outside garden space.  The staff are experienced and genuinely care for the children.  I receive regular updates through newsletters and Tapestry, as well as one-to-one feedback after every session.  Staff are flexible and always happy to discuss the children and make any adaptations required.  COVID procedures have been sensible and well enforced.

My son has a suspected diagnosis of global developmental delay.  This has manifested itself with some challenges especially around communication and interaction with other children.  Rainbows identified some concerns, together with the second setting my son attends.  Sarah Guy recommended we request a paediatrician referral and also dealt with referrals to speech and language, portage and other relevant external agencies.  We felt incredibly supported during this process, with Sarah answering any questions we had and also helping to chase up these agencies as required.  Sarah is always happy to discuss Nathan’s progress and provide advice and support.

Where appropriate, additional arrangements have been made for my son.  When he first started, he struggled with having lunch as soon as he arrived on a Friday, so Rainbows were happy for him to adjust his timing by half an hour to eliminate this problem.  We were then able to transition to full days after a while.  My son struggles with change so events such as the Christmas party can be challenging.  However, Rainbows ensured there was a ‘safe place’ for those children who struggled with the environment and provided one-to-one support to Nathan where necessary.

We recognise that my son can be challenging with his additional needs but have never been made to feel like he is an inconvenience.  He has an incredible relationship with his key person Debbie, and loves coming to pre-school.  Debbie has always asked lots of questions to better understand my son’s behaviour and provided suggestions to help him.  In particular, Rainbows were very supportive when he was toilet trained in January 2022 and they worked alongside us to make this as smooth a process as possible.  By working in collaboration with both Rainbows and my son’s other setting, we have been able to ensure that he has a EHCP in place ready to start school.  We feel the support received by Rainbows has been vital to ensuring this process ran smoothly.

Sarah and Debbie have both provided guidance on schools, advising us to look around as many as possible.  Their knowledge of the local schools has proved very useful, and I am confident we will be able to transition him to school relatively smoothly.

Overall, our experience at Rainbows Preschool has been incredibly positive and I look forward to sending our second son in a couple of years’ time.” – Laura, Mother of two

1st Touch Football is a local coaching company that can be found in the heart of Eastleigh. As a company we have been delivering sessions to Rainbows for 15 years!!! It all started with the soul purpose to help get the children ready for their next steps at “big” school. The sessions weren’t only designed to teach football, but to encourage the children to get changed into their PE kits independently and to have a taste of both active and fun games as part of their PE.

Over the 15 years we have always found the staff – “Aunties” to be very welcoming to our team and they have always shown what a great job they do in not only looking after the young children, but also helping to develop them ready for their next steps.

Every year, the group of children that we work with are a credit to both the Aunties and their parents. The behaviour, engagement, confidence and general play has always been of a high standard. We always say how lucky we are to be invited to such a fantastic Pre-School.

This next bit will make some of the coaches feel old!!! 1st Touch Football value’s itself as being a community organisation with a personal touch. We have seen children who attended Rainbows as 3 and 4 year olds go on to help us within our coaching team and give back to the young children what they learnt as a child.

We cannot recommend Rainbows enough…Keep doing the fantastic work that you continue to do.– Jon, founder of 1st Touch Football