Penenden Heath Pre-School

Penenden Heath Pre- School Penenden Heath Social Hall, Penenden Heath, Penenden Heath, MAIDSTONE, Kent, ME14 2DH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14 May 2015 12 July 2010

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is good

 The staff use their good knowledge of child development to monitor children's progress and accurately identify their next steps in learning. Therefore, children make good progress in relation to their starting points.  Children behave well. Staff are good role models and consistently use the same behaviour strategies to encourage children's understanding of sharing and good behaviour.  The partnership with parents is good. The staff and parents regularly exchange information verbally and in writing. As a result, parents are aware of their children's progress and have ideas for learning at home.  Staff have good relationships with local school teachers. They invite reception teachers to come and meet the children and discuss children's learning and development with their key person. This helps to enable children to move smoothly on to school.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Children have access to mark making resources in the pre-school. However, staff do not use all opportunities to promote and extend children's early writing skills, through encouraging children to make effective use of the resources in their play.  Staff miss opportunities to display child-initiated art work and encourage the children's involvement in displaying their work.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 encourage children to use mark making resources more frequently in all aspects of their play to promote their early writing skills  increase children's sense of belonging in the setting by displaying examples of their work at their level so that they can share these with each other, staff and their parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager of a planned activity.  The inspector observed the quality of teaching and learning inside and during an outing.  The inspector spoke to a selection of parents and took account of their views.  The inspector spoke to staff members at appropriate times.  The inspector looked at children's records, planning documentation, evidence of the suitability of staff, safeguarding policies and procedures and a range of other documentation.

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who attend. This is good

Staff plan activities according to children's interests, which has a positive impact on children's learning. Staff use the knowledge from training to support children's communication and language development effectively. Consequently, children are confident communicators. The thoughtful use of the garden as another classroom ensures that all children have good opportunities to explore and learn outside. Therefore, children are developing many skills they need for their future learning, such as motivation and engagement. Staff encourage children to count during activities and while playing, which effectively promotes their mathematical development. For instance, they measured a tree by how many children could hold hands around it. The staff encourage children to use books to increase their knowledge. This includes looking in books to identify flowers and trees when in the wood.

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good

Staff support children to develop independence skills and, as a result, children are well prepared for school. For example, children are encouraged to prepare their own snacks, pour their drinks, and wash their plates and cups. Staff use resources displaying different emotions to help children understand the feelings of others. Safety is a high priority at the setting. Staff teach children road safety and the reasons why they wear high-visibility jackets and stay together when on an outing. All children practice regular evacuation drills to help ensure they know what to do in an emergency and further develop their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Children learn about being healthy through enjoying snacks of fruit and going outside in the fresh air each day. A gradual settling-in process ensures children become familiar with their new surroundings and develop a strong sense of belonging.

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provision is good

The manager regularly monitors children's development to ensure that all children are making good progress across the areas of learning. Where any child's progress is less than expected, individual plans are implemented to help them move forward. Parents contribute to these plans and appreciate the attention given to support their children's learning. Staff performance is monitored effectively to identify strengths and any areas for future training. The views of the committee, staff and parents are used to plan ongoing improvements. As a result, the service is continually improving. Parents are happy with the playgroup and comment on the good progress that their children have made. Safeguarding procedures are clear and all staff know what to do if they have concerns about children in their care. The manager implements effective practice for the recruitment of staff to ensure their suitability to work with children.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 127441 Local authority Kent Inspection number 840656 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Penenden Heath Pre School Committee Date of previous inspection 12 July 2010 Telephone number 07593 397 559

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Setting details

Penenden Heath Pre-School registered in 1966 and is situated in Maidstone, Kent. The pre-school is open each weekday, term time only, from 8.45am to 2.45pm. The pre-school employs 10 staff, eight of whom are qualified to level 3 or above. The provider receives funding for free early years education for children aged two, three and four.

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Setting details

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Setting details

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Setting details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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