Forest Kindergarten

Forest Kindergarten Toy's Hill Car Park, Toy's Hill Road, Westerham, Kent, TN16 1QG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12 June 2017 29 June 2016

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children make significant progress with their learning and development given their starting points. Staff's excellent teaching skills help progress children's learning extremely well.  Staff are highly skilled in adapting activities to meet the environment in which they are working. Children have an active voice in the setting. They all work extraordinarily well together to decide which areas of the woods in which they wish to play.  Children learn about different cultures in a highly enjoyable way. They learn to count in different languages and role play, for example, making different cultural foods, such as sushi, out of mud and leaves.  Staff are highly skilled in adapting natural resources to support children's learning and development. For example, they work with children to make fern leaves into dresses for children in which to role play. Children learn how to tie knots to string the leaves

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This provision is outstanding

together.  Staff teach children how to keep themselves safe exceptionally well, such as knowing what is safe to touch in the woods. For example, children find berries and are fully aware not touch or eat them, as they do not know what they are. Staff highly praise children for being aware and for listening.  Staff have excellent partnerships with other professionals caring for children. They share reports on children's stages of development and regularly meet to share what children learn during forest school sessions. This helps to provide excellent continuity of learning.

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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

 offer even more opportunities for children to learn about measuring, to build on their already excellent mathematical development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children in Toys Hill woods.  The inspector spoke with the provider, staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector took into account the views of parents.  The inspector sampled documents, including safeguarding, staff suitability and children's files.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

Safeguarding is effective. The provider has worked extensively with staff and the local authority to meet the actions raised at the last inspection. For example, staff ratios are maintained, children's attendance is accurately kept and records are readily available. All staff have an excellent understanding of safeguarding requirements and what measures to follow if they have any concerns over children's welfare. The provider assesses staff training needs to help to make sure they are meeting the needs of the children. Recent training has helped staff to support children's personal and social development exceptionally well. For instance, this has helped staff to teach children how to reason and talk through any issues they have. This greatly helps staff to support children's self- esteem extraordinarily well.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff work exceptionally well with the parents to assess children's starting points. They use this information highly effectively to inform planning and to track the significant progress children make. Staff are highly in tune with the children's interests and plan inspirational activities around these during the sessions. For example, during the inspection a child found an insect. The child enthusiastically ran to find the insect book and worked with staff to research what the insect was. He excitedly found it, showed others, and explained the name of the insect to the other children. This helps to support exceptionally well children's language development. Staff work closely with parents to rapidly narrow gaps in children's learning. Although, on occasion, staff do not always make the very best use of resources to help children understand about some mathematical ideas, such as measuring.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff are highly consistent in their approach to behaviour management. They have excellent partnership working with parents. For example, following feedback, they provided training courses for parents, to help them work together to support children's behaviour. This helps provide excellent continuity of care and children behave exceptionally well. Children have excellent opportunities to extend their physical boundaries and build on their problem-solving skills. For example, as they climb trees, they test branches, as staff have taught them, to see if they are strong enough to take their weight.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children are more than ready for their move to school and the next stage of their learning. They are highly confident learners and most-able children regularly support less-able children with their learning. They show new children how to climb trees and banks, helping them to work out which route to safely take. Children thoroughly enjoy learning about letters in enjoyable and highly exciting ways. They write on tree trunks with chalks, forming letters, and learn how to spell their names.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY499462 Local authority Kent Inspection number 1095943 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 3 - 5 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 33 Name of registered person Caroline Elizabeth Watts

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 29 June 2016 Telephone number 07718896919

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reference number

Forest Kindergarten registered in 2016. It operates in Westerham, Kent. The school offers care on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 9am to 2pm, and on Wednesday from 9am to midday, during term time. The setting is not open on Thursday. During some holiday periods, there is a club which runs on Monday to Friday from 9am to 2pm. There are four permanent members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate childcare qualifications. The forest school receives funding to provide early years education for children aged three and four years.

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reference number

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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reference number

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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reference number

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reference number

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reference number

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

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