Mayfield Preschool

Mayfield Preschool Court Meadow, Tunbridge Wells Road, MAYFIELD, East Sussex, TN20 6PJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26 June 2017 30 June 2015

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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

 Staff have a thorough understanding of each child and the progress they make. They liaise actively with everyone involved in the children's learning, including staff in the other settings children also attend, to build a wider picture of the child. Staff use meticulous assessment systems to establish each child's developmental needs.  Staff work in exceptionally close partnership with parents to ensure continuity for the children. They use highly effective systems to communicate with parents and to enable the continuation of learning in the home.  Children make excellent progress. Where gaps in progress occur, staff intervene skilfully to ensure children receive the additional support required. For example, children move forward rapidly in their speech and language skills when the staff follow advice from experts and provide focused support. This helps children to develop high levels of confidence.

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff show dedication to ensuring children are emotionally prepared for the move on to another setting or school, when the time comes. Children have excellent opportunities to find out about what school is like. This includes frequent opportunities to visit the school and meet with some of the children who attend.  The manager follows rigorous systems of performance management through which she supports staff hugely in their professional development. This includes providing excellent opportunities for them to achieve higher qualifications or to attend training which they can use to improve the outcomes for the children.

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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

 introduce methods to help children understand how much time has passed.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities inside and outdoors.  The inspector talked with staff, children and the manager at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation, and checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff.  The inspector took account of parents' views spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of children's learning and staff's practice with the manager.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

Safeguarding is effective. Everyone in the setting knows the signs that may cause concern about a child's welfare and the procedures to follow if a concern arises. The manager displays immense drive to ensure high outcomes for every child. She follows highly effective strategies to monitor the effectiveness of the provision. For example, they have greatly improved the systems to encourage the development of early writing skills by providing a vast range of activities that appeals to all groups of children. The manager follows robust systems to monitor children's progress. She has improved the opportunities for children to extend their mathematical learning. For example, children enjoy a wide breadth of mathematical activities, such as weighing treasure.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff consistently use excellent teaching skills to develop children's ideas and extend their learning. These include helping children to develop problem-solving skills. For example, they ask children how they can make tracks bigger and allow them the opportunity to work this out for themselves. Staff use the environment effectively to stimulate and extend children's learning. When children discover a bird's nest that is hidden under a dome, they engage in a meaningful conversation about what might have lived in it. There are times when staff use language relating to time, such as 'two minutes', without fully making sure that children understanding how long this is. Staff provide children with rich opportunities to understand that everyone is different. They listen to stories in other languages and answer the register in different languages, including Romany.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff show great skill in helping children to form strong relationships which ensure they feel safe and secure. Staff have implemented highly effective systems to ensure children develop positive values. Children consistently show kindness to each other and exhibit excellent social skills. For example, they negotiate turn taking in a mature manner. Friendships blossom in the setting. Children continually seek out friends to show them something exciting that they have discovered, such as how spider webs sparkle when sprayed with water. Staff strongly promote healthy practices in the setting. Children show a strong understanding of the importance of drinking water and enjoy growing vegetables which they can eat at a later stage.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children show high levels of curiosity in their play. They search for exciting things with magnifying glasses and tell everyone about the bugs they find. Children use careful thought processes as they tackle challenges. For instance, they make and follow plans of how they will use construction pieces to build a pirate ship. Children develop essential learning for the future. They count as they fill buckets with sand and find numerals in the garden. They find the letters for their names hidden in messy materials and sing songs that concentrate on letter sounds.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 109464 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 1089038 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 42 Name of registered person Mayfield Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 30 June 2015 Telephone number 01435 872523

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reference number

Mayfield Preschool has been in operation since the 1970s and registered with Ofsted in 2001. The pre-school is in the village of Mayfield, near to Tunbridge Wells, Kent. It is open on Monday to Thursday from 9am to 3pm and on Friday from 9am to 12.30pm. There are eight staff employed to work with the children. Of these, five members of staff hold early years qualifications, two are working towards qualifications and the manager holds qualified teacher status. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education. Children can attend from the age of two years to 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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