St. Edith's Preschool

St Edith's Preschool Ltd West End, Kemsing, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 6PU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 7 December 2017 21 April 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision is good

 Children are very happy and secure in this welcoming and friendly setting. They form strong attachments with the skilled and sensitive staff who know the children and their families very well. This successfully supports children's emotional well-being and encourages them to be confident learners.  Children enthusiastically respond to the range of learning challenges offered. For example, they consider how to get rainwater out of a tyre, trying out their own ideas.  Children's mathematical skills are well supported across all activities. For example, children count the number of monkeys in the song at group time, identify the shape of the week and investigate quantity as they make mince pies.  The management team is ambitious and forward thinking. Staff support and development are a priority and an effective training programme helps ensure that teaching is consistently strong and good practice is shared among staff.

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This provision is good

 Staff have high expectations of children and deliver well-planned and creative activities that capture children's imaginations, such as whole-group storytelling. Children make good progress and develop skills for the next stage of their education and school.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff sometimes miss opportunities to support every child's engagement and learning in planned activities.  The good provision for the development of older children's reading skills is not always effectively differentiated to support younger 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

 enable staff to maximise opportunities during group activities to challenge all children to make the very best progress  create more opportunities to develop younger children's early reading skills.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the children taking part in planned and freely chosen activities and observed staff practice.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke to staff, children and parents.  The inspector sampled relevant documentation, including the safeguarding policy and summaries of children's progress.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Safeguarding is effective. Staff are well trained in all aspects of safeguarding and child protection. They have a clear understanding of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about children's welfare. The procedures for recruiting new staff are rigorous and include a comprehensive induction. The manager effectively monitors and tracks children's development and has an overview of each child's progress, as well as the development of specific groups of children. This helps identify any gaps in their learning so that support can be provided. Staff actively encourage parents' involvement in their children's learning. For example, parents can join stay-and-play sessions and communicate through home contact books. Parents appreciate the settling-in process and the high- quality, personalised care staff give their children.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff have a good understanding of the ways children learn. They observe children carefully and plan suitable next steps for each child's development. More experienced staff model teaching techniques and ideas. Children are active learners who delight in investigating the resources and activities provided. For example, they measured out spoonfuls of flour and cut up butter to make mince pies, enjoying the texture of the dough and working out how to make it less sticky. Children develop their small muscles effectively, such as when they carefully use tweezers to pick up numbered discs and practise turning the handles on wind-up torches. Staff support children's speaking skills through a variety of methods such as songs, visual cues and introducing new vocabulary.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children consistently behave well and follow the pre-school's 'golden rules'. They are happy to share the tape measure in the garden and to take turns when passing the 'magic mirror' to each other at group time. Staff support children's independence well and promote their personal care skills. At snack time, for example, children spread their toast, pour their drinks and then wash up their own plates and cups. Staff embrace children's ideas and develop their attention and listening skills. For example, in a storytelling session, children suggest how Cinderella might be feeling and how the stepsisters could speak to her more kindly. Staff take children on visits in the community, for example, to the vet and to the library, which introduces children to people in the wider world.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are motivated and confidently make choices in their play. They are able to follow instructions successfully, such as finding a number of items in the room of a certain colour. Children are introduced to letters and their sounds, and practise saying the initial sounds in words. They begin to represent numbers accurately using their fingers as they count. Older children recognise their written names and enjoy 'having a go' at matching numbers and writing numerals.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY313294 Local authority Kent Inspection number 1092442 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 31 Name of registered person St Edith's Pre-School Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 21 April 2015 Telephone number 01732 760220

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reference number

St Edith's Preschool Ltd registered in 2005. The pre-school is situated in the grounds of the Kemsing Primary School, Kemsing, Kent. It operates each weekday, term time only, from 9am to 3pm. The provider receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are seven staff who work directly with the children. Of these, six staff hold relevant early years qualifications to level 3 or above, including one member of staff who has qualified teacher status.

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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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