Kingswood Pre School Group

Inspection of Kingswood Pre School Group Kingswood Village Hall, Gravelly Bottom Road, Kingswood, Maidstone, Kent ME17 3PX

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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The provision is good

Children of all ages are happy, confident and settled at the setting. They are excited to participate in the challenging and interesting activities that staff carefully plan for them. For example, children are eager to explore starchy material from plant roots called tapioca and food colouring to create 'frog spawn'. They go on to learn about the life cycle of a frog. Children enjoy a wide range of role play and become 'builders'. They use 'tools' to build their own 'houses'. Children are polite and behave well. They build meaningful friendships and enjoy each other's company. Children take turns with equipment with good maturity. For example, they use a timer to indicate when their time is up on a resource and kindly pass it on to their friends.

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The provision is good

Children learn about the importance of healthy lifestyles. For example, they talk about the importance of washing their hands and how to keep their teeth and gums clean and healthy. All children develop good physical skills. They learn about the different ways that they can move their bodies. Children confidently balance on balancing beams, manoeuvre bikes around cones and play games, such as tennis. Staff use additional funding effectively to meet the individual learning needs of children. For instance, they provide children with additional sessions over lunchtime to help them build on their social skills.

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need to do better?

n Staff establish secure and trusting relationships with all children. They get to know each child and their personalities well. This helps staff plan activities that they know will interest children in their learning experiences. This helps all children to make good progress. Overall, children are engaged in their learning opportunities. However, at times, staff do not quickly identify children who would benefit from adult interaction. For example, they are not always aware when it would be beneficial to support a child to choose or join an activity. n All staff build and maintain positive relationships with parents. They communicate with them daily and keep them well involved and informed about their children's learning and achievements. Staff encourage parents to enjoy learning with their children. For instance, encouraging them to read books and create models with different materials together at home.

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need to do better?

n The manager closely monitors the good quality of care and teaching that staff provide. She routinely observes staff teaching children and gives them helpful feedback to consider. Staff work well as a team to evaluate their practice together. For example, at the end of each day, they discuss what they feel has gone well and what they would do differently next time. They use all their findings to enhance their future practice and activity plans. n All staff attend regular training and are keen to build on their already good skills

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need to do better?

16 March 2022 and knowledge. They have recently learned about different ways to consistently manage children's behaviour and support them to manage their emotions. As a result, children are more aware of the boundaries and what is expected of them. n Staff support all children to develop good communication skills. They consistently ask children thought-provoking questions. Staff give children enough time to think and then answer. Children are confident to share their thoughts and ideas. For example, they are excited to make a model television, place it on their heads as a mask and act out their own television show to their friends. n All staff have a good understanding of all areas of learning. Overall, they successfully help children gain skills to support their future learning. For instance, children are encouraged to be patient during group games. However, staff do not consistently encourage all children to carry out tasks that they are

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need to do better?

capable of completing themselves. This includes choosing their own play and resources with more confidence and independence. n Staff support children to gain a good understanding of the similarities and differences of people outside of their own experiences and communities. This includes traditions of other cultures and countries. For example, children learn about the Bulgarian tradition of wearing a badge to celebrate Baba Marta and welcoming in spring. Staff have recently attended training to fully understand families and children from all backgrounds.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and staff have a good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and child protection. This includes knowing who to contact to seek advice and how to raise and follow up potential concerns. Staff complete regular training to help them keep their knowledge up to date. They carry out detailed risk assessments to help keep children safe. This includes practice to minimise the risk of COVID-19. For example, there are thorough handwashing procedures in place. Staff ensure that they deploy staff well and risk assess the building, this includes making sure that the heating system remains working. This enables staff to ensure that they can keep the setting consistently safe and open for children who attend.

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should:

n provide guidance for staff to identify when children would benefit from adult interaction to encourage their enjoyment in learning even further n support staff to encourage children to be consistently independent and complete their own tasks.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 127309 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10228225 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 29 Name of registered person Kingswood Pre-School Group Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 07729499508 Date of previous inspection 19 September 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Kingswood Pre School Group registered in 2014. It is located in Kingswood, Maidstone in Kent. The setting is open Monday and Friday from 9am until 3pm, Tuesday from 9am to 12 midday and Wednesday and Thursday from 9am to 12.30pm, term time only. The setting receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The setting employs six members of staff, one of whom holds a relevant early years qualification at level 2 and four members of staff hold a relevant early years qualification at level 3.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The inspector carried out a learning walk with the manager. The inspector assessed the impact of the quality of staff interactions and the learning opportunities they provide children. n The inspector viewed the indoor and outdoor learning environments. n Written documentation was reviewed. This included safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures. n The inspector spoke to the manager, children, parents and staff at convenient times and considered their views.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

16 March 2022 regulates and inspects to 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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