Forest Kindergarten

Inspection of Forest Kindergarten Woodland Next To Little Quornden Farm, Emmetts Lane, Ide Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent TN14 6BD

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is outstanding

Children are extremely confident and settle quickly into their play environment. They know the staff very well and develop exceptionally close and effective relationships with them. This helps them to feel extremely secure, welcome and well cared for. For example, young children comfortably settle into staff's laps for cuddles, reading books together and talking about their day.

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The provision is outstanding

Children freely explore and experiment throughout the natural and nurturing play environment. They show very high levels of confidence to extend their physical skills, through an abundance of positive experiences. They constantly test their ability and their sense of safety. Staff provide an exceptional and sensitive approach to installing confidence, positive attitudes and pride in children's new found skills.

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The provision is outstanding

Children develop strong and respectful relationships with their peers, supporting each other's learning by inviting others into their play. They develop positive attitudes towards sharing their talents and achievements with others and develop powerful skills to collaborate their play highly successfully.

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The provision is outstanding

Children develop a rich knowledge of language, vocabulary and skills to communicate their needs. They use very elaborate and expressive language to describe their play, to develop their imaginations and creative minds. Staff purposefully extend their vocabulary by introducing new words, to securely embed the use them throughout their play.

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The provision is outstanding

Staff celebrate children's uniqueness. Children feel positive about their achievements and openly and proudly share these with others. Staff recognise how each child learns. They provide a stimulating and challenging environment in which children reach their full potential.

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need to do better?

n Staff are very effective educators. They use natural environments to extensively promote children's creative thinking and problem-solving. They use carefully worded questions to probe children's knowledge, helping them to recall past experiences. Children take time to absorb information from staff, to think about their knowledge and to respond in their own time and words. n Staff are eager to learn and develop their professional knowledge. They are proactive in their approach to training, sourcing information. They use this very effectively to make immediate changes to the learning environment for individual children. n Children learn to take safe risks. They have a can-do attitude, understanding

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need to do better?

14 June 2022 their own physical capabilities. Staff actively encourage children to test their abilities through trial and error. Children are very capable of assessing natural hazards and confidently extend their learning. For example, children pull ropes but stop due to the rope being stuck in a fallen branch. They quickly question why, change the direction and movement to ensure that it does not get stuck again. n Children engage in plentiful opportunities to increase their ability to recall and develop story telling strategies. Staff meaningfully engage with children to capture their imaginations, through the use of music, to think about their story. They describe characters in great detail, telling others what they look like and what their adventure is. This fully supports children's imaginations and their confidence to express themselves through descriptive talk. It also helps them to concentrate to complete a story.

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need to do better?

n Children develop very confident knowledge of mathematical concepts. Staff encourage children to use natural environments to learn about numbers, amounts, shape, measure, weight and movement. For example, children use sticks and rocks to compare weight in two buckets that are hung from a tree. They watch the movement of the buckets to calculate which is heavier. n Parents make extremely positive comments about the partnership they have with staff. They comment about the excellent level of care and education their children receive. Staff know their children very well and provide an individual service for each of them, according to their abilities and their personalities. n Children show increasingly high levels of independence. They make choices for themselves as to where to play, and who and what to play with. They confidently adapt their environment to successfully achieve their aims. Children learn to use equipment to meet their needs very effectively. They independently

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need to do better?

use bottles of water and soap to wash their hands, showing a clear understanding of personal hygiene. They show a great respect for each other when using the outdoor toilets by giving each other privacy and dignity. n Staff work tirelessly to support children's transitions to other settings. They develop positive communication with schools and provide children with information about the schools to support their confidence to attend full-time education. They show a deep respect for parent's choices as to whether to defer their school attendance or to home school their children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have a very good understanding of how to promote the ongoing safety of children. They have robust knowledge of procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child in their care. They are very aware of the signs and symptoms of child abuse. Children play safely, freely exploring their play environment. This is because staff and management complete thorough risk assessment themselves and through the additional use of specialists. Effective procedures are in place to protect children from other users of the woods, working in partnership with dog owners and horse riders to provide a safe environment for both children and other

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Safeguarding

14 June 2022 users. This also help children to form an understanding of community.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2502061 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10194381 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 41 Name of registered person Forest Kindergarten LTD

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reference number

Telephone number 07718896919 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Forest Kindergarten registered in 2018. It operates from a privately owned wooded area in Ide Hill, Near Sevenoaks, Kent. It is open term time only, Monday to Friday, from 9am until 2pm. The setting employs 10 staff who work with the children. Of these, four are qualified to level 6, and three are qualified to level 3. The setting is in receipt of funded places for three- and four-year-old children.

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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 manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want their children to learn. n The inspector spoke to children to find out about their time at the setting. n The inspector talked to staff at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation during snack time. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The manager showed the inspector documentation to demonstrate the suitability of staff.

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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

14 June 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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