The Brent Playgroup

Inspection of The Brent Playgroup Brent Methodist Church, St. Vincents Road, Dartford DA1 1XF

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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 Inadequate

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The provision is good

Children arrive happily and confidently leave their parents and carers. They are warmly greeted by staff who know them well and provide good levels of support for their individual needs. Children have close bonds with their key person and show they feel safe and settled. Staff work closely with parents to gather information about children's interests and identify their starting points. Overall, they use this information well to plan an effective curriculum to help children build on what they already know and can do. Children develop good levels of confidence and self-esteem. Staff encourage children to manage their self-care independently. Children learn to put on their coat, wash their hands and serve their own snack. They also tidy away resources and learn how to care for their environment. Staff provide children with a range of activities to help develop their physical skills. For example, children move their bodies as they dance while listening to music.

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The provision is good

Furthermore, they construct models with building bricks and practise throwing and catching with balls. This helps to develop children's large-muscle skills.

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The provision is good

Children's behaviour is good. Staff are positive role models for children. They are deployed well throughout the playgroup and join in with children's play. They support children to learn to take turns, play with their friends and develop good manners. These skills help to support children to be ready for their eventual move on to school. Staff give lots of praise and encouragement in everything children do. This helps to build children's sense of achievement.

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need to do better?

n The manager has a positive attitude towards continuous improvement and has taken action to address previous weaknesses. She has worked very closely with other agencies, which has had a positive impact on the quality of learning that children receive. The manager carries out regular development reviews for staff, who benefit from ongoing training to develop their practice. She is working effectively with staff to drive the quality of teaching to a consistently high level. n Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills well. Staff make good use of repetition to ensure that children hear the correct pronunciation of words. They ensure that children hear a variety of vocabulary to help strengthen their language development. However, at times, staff do not give children enough time to respond to their questions. For example, they often answer for children or quickly move on to another question. As a result, children

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need to do better?

do not always have the opportunity to think and respond. n Staff incorporate mathematics into activities and children's play. They model counting as children build a tower with building bricks. Furthermore, staff encourage children to count out objects, match numbers and compare size and quantity. Overall, children are developing good mathematical skills.

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need to do better?

7 March 2024 n Children are excited to explore and investigate with a range of sensory play activities. Staff encourage children to use different tools and think of ways they can get toy dinosaurs out of blocks of ice. This helps to spark their imagination and encourages them to share their ideas. n Staff provide plenty of opportunities to develop children's hand-eye coordination and small-muscle skills. This helps to support their pre-writing skills. Children concentrate well as they use magnetic rods to connect objects, place balls into tubes and use brushes to create paintings. n The support in place for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is good. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals involved in children's care. This helps to ensure that they receive consistent support in their learning and development. Children make good progress in relation to their capabilities.

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need to do better?

n Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents highly praise the manager and her dedicated team. They say that their children are happy, settled and make good progress. Staff keep parents informed about their children's learning through daily discussions and individual online learning journals. n Staff plan activities to teach children about celebrations such as Christmas and Chinese New Year. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to deepen their awareness of cultural diversity among themselves and learn about the wider world.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n support staff to develop their practice so that they consistently give children time to think and respond to questions asked n strengthen opportunities for children to learn about diversity and the wider world.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2660402 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10313161 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 35 Number of children on roll 33 Name of registered person Barden, Kirsty

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reference number

Telephone number 07447494693 Date of previous inspection 14 September 2023

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Information about this early years setting

The Brent Playgroup registered under its current registration in 2021. It is located in Dartford, Kent. The playgroup is open from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 8am to 1pm. The playgroup employs eight members of staff. Of these, six hold qualifications at level 2 or 3. The playgroup provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with the manager and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the playgroup. n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want children to learn. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities and assessed the impact on children's learning. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation. n The inspector held discussions with staff, children and parents at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector looked at a sample of documentation, including evidence of staff's suitability.

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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

7 March 2024 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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