River Mole Pre-school (Cobham)

River Mole Pre-school (Cobham)

Unique reference number (URN): 2764889 Address: Cobham Village Hall, Lushington Drive, Cobham, KT11 2LU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 04/12/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: River Mole Pre-school (Cobham) Ltd

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children secure and retain the foundational knowledge they need for later learning. They confidently use new vocabulary, recall previous learning and apply what they know in different contexts. For example, children remember that another name for a whale is an 'orca' and use this spontaneously during imaginative play. During water play investigations, children determine how different tools affect the speed and flow of water and use mathematical terms such as 'full' and 'empty' to describe weight.

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Achievement Strong standard

Early literacy and mathematical skills develop effectively. Children recognise letters, trace shapes with control and handle tools with increasing precision. They apply these skills independently during play, showing a clear transfer of early writing across different contexts. During self-registration, children talk about the letters in their names, demonstrating a deepening awareness of letters and sounds. Children also compare quantities, explore capacity, match numbers and explore length and shape, such as when adapting play dough models to make objects shorter or longer.

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Achievement Strong standard

All children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make secure progress from their individual starting points. They listen attentively, follow instructions, cooperate with others and show increasing independence. These positive outcomes mean that children are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children thrive in a calm, positive environment where expectations for behaviour are clear and fully embedded. Staff model respectful language and calm responses, helping children learn how to manage their feelings and respond thoughtfully to others. Children show confidence, emotional stability and secure social skills. They take turns, share resources willingly and support their friends with kindness.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Routines and transitions are well taught and highly consistent. Children self-register on arrival, respond immediately when the bell signals tidy-up time and understand the flow of the day. Snack routines are secure. Children select fruit using tongs, pour drinks and clear away plates, showing independent cooperation. Staff adapt expectations sensitively for younger children and those who face barriers to learning so that everyone participates successfully.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children show enthusiasm for learning and approach new experiences with curiosity. They sustain attention during activities and show resilience when tasks become challenging. Structured child-initiated games help children develop listening, counting and early school readiness skills. Children confidently predict outcomes, showing secure understanding of number and sequence. These routines reinforce expectations that underpin the curriculum, and leaders promote regular attendance through collaborative relationships with families.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are consistently prioritised. Staff know children deeply and respond with warmth and sensitive support, helping them feel safe, settled and emotionally secure. Settling-in procedures are effective, enabling even the newest children to build trusting relationships quickly and separate from parents with confidence.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children develop a secure understanding of their emotions. Staff use stories, visual prompts and calm, supportive conversations to help children recognise, name and manage their feelings. Children use simple colour-coded tools to show how they feel, and staff use these insights to identify patterns and provide timely support. Groups of children talk together about why someone might feel a certain emotion, showing growing emotional literacy.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Healthy habits are promoted naturally throughout the daily routine. Children learn about handwashing through simple songs, explore nutritious snacks and enjoy physical activities that support their gross motor and fine motor development. Children show confidence and independence as they make choices, manage familiar routines and form positive relationships with staff and peers. Parents value the nurturing environment and its positive impact on their children's wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum that reflects children's interests, starting points and developmental needs. Curiosity, creativity and exploration are central to this design, with communication and language, personal, social and emotional development and physical development given clear priority. Teaching across the team is consistently purposeful and of high quality.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Interactions are meaningful and rooted in a secure understanding of child development. Staff use ongoing assessment to adapt experiences in real time, modelling rich language, extending children's thinking and using visual supports to clarify expectations. Staff carry children's next steps with them, enabling them to respond skilfully to emerging learning opportunities during play. For example, during play, staff intentionally use open-ended questions to prompt children to think critically, test ideas and explain what they observe.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Circle time is delivered in a lively, engaging way that encourages children to listen closely to clues and make connections with their topic knowledge. Staff sensitively scaffold imaginative play to deliberately develop vocabulary and social communication. Teaching is highly responsive, ensuring that interactions are seamlessly adapted so all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, learn alongside their peers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have created a highly inclusive culture where children's individual needs are identified quickly and supported effectively. Staff use visual prompts, targeted language and Makaton to help children understand routines, express their needs and engage fully with others. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those who speak English as an additional language and those facing barriers to learning, participate confidently in daily routines through consistent repetition and clear visual cues.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff work closely with families and external professionals to implement timely, structured support. Adaptations to the environment are thoughtfully planned so that children participate fully alongside their peers. Small-group sessions strengthen turn-taking, attention and shared enjoyment. Staff use simple breathing routines to help children settle and self- regulate, while monitoring children's progress carefully to refine targeted support.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders direct additional funding strategically, ensuring that specialised resources and targeted staff training improve outcomes for disadvantaged children. Parents value the tailored guidance they receive and report noticeable improvements in their children's communication and social development at home.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have established a clear, ambitious vision centred on inclusion, communication and wellbeing. This vision is reflected in daily practice, staff interactions and curriculum design. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and priorities and take thoughtful decisions that support children's learning and progression.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Monitoring is purposeful and has strengthened key aspects of teaching practice and children's learning experiences. Systems for tracking progress are well established and used by staff to identify gaps, inform next steps and secure timely interventions. Information about children's current learning goals is embedded within the environment, enabling staff to adapt interactions in real time and demonstrate how curriculum intent translates into daily provision.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Supervision, professional discussions and team meetings ensure that staff respond swiftly and effectively to children's changing needs. Leaders review the impact of interventions and use additional funding carefully to refine provision. Staff feel valued and supported. Leaders are mindful of workload and wellbeing and ensure that professional development strengthens practice across the team. Leaders work effectively with external agencies to secure coordinated support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive happily and settle quickly at this welcoming setting, greeted by staff who respond with warmth and sensitivity. Children separate from their parents with confidence because they know that staff understand them well and respond promptly to their needs. Staff communicate using speech, simple signs and visual prompts, which children use independently to express ideas, make choices and share their feelings. This helps all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, feel understood, valued and included from the moment they arrive.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children explore the environment with curiosity and enthusiasm. They move confidently between areas, selecting resources that interest them and sustaining their play for extended periods. Children test ideas, solve problems and enjoy activities that build their independence, such as pouring water, transporting materials or arranging natural objects they find outdoors. They show care for their environment by watering plants and noticing changes in the garden. Children talk confidently about concepts such as full and empty and heavy and light, and they enjoy sharing their discoveries with their friends.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children behave kindly and respectfully. They cooperate, take turns and respond positively to gentle guidance from staff. Children show growing emotional awareness. They use a simple colour-coded area and familiar stories to help them recognise and talk about their feelings, and they use signs alongside speech to express how they feel. These routines help children understand their emotions and develop secure friendships.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children develop a strong sense of belonging. They see themselves and their families represented on a dedicated family board and enjoy shared experiences, such as preparing for community events or joining in with familiar songs and games. These positive relationships and inclusive routines help children feel secure, connected and ready to learn. Children show pride in their achievements and approach new experiences with confidence, knowing that staff celebrate their efforts and value their individuality.

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to refine professional development to ensure emerging best practice becomes embedded consistently across the team and sustained over time.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator, parents, carers and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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

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Address:

Cobham Village Hall Lushington Drive Cobham KT11 2LU

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: River Mole Pre-school (Cobham) Ltd

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 08:30 - 16:00,Friday : 08:30 - 13:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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2 to 4

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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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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