Kingswood Pre-School

Building from their own drawings and explaining how to brush their teeth: practical learning gave Kingswood Pre-School its character in September 2023. At its September 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, found safeguarding effective and praised support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Based on Clay Hill Road in Basildon, the pre-school has capacity for 40 children, with an accepted age range of 24 to 60 months. Its term-time timetable makes the school-holiday calendar a practical consideration for families.

In September 2023, children could move between indoor activities and the outdoor space during their session. Construction play linked drawing with making: children put their ideas on paper before selecting bricks to build them. Outside, stilts gave them a chance to practise balance and coordination.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the September 2023 examples show what that meant in practice: conversation around a dentistry book developed vocabulary, while music and communication groups helped children practise expressing themselves, including those learning English as an additional language.

Snack time also became a learning opportunity that September. Children explored fruit before and after cutting, poured drinks themselves and offered milk to friends. These small tasks brought language, independence and social interaction into an everyday routine.

In September 2023, shorter initial attendances helped children become familiar with staff and the setting. A quiet, cosy area gave children somewhere to retreat from busier play. Parents contributed information about their children's existing skills, which staff combined with observations to plan their next steps.

That September, a dedicated SEND team observed children early in their attendance, and signing and visual prompts helped explain routines. Staff also exchanged information with other settings children attended and worked with teachers ahead of school transitions, supporting continuity between different parts of a child's day and their next stage.

Ofsted's September 2023 inspection also called for more consistent emotional support from key persons and fuller staff involvement in decisions about additional funding, so its effect on individual children's learning could be assessed more effectively. Those are meaningful qualifications to the positive judgement.

The address is Clay Hill Road, Basildon, SS16 5AD. Opening hours are 8.40am to 3pm from Monday to Thursday, and 8.40am to 11.40am on Friday, during term time; the pre-school closes for school holidays. Friday therefore requires an earlier collection arrangement than the other weekdays.

In September 2023, the pre-school provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four.

• Settling and reassurance. In September 2023, children who were unsettled did not consistently have their key person available. How is that continuity organised now during settling?
• Additional funding. The September 2023 improvement point concerned staff involvement in spending decisions and assessing their effect. This matters for families whose children receive additional support.
• Term-time planning. School-holiday closures and Friday's 11.40am finish need to fit the family's childcare arrangements.

Kingswood suits families seeking term-time preschool care with an earlier finish on Fridays. Its September 2023 picture combines practical, conversational learning with support for SEND, balanced by specific work needed on key-person consistency and additional-funding decisions. For parents, continuity of emotional support deserves as much attention as the activities themselves.