Faces kids club, Brentwood

A dedicated sensory room, speech and language sessions and a full-time SENCo give Faces a clear identity: practical support sits alongside play and early learning. Preschool, care around the school day and holiday activities share the Sawyers Hall Lane setting in Brentwood. That breadth makes it relevant to families with children at different stages, rather than solely those choosing their first preschool.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. The strongest details from that visit were tangible: wall-mounted vehicle tracks, an obstacle course and a quiet space for reading and resting. These are dated observations, rather than promises about today's activities.

Faces has 50 places in total. Its preschool caters for children aged 2 to 5, with a term-time day running from 9am to 3pm; separate clubs serve older children. The distinction matters when comparing an early-years place with care organised around school attendance.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the foundation for learning and care, with play used to develop children's communication, relationships and understanding. Faces organises its preschool curriculum into 12 themes, beginning with the child, their emotions and family before expanding towards friendships, the community and the wider world. This gives the learning a recognisable sequence, starting with subjects young children know personally.

EYLog, the online learning journal, holds photographs, observations and next steps for parents to view. It gives families something concrete to follow beyond a brief account of the day's activities, and connects what children are doing with what staff plan next.

In January 2023, children's interest in vehicles had prompted staff to install tracks on a wall, allowing cars to travel down between sections. Easels supported early writing, while pretend teaching gave children a way to use their imagination. These examples show how interests were translated into resources and play, rather than kept separate from learning.

Play dough disco was another January 2023 activity: children worked dough with their hands while music played, practising movements useful for later writing. Its value was in the link between an enjoyable physical activity and a specific learning purpose. Children also chose their activities, giving them opportunities to practise making decisions.

Outdoor and Community Life

A secure outdoor play area supports daily movement and exploration. For children spending their preschool day here, access to outdoor play adds a different setting for learning rather than making the whole day depend on indoor activities.

In January 2023, an obstacle course combined balancing on steppingstones, moving between tyres and throwing bean bags towards targets. Children encouraged one another and waited for turns. Bubble play offered a different kind of experiment, with children changing how forcefully they blew and moving around to catch the bubbles.

Animal care also featured that January: children supplied the setting's tortoise with water and food. This made responsibility concrete. Discussions and celebrations drew on the cultures and nationalities of children attending, linking learning about other people to the group itself.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is organised around the child's key worker. When separation is difficult, the approach uses brief periods apart: the key worker remains with the child, helps them become calm and shares a positive activity before the parent returns. The time apart then increases gradually. Families considering Faces should understand that this approach involves leaving and returning, rather than staying throughout the session.

In January 2023, staff knew their key children and used conversation to introduce new vocabulary. Parents received updates about children's activities and learning during the day. The current EYLog journal adds a continuing record that families can revisit, with observations and photographs alongside planned next steps.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support has several defined mechanisms. A full-time SENCo works across the provisions, and children with identified needs have an individual One Plan developed with their family. Work with outside agencies is part of that arrangement. The plan gives family and staff a shared basis for discussing the child's support.

Talk Boost is a speech and language intervention for children aged 3 to 4 who need help with communication. Trained staff deliver it to small groups. This is a specific intervention alongside the everyday curriculum, rather than a general claim that every child's language needs will be met in the same way.

The dedicated sensory room provides a separate space within the setting. In January 2023, the sensory and quiet room was used for relaxing, reading and thinking; staff also used pictures to help children communicate needs, and signs, symbols and books to support conversations about feelings. Staff had undertaken special educational needs training and adapted activities for individual children.

Each preschool session includes a fruit snack at no extra charge. It is a straightforward part of the day, with the food position kept separate from the support and learning arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

Preschool runs Monday to Friday in term time, from 9am to 3pm. Breakfast club operates from 7.30am to 9am, and after-school club from 3pm to 6pm, also on term-time weekdays. These are separate attendance patterns, giving families a preschool day or care on either side of school.

The dedicated wraparound provision caters for ages 4 to 11. Holiday Club also caters for children aged 4 to 11, with a day running from 8.30am to 5.30pm. Its activities include crafts, sport, games and outdoor play. Both wraparound and holiday bookings use Magic Booking, the online booking system.

Getting There

The address is C/O Becket Keys School, Sawyers Hall Lane, Brentwood, CM15 9DA. Enquiries can be made by telephone, text or email. Being based at a school does not guarantee a Reception place through attendance at Faces.

Funding and Paid Extras

Faces offers 15 and 30 hour funded preschool places, delivered in term time. Its funding information also identifies some 2-year-olds as potentially eligible; a funded entitlement should not be read as a guarantee of eligibility for every family.

The daily fruit snack is included as standard, and a Faces uniform is included in the cost of the preschool place. There is no registration charge. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which families can use to compare their intended attendance pattern and any additional items.

• Holiday attendance days. Holiday Club information gives both Monday to Friday and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Confirm the operating days for the holiday you need before planning work around a booking.
• Settling through short separations. The key worker supports the child while the parent leaves and later returns, with time apart increasing gradually. At a visit, discuss how that process would be adapted to your child and your family's schedule.
• Consistency in staff practice. In January 2023, staff needed more consistent reminders about rules and boundaries, and better opportunities to discuss professional development. Ask how supervision and shared expectations work now.
• The funded-place quotation. Preschool includes fruit snacks and a uniform, with no registration charge. Ask how meals, non-food consumables and any hours beyond your entitlement would be handled for your proposed pattern.

Faces suits families seeking a term-time preschool day, breakfast or after-school care, or holiday activities for older children. Its strongest current reasons to consider it are concrete: a full-time SENCo, individual One Plans, Talk Boost and a dedicated sensory room. EYLog also gives parents a continuing view of learning.

The January 2023 Good judgement provides a dated quality reference, alongside specific improvements required in staff development and consistency. The decision is therefore about both the attendance pattern and how the support arrangements would work for your child. The holiday-day conflict deserves resolution before booking.