Kind Hearts Preschool, St Georges

A mud kitchen, sand play and a quiet outdoor story corner give Kind Hearts Preschool, St Georges a recognisable character: practical exploration sits alongside space to pause. The preschool operates at St Georges Church on Ongar Road in Brentwood and has capacity for 40 children. These are places across the setting, rather than a promise about the size of an individual group.

Ofsted rated the preschool Good on 20 April 2022, with teaching consistency identified as the area requiring further work. Children attending that visit were aged two to four. The strongest detail from that period concerns learning through children's interests, relationships with key persons and cooperation with families.

Morning, afternoon and full-day patterns are offered, alongside an optional Monday lunch club. The shorter Monday opening makes the weekly timetable an important part of the decision.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday experiences contribute to their learning. It is the baseline for provision here, rather than an extra programme.

In April 2022, children's interests shaped their activities. A water experiment involved making predictions about objects floating or sinking, then trying those ideas out. When water overflowed, the play continued with boots and puddles. This gives parents a concrete picture of learning that can change direction as children explore, rather than ending when the original activity is finished.

The same April 2022 account describes an expanded role-play area, with extra resources responding to its popularity. Children could develop imaginative games together, while the climbing frame gave them opportunities to practise physical skills and learn how to use equipment safely.

Teaching was uneven in April 2022. Some practitioners used questions to develop children's ideas and language; others were less confident about taking an activity further. The improvement action concerned developing staff understanding so that teaching became more consistent. For parents, the important distinction is between supplying an appealing activity and helping a child gain more from it.

Outdoor and Community Life

The St Georges play areas include the Mud kitchen and sand pit, an Outdoor story/ quiet corner, and a Construction/ exploration area. These offer different starting points for play: handling materials, spending time with stories and experimenting with construction. The story corner also gives quieter play a place outdoors.

St Georges also has a Home Corner/ loose parts play area and areas for technology and physical play. The combination matters more than a long activity list. Children have spaces for imaginative play, open-ended exploration and movement, with quieter alternatives in the same setting.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2022, key persons knew the children they cared for and could explain their next learning steps. Information from parents before children started contributed to this understanding, while observations and conversations helped staff decide what to work on next. That links a child's home experience with their preschool learning.

Communication also had a practical purpose in April 2022. Staff gave families feedback and advice for supporting learning at home, and parents and practitioners worked together on behaviour support plans. This was more than an account of which activities a child had completed: it connected daily experiences with shared responses to difficulties.

The key-person policy allocates a familiar adult before a child begins and provides a replacement contact when that practitioner is absent. Settling is agreed with parents, with an expectation that a parent or close relative stays on the premises or nearby during the first week, and longer where needed. Families need to allow time for that gradual separation.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with SEND well supported, with staff, parents and external agencies planning around individual needs. Those are dated findings, rather than a current guarantee for any particular child.

The health policy accommodates children who still wear nappies and treats toilet learning as a skill supported with parents. Families supply nappies or pull-ups, changing wipes and nappy sacks. This is useful for children whose progress with toileting does not match their progress in other areas.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Georges Church, Ongar Road, Brentwood, CM15 9HR. Branch enquiries can be made on 01277 500070 or through the St Georges enquiry route.

Opening hours are 8.45am to 11.45am on Monday, with an optional lunch club from 11.45am to 12.45pm. From Tuesday to Friday, the preschool opens from 8.45am to 2.45pm. Morning and afternoon sessions are offered, and the charging structure also recognises full-day and half-day sessions.

A term calendar includes breaks for half terms, Christmas, Easter and summer. Families matching preschool attendance to work need to account for those holiday periods as well as Monday's shorter opening. The waiting-list policy orders children by date of birth, while allowing consideration of siblings, additional needs, proximity and the date of application; joining the list does not guarantee a place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is accepted for two- and three-year-old children, including universal and extended entitlement, and private hours are charged separately. For funded children at St Georges, a separate consumables contribution applies to full-day and half-day sessions and is voluntary. Current prices belong in the preschool's written quotation.

Parents provide food for snacks and packed lunches where needed, and the food policy discourages children from exchanging food. Nappies and changing supplies also come from home, alongside the voluntary consumables contribution for funded sessions.

Transition arrangements involve parents and the receiving school or early years setting, with appropriate developmental information shared to support the move. This helps the next setting understand a child's learning and needs.

• Teaching consistency. The April 2022 improvement action concerned differences in how practitioners developed children's learning. At a visit, ask how staff now extend a child's chosen activity and share effective teaching practice.
• Monday and holiday cover. Monday has a shorter opening, with an optional lunch club, and attendance follows a term calendar. Consider how that pattern fits your family's working week and holiday arrangements.
• Time to settle. The settling policy expects a parent or close relative to remain on site or nearby during the first week, potentially longer. Plan that time before the starting date.
• Food and individual needs. Food comes from home and the health policy uses allergy risk assessments. Allergy-affected families should confirm current arrangements for their child's food and any emergency medication.

Kind Hearts Preschool, St Georges suits families looking for morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as those wanting full-day attendance within its opening timetable. The mud kitchen, outdoor story corner and construction space give children concrete choices about how to spend their time.

The April 2022 judgement provides a positive starting point, balanced by a clear concern about teaching consistency. The most useful visit conversation is therefore about how practitioners turn children's interests into further learning, alongside the practical demands of settling, Monday attendance and term holidays.