Stepping Stones Pre-School

A climbing tree, an outdoor easel and freedom to move between garden and hall give Stepping Stones Pre-School its character. At Kendall Hall near Wincheap in Canterbury, children can follow an idea from indoor play into outdoor exploration, rather than keeping the two parts of their day separate. The emphasis is on children's interests, with staff adapting activities to what they enjoy and need.

Ofsted rated the setting Outstanding at its inspection on 30 June 2023. That judgement is a dated assessment, while the present offer welcomes children aged two to five and has 24 places in total. Morning and afternoon sessions run during term time.

For parents, the strongest practical combination is outdoor choice and a deliberate link between home and preschool. A home visit and pre-start questionnaire help staff understand each child before they begin; later, families contribute to learning through shared updates and a recurring week of individual attention.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day through play and activities across its areas of learning. Here, staff develop activities around children's interests and needs, with construction, art, books and pretend play among the choices. Towards the session's end, smaller groups gather for singing, rhymes or a story. That gives children both time to pursue their own ideas and a shared activity with others.

Independence has a practical place in the routine. Children help serve their morning snack and clear up afterwards. There are bikes, scooters and trikes for movement, while water, sand and the mud kitchen give children materials to investigate. These are concrete choices within the session, rather than an activity timetable that requires everyone to do the same thing together.

In June 2023, staff introduced skills and vocabulary before children explored activities for themselves. Pots and foam became an opportunity to practise listening and use newly introduced words. Number learning also ran through ordinary tasks: children counted snack portions, matched quantities to number frames and used language about amounts while threading beads. The useful detail is how learning entered play and everyday routines, rather than remaining a separate exercise.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden includes a climbing tree and an outdoor easel, with children able to choose between indoor and outdoor spaces. Painting, movement and experimenting with water or sand can therefore sit alongside quieter indoor choices. The freedom to change spaces is a substantial part of the experience.

Community support has helped develop that environment. In 2020, Canterbury City Council Councillor's Opportunities Fund financed a transparent outdoor easel for art and mark-making. A separate project funded in 2021 brought children and older people together through Age UK Canterbury. These are dated projects, but they show specific ways the preschool's community links have supported children's experiences.

In June 2023, outings included the cathedral, parks and library, and children helped decide how to reach their destinations. Staff also made photograph books about trips, linking familiar places with reading. The connection matters: children could revisit an experience through a book, rather than treating the outing and subsequent learning as unrelated activities.

Relationships and Communication

A key person supports each child's relationship with the setting. Before starting, families are offered a home visit and complete a questionnaire so that needs can be identified together. This gives the preschool a concrete starting point for discussions about settling and support.

Baby’s Days is the online system used for communication: families and staff exchange photographs and updates about development, and the preschool shares news, policies and safeguarding procedures there. It brings information from home into the preschool conversation as well as sending information out.

Three times a year, each child has a focus child week, when staff concentrate on strengths through that child's interests. Families contribute photographs and information, and the key person finishes the week with a video and ideas for activities at home. The arrangement gives parents a defined opportunity to contribute, with something practical to use afterwards.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A dedicated Special Educational Needs Coordinator works with families, and outside agencies are involved where appropriate. At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities excellent and safeguarding effective. Those judgements belong to that inspection date.

In June 2023, an enclosed swing and a tent were used to support children with sensory needs. Staff also used repeated routines and visual timetables to help children understand the day. These examples give parents useful subjects for a conversation about how their own child's needs would fit the setting.

School preparation also has a social marker: during term six, the preschool holds a celebration for children leaving to begin school the following September. Christmas and Easter community events, a sports day and a summer event provide other occasions for families to participate.

Sessions and Attendance

Stepping Stones is at Kendall Hall, Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, CT1 3JN. It opens on weekdays during term time, from 8.30am to 2.30pm. The two booking sessions are 8.30am to 11.30am and 11.30am to 2.30pm, making morning and afternoon attendance separate options.

Enrolment and waiting-list requests use the Registration Form. Other enquiries can go through the contact form, and visits take place during a working session. For families comparing preschool routines, that visiting format offers a chance to see the activities and schedule in use.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded and fee-paying children are both accepted. For children over two, the preschool accepts up to 30 hours of government-funded childcare, delivered within its term-time opening pattern. Eligibility remains a condition of funding; the preschool's accepted age range is two to five.

Private sessions are billed at the start of each term, three times a year, and payment plans can be discussed. Tax Free Childcare payments are accepted. Families using funded hours are encouraged to make a voluntary contribution to the charity; that is separate from the funded entitlement. Current prices come in the preschool's written quotation.

Children are offered a morning snack, and those attending lunchtime eat a packed lunch together under staff supervision.

• Term-time timetable. Morning sessions end at 11.30am and afternoon sessions at 2.30pm. Compare both patterns with your working day and school-holiday arrangements before choosing attendance.
• Individual support. Home visits, the questionnaire and the Special Educational Needs Coordinator provide starting points for planning. During a visit, discuss how the indoor and outdoor choices would work for your child's sensory and settling needs.
• Lunch and everyday supplies. Lunchtime involves a packed lunch, while a snack is offered during the morning. Ask what families should supply and how snack and non-food consumable costs apply to your chosen funded or private sessions.

Stepping Stones suits families seeking a term-time preschool with a choice of morning or afternoon sessions, freedom to use indoor and outdoor spaces, and structured opportunities to contribute from home. The climbing tree, painting space and mud kitchen give that offer physical substance; Baby’s Days and focus child weeks give family involvement a practical form.

Its Outstanding judgement dates to June 2023. The decision today rests on how this particular timetable and play-based routine fit your child and household, with the home visit and individual support arrangements providing useful foundations for that fit.