Happy Feet Pre-School

Snail hotels, birdwatching through binoculars and obstacle courses made from tyres gave Happy Feet Pre-School's outdoor learning a practical character in July 2021. At its July 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the setting Good overall, with the same grade across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.

Based at The Ark Christian Centre in Dover, Happy Feet has capacity for 44 children aged 24 to 60 months. It opens during term time, Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 3.30pm, with school holidays closed.

In July 2021, the early years foundation stage took shape through conversation, stories, singing and physical exploration. Children chose books for themselves and joined familiar passages as staff read aloud. These experiences gave them opportunities to practise listening and speaking while taking an active part in their learning.

Outdoor resources made exploration tangible that July. Children constructed shelters for snails using natural materials, put out bird food and used binoculars to identify the birds. Planks and tyres became obstacle courses, giving children opportunities to practise balance and coordination through something they had helped create.

Staff also used children's interests and assessments of their development to plan activities in July 2021. Group work was less consistent: waiting for sand play led some children to lose interest, while nearby activities distracted others during group times. The improvement priorities concerned both organising participation and planning groups around children's learning needs.

At the July 2021 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well included in activities and routines. Those are dated judgements, rather than a current assessment.

In July 2021, staff reinforced vocabulary during conversations, including with children learning English as an additional language. Children also helped one another with practical tasks, such as carrying a friend's lunch box and finding a chair so they could sit together. Support was visible in small interactions.

Staff training and observations of teaching were part of the management arrangements that July. Children practised thinking about safety themselves by checking the obstacle courses they had built before using them.

The address is The Ark Christian Centre, The Hamlets, Noahs Ark Road, Dover, CT17 0DD. Opening hours are 8.30am to 3.30pm on weekdays during term time, so the calendar matters as much as the daily finish time for working families.

In July 2021, the setting received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. That describes participation at the time of that visit.

• Group participation. In July 2021, some children lost interest while waiting for activities or became distracted during group work. On a visit, look at how staff organise turns and keep children involved.
• Term-time planning. The setting closes during school holidays. Before joining, ask how funded attendance and any meal or consumables arrangements would work for your child's proposed pattern.

Happy Feet suits families seeking term-time childcare with a weekday finish of 3.30pm. Its July 2021 outdoor experiences offer a concrete picture of children building, observing and experimenting, while the group-play findings give parents a useful point to explore. The Good judgement belongs to July 2021; it should be read with that date in mind.