Cherry Tree Kids Club

A small, school-site club with 25 places, Cherry Tree Kids Club operates from Hillsgrove Primary School on Plynstock Road in Welling. Its most recent inspection, in July 2022, judged it Good across education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

This is sessional day care rather than a day nursery with a published long-day offer. The clearest evidence of its character comes from the inspection: children were happy and confident, understood familiar routines and made purposeful choices.

In July 2022, staff built activities around children's interests while setting clear learning intentions. A magnet investigation asked children to identify metal objects, with practitioners using questions and challenges to extend their thinking. Communication and language received sustained attention through books, songs, nursery rhymes and a weekly emphasis on rich vocabulary; children used words including symmetrical and transparent.

Inspectors saw practical examples outdoors: children developed coordination, strength and balance, then practised safe knife use while cutting vegetables for snacks. Early writing was the weaker point. The 2022 report asked leaders to make mark-making and writing opportunities easier to access, especially outdoors.

Familiar routines gave children reassurance in July 2022, while staff expectations supported positive attitudes to learning. Parents told inspectors that they valued information about progress and the support provided by the setting's leadership.

The 2022 inspection highlighted responsive, coordinated support for children with special educational needs and disabilities as a strength. Safeguarding arrangements were effective at the inspection: staff understood how to report concerns, kept their knowledge current and completed daily checks of indoor and outdoor areas.

The club is based at Hillsgrove Primary School, Plynstock Road, Welling DA16 1DR, and has 25 places in total. Its Early Years Foundation Stage framework connects play and adult-guided activity to communication, physical development and early literacy. Families should treat it as sessional provision and discuss the precise attendance pattern directly before relying on it for a working-week schedule.

In July 2022, children helped to prepare snacks by cutting vegetables and could explain how healthy foods and vitamins support the body.

• Attendance pattern. The club is recorded as sessional day care, but no provider-published timetable accompanies the evidence. Families need the precise days and session boundaries before deciding whether it covers their childcare week.
• Early writing. The July 2022 inspection asked leaders to improve access to mark-making and early-writing activities, particularly outdoors. Parents for whom school-readiness is a priority should explore how that area has developed since the visit.
• Current practical terms. Fees, funded entitlement, food and consumables need to be covered in the club's current written terms. Those details materially affect both weekly logistics and the true cost of a place.

Cherry Tree Kids Club's strongest case rests on a Good 2022 inspection with concrete strengths in language, purposeful interaction, physical development and SEND support. Its small 25-place scale may appeal to families seeking sessional care on the Hillsgrove Primary School site. Families should balance that case against the unpublished practical arrangements and the inspection's two educational improvement points: easier access to early-writing opportunities and more focused staff support and professional development. This is sessional provision, so it best suits families whose childcare week aligns with the club's current pattern rather than those requiring a long-day commitment.