Linden Leas Pre School

Linden Leas Pre School is a term-time setting for children aged two to five, based at Hawes Down Infant School on The Mead in West Wickham. It has capacity for 33 children. Its clearest character comes from an ambitious, language-rich day in which children make choices, solve problems together and take meaningful responsibility.

Ofsted judged the pre-school Outstanding in October 2023 across education, behaviour, personal development, and leadership and management. The same inspection found safeguarding effective. This is a small setting with a very strong recent inspection picture.

The Early Years Foundation Stage frames learning across communication, physical and personal development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts. Here, that statutory framework was delivered through play, conversation and practical investigation at the October 2023 inspection rather than formal lessons.

The examples are unusually specific. Children searched for shapes and used mathematical language to describe them. They tested different lengths of piping by dropping them and listening to the sounds, while practitioners used open-ended questions to develop their understanding of cause and effect. Books also had a visible place: children used props to retell We're Going on a Bear Hunt and sustained their attention as stories developed.

Creativity and social learning met in a fashion-show project, with children designing T-shirts and drawing themselves. Imaginative play included working out how to share pieces of cake, while outdoors children cooperated to carry large hoops. These experiences turn abstract aims such as confidence, language and collaboration into parts of the ordinary day.

Relationships were a major strength in October 2023. Children felt safe, made independent choices and showed consistently positive attitudes. Practitioners knew individual needs well and adapted their questioning so that children, including those with SEND, made rapid progress.

Support for SEND included early identification, detailed plans, a SENCo and coordination with other agencies, including speech and language specialists. Communication with families combined daily discussions, app updates, parents' evenings and ideas for learning at home. Parents also contributed knowledge about heritage, cultures and occupations, giving children concrete ways to explore identity and family life.

Safeguarding was effective at the October 2023 inspection. Leaders kept the premises safe and secure, staff received regular training, and practitioners understood local reporting procedures and how to respond to concerns.

Children also learned to notice when somebody else needed help. They offered resources to upset friends, served extra bread politely during the daily-helper routine and worked together on physical tasks. Respect was practical rather than abstract. Children also explored different cultures, religions, occupations and forms of family life, with parents contributing knowledge and resources from their own heritage. This connected questions of identity to people the children knew. The inspection found excellent behaviour, politeness and consideration for others, giving families evidence that personal development ran alongside the educational programme.

The pre-school is at Hawes Down Infant School, The Mead, West Wickham, BR4 0BA. It operates during term time for children aged two to five and has 33 places in total.

Current nursery-specific prices should be requested in a written quotation. Families should use the enquiry conversation to establish the attendance pattern, settling arrangements and practical inclusions that would apply to their child.

• The weekly pattern. Ask for the offered days and session structure in writing, because the timetable will decide whether this term-time provision fits work and family arrangements.
• Support in practice. Families seeking SEND or speech-and-language support should discuss how the SENCo, key practitioner and outside specialists would coordinate a plan for their child.
• The day-to-day package. Establish how meals, snacks and personal-care consumables are handled before comparing the written quotation with another setting.

Linden Leas Pre School stands out for the substance behind its Outstanding 2023 judgement. Shape hunts, sound experiments, story retelling and the fashion-show project show practitioners extending language and thought through experiences children can grasp and enjoy. Strong family communication and coordinated SEND work add depth.

This will best suit families seeking term-time preschool care from age two, with an emphasis on talk, independence and collaborative play. The main practical task is to establish whether the offered weekly pattern and package fit the family's needs.