Penge Community Pre-School

Penge Community Pre-School is a sessional setting at Anerley Methodist Church on Oakfield Road, London SE20 8QA. Its latest full Ofsted inspection, on 10 July 2023, judged its overall effectiveness Good and found safeguarding effective.

The strongest picture from that visit was of confident, independent children who concentrated for sustained periods. Staff planned around children's interests and individual learning needs, while daily physical sessions gave movement a clear place in the programme.

In July 2023, children explored role play by caring for dolls, planning a park trip and deciding what to pack. They also enjoyed stories and mark-making. The Early Years Foundation Stage is the statutory framework for English early years settings, covering learning, development and care. At this setting, practitioners used observations and children's prior knowledge to plan experiences across learning, communication, physical development and personal growth.

Physical activity was timetabled every day at the inspection. Basketball, bat-and-ball practice and hoop spinning gave children repeated chances to practise skills while adults modelled techniques. Ofsted also found that some staff needed to extend learning more effectively and create more opportunities for children to talk and practise spoken English.

In July 2023, staff knew the children well and used information from parents to shape individual settling-in programmes. Children self-registered and recorded whether they had eaten a morning snack, small routines that supported independence and responsibility. Staff shared progress and home-learning ideas with families, and the manager signposted families facing difficulties to other agencies.

Safeguarding was effective at that inspection. Staff completed daily risk assessments indoors and outside, understood reporting and whistle-blowing procedures, and used secure recruitment and vetting. Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities included early identification, work with external agencies and targeted plans.

The setting is based at Anerley Methodist Church, Oakfield Road, London SE20 8QA. Families should seek the current session pattern and provider-specific written quotation directly from the pre-school before making attendance plans.

• Teaching consistency. Ofsted's July 2023 priorities were to strengthen some practitioners' ability to extend learning and to give children more chances to speak and practise English. Ask what training and monitoring have followed.
• Session fit. This is recorded as sessional day care, so establish the current days, hours and minimum attendance pattern before comparing it with longer-day provision.
• Daily essentials. Ask how meals, snacks and non-food consumables are handled, because these details affect both packing and budgeting.

This is a community pre-school whose latest inspection found kind care, strong parental support and children able to concentrate deeply. The daily physical programme and carefully planned settling stood out in the July 2023 evidence. The improvement points matter too: families should ask how communication-rich teaching and the extension of children's learning have developed since then. It best suits families seeking sessional pre-school provision who are able to match their needs to the setting's current attendance pattern.