Tiddlywinks Preschool, Petts Wood

A Petts Wood preschool, Tiddlywinks was judged Good at its January 2020 inspection. That visit found children happy, safe and keen to play with friends, with simple rules helping them behave well.

The strongest thread was purposeful, practical learning. Children counted raisins and carrots while making snowmen, programmed a floor robot in sequence and developed early writing through varied mark-making. These are inspection-era examples, but they show the kind of learning that supported the Good judgement.

In January 2020, staff worked across the Early Years Foundation Stage, the framework that develops communication, physical skills, personal and social development alongside early literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts. Shared reading and music gave children regular practice in expressing themselves. Creative work demanded a different sort of attention: younger children persisted with paint, while older children added materials and practised forming their names.

Outdoor play also had a clear purpose at that inspection. Children used ride-on toys, learned simple safety rules and patiently lined up to return indoors. One weakness mattered: a quantity activity was too easy for some of the most able children, and Ofsted asked leaders to tailor group activities more closely to different abilities.

Key staff knew children well in January 2020 and worked closely with parents to identify concerns, helping children settle and feel secure.

Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities was coordinated with parents and other agencies, and inspectors found that children made progress. Safeguarding arrangements were effective at the visit. Staff were prepared to identify safeguarding concerns and respond through established procedures.

The preschool is based at Gea Hall, Orpington, BR5 1AR. Families should request a current written quotation directly from the setting.

• Inspection date. The Good judgement and the practice described here come from January 2020. Families should discuss how teaching, staffing and routines have developed since that visit.
• Group challenge. Ofsted found that one activity did not stretch some of the most able children. Ask how activities are now adapted for children working at different levels.
• Daily arrangements. Discuss the current session pattern, accepted ages, meals, consumables and funded-hours arrangements together, so the practical offer can be judged as a whole.

Tiddlywinks suits families seeking a small preschool where practical activities, communication and social behaviour were clear strengths at the last inspection. The Good judgement is reassuring, but its age makes a current conversation essential, especially about differentiated challenge and the attendance pattern a family needs.