Kiddies Kottage Addiscombe

Kiddies Kottage Addiscombe is a term-time, sessional pre-school for children aged two to five. Its latest full Ofsted inspection, on 14 June 2022, judged it Good across education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. The clearest strength was personal: children formed secure relationships with staff and settled quickly into play.

The 2022 inspection describes an active, play-led day. Children connected play dough with making dumplings at home, practised coordination through energetic physical play. In water play they filled and emptied containers; outdoors, they re-enacted a familiar story. These examples show staff using children's interests to build language, coordination and imagination rather than treating activities as isolated tasks.

Communication was a particular strength. Staff repeated words, shared stories, songs and rhymes, and introduced descriptive vocabulary during play. Children who spoke English as an additional language heard songs in their home language. Early mathematics was present through counting a spider's legs and choosing a shape for a rocket, although Ofsted asked leaders to develop children's mathematical skills further.

The Early Years Foundation Stage is the statutory framework behind this work: in parent terms, it means everyday play and routines should build communication, physical development and personal, social and emotional development alongside early literacy and mathematics. The inspection examples show that principle in practice. A familiar home experience became material for imaginative play, while stories, songs and repeated vocabulary gave children multiple routes into language.

The social picture is equally important. Children played cooperatively, formed friendships and encouraged quieter or more reluctant peers. Staff used praise and strategies for self-regulation, following behaviour-management training. That combination gives children practice in negotiating shared play while keeping expectations clear, steady and understandable for young children. The inspector nevertheless identified consistency as the next step: children staying all day were not always challenged enough during routines and activities.

The June 2022 inspection found that children built secure, trusting bonds with their key person and other staff. Staff used parents' information and their own observations to plan from each child's starting points and interests. Parents reported strong two-way communication and useful ideas for learning at home.

The same inspection found safeguarding arrangements effective. Staff understood signs of harm, reporting routes, attendance monitoring and suitability checks. It also found effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children, including work with other professionals.

Leadership was also judged Good in 2022. The manager used peer observations, staff feedback, evaluation, an action plan and training to monitor provision. This matters because the two inspection priorities: stronger mathematical teaching and more consistent challenge across an all-day experience: depend on leaders checking what actually changes in practice, not simply updating plans.

For children learning English as an additional language, repetition, songs and home-language material gave communication a welcoming base. For children with additional needs, the inspection recorded cooperation with other professionals. These dated findings give families useful reference points for understanding the approach.

The setting is at 45 Stroud Green Way, Croydon CR0 7BE. It is registered for children aged 24 to 60 months and operates term time. It opens during term time. Families need the setting’s latest booking pattern, funded-entitlement delivery and nursery-specific written quotation, including the treatment of meals and consumables.

• All-day challenge: Ofsted's June 2022 improvement point asked staff to challenge children who stay all day more consistently during routines and activities. Look for evidence of the response since then.
• Mathematics: The inspector also asked leaders to strengthen early mathematics. Look for counting, shape and number woven naturally through play.
• Practical terms: Compare the session pattern, minimum attendance, holiday dates, funding arrangements, food and consumables in the written terms.

This sessional pre-school best suits families seeking warm relationships, purposeful language work, cooperative friendships and lively physical play in a compact term-time setting; its strongest documented qualities are warm relationships, purposeful language work and lively physical play. It should appeal to families seeking term-time early education for a two- to five-year-old, while those considering either shorter sessions or all-day attendance should first confirm the current booking pattern and ask how the 2022 improvement points have been addressed.