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Punch And Judy Playgroup

We are a warm and welcoming playgroup which is based at the heart of Lympne village, in Kent.  Punch & Judy Playgroup offers high quality care for pre-school children between the ages of 2 years to 4 years old.  We are a non-profit making charity with a voluntary management committee.


We are lucky enough to be able to offer a free flow inside/outside play area for most months of the year. We pride ourselves on our team of enthusiastic and experienced staff who are dedicated to the safety, development and wellbeing of all the children in our care.

Who to contact

Contact Name
Diane Latter
Contact Position
Playgroup Manager
Telephone
07527 111584
E-mail
info@punch-and-judy.org.uk
Website
www.punch-and-judy.org.uk/

Where to go

Address
Lympne Village Hall
Aldington Road
Lympne
HYTHE
Kent
Postcode
CT21 4LE

When is it on?

When is childcare available
Term Time Only
Carescheme Age Range:
2 year(s), 3 month(s) to 4 year(s), month(s)
Opening Times
Opening Times
DayOpening TimeClosing Time
Monday 08:30 15:00
Tuesday 08:30 15:00
Wednesday 08:30 13:00
Thursday 08:30 15:00
Friday 08:30 15:00

Other Details

Table of costs
Table of costs
AmountCost Type
£5.20 Per hour
ECD Type
Preschool
Offers pickups
No
Cost(s)
Cost details
Contact provider for details
3-4 Year Old Funding?
Yes
2 Year Old Funding?
Yes
Total vacancies
5
Places Range
Places Range
Start AgeEnd AgePlaces
0 5 26
5 8 26
Immediate vacancies?
Yes
Contact Provider for Vacancy Details?
Yes
Vacancy range
Vacancy Range
Start AgeEnd AgePlaces
2 4 5
Vacancy Information Last updated Date
02/01/2020
Wheelchair Access
Yes

Ofsted Information

Ofsted URN
127358
Link to latest ofsted inspection report 
Inspection history
Inspection History
Inspection DateInspection typeInspection Outcome
06/06/2007IntegratedGood
04/03/2011Inspection (Early Years Register)Good
29/06/2015Inspection (Early Years Register)Requires Improvement
13/05/2016Re-inspection (Early Years Register)Good
09/10/2019Inspection (Early Years Register)Good

30 Hours Extended Entitlement

Registered to provide up to 30 hours entitlement
Yes

Service status

Status
Open

Local Offer

Special Needs Support

How does the setting identify children with additional needs or SEND? 

Each child is allocated a key person, responsible for helping your child settle in and for their day to day care. They will observe and assess your child’s development using the document Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).   Assessment takes place when your child joins the setting to inform us of their starting points and continues at regular intervals throughout the academic year. We also complete the Progress Check at 2, which is a statutory assessment.

We request that you fill out a parent’s page on admission, detailing your child’s strengths, particular interests and any areas where they may need additional support. This helps the key person to plan for your child.

If either you or the key person identifies an area of development that requires additional support, our Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) and key person will work together with you and your child using a targeted plan; this will detail any additional planning that is required for your child. If necessary, our SENCo can liaise with other professionals with your permission.

How will I be informed / consulted about the ways in which my child is being supported? 

The key person approach is an integral part of our practice, as set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Your child’s key person is involved in your child’s care and development from the very beginning; helping them to settle into Punch and Judy’s routines and continuing to build a positive and strong relationship with both you and your child. This happens through contact between you and your child’s key person at the beginning and end of sessions, progress meetings and the offer to have a meeting, should you have any concerns.

The key person is responsible for creating and updating your child’s individual All About Me folder, which includes the parent’s page, observations, photographs and your child’s creations. This helps in assessing their development and planning for their next steps. Documentation from progress meetings, including your comments on your child’s development, is also kept in this folder, along with targeted plans when additional planning is required for your child.

How will the setting adapt the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum for my child's needs? 

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is an educational framework, which the key person uses to help plan for your child. Your child is observed, assessed and planned for in the three prime areas listed below, as well as four specific areas of development. The key person and SENCo work together with you to put in place additional planning where necessary, through a targeted plan. Adaptations to the three prime areas in the EYFS include the following strategies:

Communication and Language is encouraged by

  • small group activities throughout the session, including a rolling snack time
  • staff being aware of and practising Every Child a Talker (ECAT) programme
  • utilising advice received from Speech and Language therapists
  • offering parents/carers ideas and information to encourage speech and language.

 Personal, social and emotional development is aided by

  • small group activities to help build confidence and resilience
  • monitoring your child’s involvement and well-being during the session
  • using information and advice received from outside professionals.

  Physical Development is supported by

  • providing ease of access to the hall and within the hall, including toilet facilities
  • ensuring access to the outdoor area is free-flow during the session
  • demonstrating awareness of the impact of environmental sensory factors on children, such as noise, lighting and other factors within the setting
  • using advice received from outside agencies, such as occupational therapists
  • providing for a range of dietary requirements.

What teaching strategies does the setting use for children with additional needs or learning difficulties? 

Environment – careful consideration is given to the environment to help enable children to listen and be fully involved in their learning. The hall is spacious and allows the children room to explore independently, the walls are painted a light and neutral colour and it benefits from natural sunlight. We have mats and mobile screens to help create small areas. We create small den areas for children to find a quiet spot. We have access to a natural outside area, which is open for free-flow play throughout the session.

Resources - effective teaching and learning requires a wide range of resources appropriate to support children’s development at all levels. The SENCo and key person would seek to acquire any specialist equipment, if required. We may be eligible for additional funding for children receiving support from outside agencies; this would be used for equipment, resources, training or additional staff cover for the child.

Teaching Strategies – all staff are encouraged to participate in training and all our staff either hold qualifications in Early Years child development or are working towards this. We use the Best Practice Guidance document to support our teaching. Written by the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service, this document offers a range of teaching strategies which can be used to support children. It is divided into universal, targeted and personalised levels to enable us to support all children in the following four broad areas of need, as identified in the SEND Code of Practice:

  • Communication and Interaction
  • Cognition and Learning
  • Social Emotional and Mental Health
  • Physical/Sensory difficulties

What additional support does the setting provide for children with additional needs or SEND? 

Our policy on supporting children with special educational needs (SEND) states that we use the graduated approach. If development is not as expected through observations and assessment, we create a targeted plan for your child. We would discuss with you any need for seeking help and advice from other services, such as speech and language therapists. With your permission, we can consult outside agencies and we would then formulate a personalised plan with you and your child.

With your permission, we can attend the Local Inclusion Team Forum (LIFT) meeting where we can ask for help and advice.   If your child’s referral is accepted by the Specialist Teaching and Learning Service during the LIFT meeting, a specialist teacher will visit your child at the setting, to offer additional help and advice, to make further referrals if necessary and to help with transition to school; you will be consulted and updated at each step of the process.

All staff are encouraged to attend training, including recent Makaton training for two staff members. If your child is due to start with us, with a condition unfamiliar to us, our SENCo would research this and get help and advice for all staff at the setting.

How will the setting monitor my child's progress and how will I be involved in this? 

Your child’s key person is responsible for regularly observing, assessing and planning for your child’s development within the Early Years Foundation Stage.

You can view your child’s development in their All About Me folder at any time. Your child’s starting point and on-going development is recorded and shared with you at our progress meetings. If you have any questions or concerns, please speak with your child’s key person or our SENCo and we can arrange a suitable meeting.

We also carry out the Progress Check at Age Two, which is a statutory assessment. This can be shared with your child’s health visitor at their developmental check. If you or the key person has any concerns, these can be discussed at the meeting. If a targeted plan is required, you and your child’s key person will discuss the additional planning required and it will be regularly reviewed and any adjustments agreed between you and the key person will be put in place.

We receive information from outside professionals within Kent County Council with regards various workshops for families to attend, which we inform our parents about.

How do you ensure children with additional needs or SEND can be included in the same activities as other children, including trips? 

We believe in our practice being inclusive, so that all activities on offer can be accessed by each and every child. During staff discussions, adjustments are made to our planned activities to ensure this happens.

We regularly take short outdoor trips around the playing fields and surrounding areas. Our health and safety risk assessment for short trips is reviewed and updated, where appropriate, to ensure all children are able to take part safely.

How accessible is the building for children with mobility difficulties / wheelchair users? 

Our pre-school is in a village hall which is on one floor with a wide shallow ramp leading up to the entrance. There is an accessible toilet in the foyer and ease of access to our outside area. The hall area is of sufficient size to be set up in order to support children with mobility difficulties and wheelchair users. The village hall carpark has two disabled spaces.

How will you support my child's transition to a new setting or school? 

We complete your child’s Unique Progress/Transition form, which is shared with you at the transition progress meeting and we encourage you to add your comments to the form. This form includes the characteristics of effective learning traits that your child has displayed at the setting. With your consent we would forward this and any other relevant documentation, including Progress Check at 2, targeted plans and personalised plans, to the school or new setting.

With regards transition to school, we have visits to our local school in the summer term; we invite the Reception teachers of any schools where our children will be attending, to visit the children in our setting. We make contact with the SENCo of schools, with parental permission, to pass on any relevant information to the school.

We have books based on starting school and a photo book with photos of Lympne School. We encourage children to develop their independence, participate in adult-led circle times to promote their listening and attention and build on their confidence and resilience in readiness for school.

How does the setting assess the overall effectiveness of its SEN provision and how can parents / carers take part in this evaluation? 

We ensure the effectiveness of our special educational needs provision by collecting information from a range of sources e.g. targeted plan reviews, staff and management meetings, parental views, inspections and complaints, external agency’s views, including attending LIFT meetings and SENCo forums. This information is collated, evaluated and reviewed regularly.

Who should I contact if I am considering registering for a place at the setting? 

Please contact us by email or by phone. We can discuss any particular admissions arrangements required, including home visit, settling in visits, assessment for additional funding, such as Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF) and Disability Access Fund (DAF).

What arrangements does the setting have for feedback from parents / carers, including compliments and complaints? 

All of our policies and procedures are available for parents/carers to see at the entrance of the hall; including our SEND policy, which provides the context for supporting children through the graduated approach.

We have a complaints procedure and any complaints are dealt with by the manager. If a complaint is made about the manager, then the Chairperson of the Committee would oversee this procedure. We encourage an open dialogue with parents/carers, staff, volunteers and committee members to ensure situations can be resolved quickly and with success.

We welcome comments and feedback either verbally or by parents and carers completing a questionnaire, which is available in the entrance hall. At each progress meeting, we actively ask parents/carers for feedback on our provision.

In recent years we have had a wishing tree for parents, children and staff to add their wishes to. One request for a sports day event resulted in us organising a sporty sponsored event, to which parents and families were invited to attend and participate. Another comment requested we offer more hours, which has been a challenge being a pack-away setting in a well-used village hall. When the new hall annexe was opened, we extended our hours to 3pm on Thursdays and in January 2020 we increased our opening times to include Tuesdays 8.30am-3pm.

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