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Scarning Pre-School

Ofsted: Good
(Apr 2025)
·Dereham Road, Dereham, NR19 2PW · Norfolk
Number of places
40 places
Age range
2–5 yrs
Last inspected
Apr 2025
Local authority
Norfolk

About this day nursery

Scarning Pre-School in Dereham, established in 2016, provides a welcoming atmosphere where a friendly management team and staff greet children as they arrive. The setting ensures individual daily needs are met through a secure drop-off routine and consistent information exchange with parents.

With 19 staff members, 12 of whom hold Level 3 early years qualifications, including one with qualified teacher status, the pre-school is well-equipped to support children aged 2 to 11. Scarning Pre-School places a strong emphasis on outdoor play and learning, with children enjoying varied activities such as exploring tunnels, slides, ride-on toys, and the wooden water pump station.

This focus helps children develop physical skills and problem-solving abilities. The pre-school also prioritises strong partnerships with parents and effective collaboration with professionals like speech and language therapists to ensure all children, including those with SEND, achieve their best possible outcomes and transition smoothly to their next stage of education.

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the curriculum, offering engaging, real-life learning opportunities like chick hatching and growing vegetables, sparking curiosity and wonder in the children.

What it's like

The friendly management team and staff welcome children as they excitedly enter the pre-school. A secure drop-off routine ensures information from parents is consistently exchanged, regardless of the time children arrive. Children love the continuous choice to access outdoor play and learning experiences. Outdoors, children confidently choose to explore tunnels, slides and use the ride-on toys, willingly taking turns to use their particular favourite with their peers.

Good provisionOutdoor playParent partnershipSEND supportEffective transitions

Key facts

Opening hours

The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday during school term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 3pm. An out-of-school club is also available for children from the on-site school. This runs daily from 7.30am until 8.50am, and from 3.15pm until 5.15pm.

Term time / All Year

Term_time_only

Established

2016

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Scarning Pre-School

Last inspected 30 April 2025

Overall effectiveness
Good

What it's like to attend

The friendly management team and staff welcome children as they excitedly enter the pre-school. A secure drop-off routine ensures information from parents is consistently exchanged, regardless of the time children arrive. Children love the continuous choice to access outdoor play and learning experiences. Outdoors, children confidently choose to explore tunnels, slides and use the ride-on toys, willingly taking turns to use their particular favourite with their peers.

Inspector highlights

  • The friendly management team and staff welcome children as they excitedly enter the pre-school.
  • A secure drop-off routine ensures information from parents is consistently exchanged, regardless of the time children arrive.
  • Children love the continuous choice to access outdoor play and learning experiences.
  • Staff have built an excellent relationship with the teachers at the school on-site.
  • The offer of a home visit and meticulous ongoing assessment processes that are in place, means those children who need extra support are swiftly identified.
  • Overall, teaching is good quality. Staff understand the curriculum and provide fun and engaging real-life learning opportunities, such as chick hatching, and growing their own fruit and vegetables.
  • Staff encourage children to be independent.
  • Across the nursery, children are becoming highly confident and capable communicators, using language in a variety of ways to express themselves.
  • Staff report excellent well-being.
  • The supportive management team provides endless opportunities for staff training and support.

Areas to develop

  • 1Provide consistent support for children to broaden their understanding of how to assess and manage risks for themselves.
  • 2Support staff to consistently plan and implement activities with a sharp focus on children's next steps in learning to increase their engagement and to help them make even better progress.
Inspection #10380539 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

The management team has created a dedicated SEND team to provide expertise and support to children, parents and the rest of the staff team. Professionals who visit the nursery, such as speech and language therapists, work collaboratively with staff, to ensure children with SEND achieve their best possible outcomes and make a seamless transition to their next stage of education.

Outdoor space

Children love the continuous choice to access outdoor play and learning experiences. Outdoors, children confidently choose to explore tunnels, slides and use the ride-on toys, willingly taking turns to use their particular favourite with their peers. Children enjoy developing their problem-solving skills while playing with the wooden water pump station. The repetitive actions they use, develop their physical skills such as lifting, pushing, pulling and pouring. Children practise their pouring skills as they water flowers with the watering cans.

Inspection history

Date: June 2019

  • April 2025Good
  • June 2019Good

Frequently asked about Scarning Pre-School

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