News


Safety fears inWare St


AHIGHWAYimprovement appli- cation is to be submitted in an ef- fort to increase safety on Ware Street in Bearsted. Thurnham Parish Council has


agreed applying to Kent County Council is the next logical step in its effort to reduce the hazard posed to pedestrians and com- muters by parked cars, which blocksight lines for those crossing the road. It follows the news that efforts


by Bearsted ParishCouncil to cre- ate a parking layby near the rail- way bridge were rejected by the borough council. Thurnham councillors will


apply for double yellow lines along the entire stretch, going fromthe railway bridge to Sandy Mount. They feel, if the county council


considers the scheme it will be costed and, hopefully, lead to some progress towards making the road safer, especially at cross- ingpoints.Theproblemofparked carshasbeena running sore inthe village for a number of years.


downsmail.co.uk


Pre-school celebrates an outstanding rating


A PRE-SCHOOL based in a vil- lage hall, where laughter is al- ways part of the lesson, has earned a glowing inspection re- port fromthe educationstandards watchdog,Ofsted. Cherubs Pre-school gained an


“outstanding” rating inall four cat- egories. Inspectors noted that children


spend “much of their time laugh- ing with their friends and staff” and are deemed to be “extremely motivated learners”. Leadershipwasdescribedas “in-


spirational” and parents heap “tremendouspraise andgratitude” on staff. Cherubs’ workers display “a


very strong commitment to self- evaluation and ongoing improve- ment to the overall quality of service”. The pre-school, run by Bearsted


villager Cindy Fox (pictured) and held at the village hall in Linton, achieved outstanding grades in


leadership, teaching/learning, per- sonal development/behaviour and outcomes. Inspector Liz Caluori said: “Staffmake superb use of hu- mour, enabling children to try new things without any fear of failure. This supports children to gain valuable learning as they discover through repeated trial and error.” She added: “Partnerships with


parents are highly effective. Par- ents express tremendous praise


and gratitude to the staff for the support they offer to children and thewhole family.” The pre-school has 57 children,


aged between two and five, on its roll with 25 places available. The inspection took place on February 1.


WhenOfsted visited Cherubs in


2016, it achieveda “good” rating. It has been running for 16 years. Of


the Ofsted inspection,


mother-of-two Mrs Fox (49), of Bearsted Green, said: “We really smashedit out of thepark thatday. Itmeans a lot to us. “I am so pleased for everybody


connectedtoCherubs, not least the staff, who are brilliant and very flexible. “The secret is for us to be flexible


for the parents and to be personal and family-orientated. For in- stance, we keep a couple of places open each evening in case one of our parents has a drama overnight and they need our help.”


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