Footprints Preschool & Nursery

An almost acre-sized garden gives Footprints its strongest physical identity: a Forest Garden with few manufactured resources sits alongside artificial grass for outdoor play through the year. This is a preschool choice with room to explore. Inside, the emphasis is on learning through play, independence and getting along with other children.

Footprints Preschool & Nursery is based in Kingsnorth, Ashford, with capacity for 104 children and a current age range of three to five. At its April 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good and safeguarding effective. The main improvement concerned group activities that required prolonged sitting and attention, leaving some children disengaged and missing the intended learning.

Attendance can be term-time or year-round, with flexible booking for older preschool children and fixed patterns for younger children. The distinction matters: flexibility here means choosing a regular weekly timetable, rather than changing it from week to week.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the required foundation for the day: children learn through play, conversation, movement and creative activity, alongside early literacy and mathematics. Footprints emphasises sharing, taking turns and doing things independently. These are practical skills for participating in a group and managing more of everyday life before school.

In April 2024, writing grew out of activities children were already enjoying. Children added their names to paintings, talked with adults about letters and sounds, and took pencils and clipboards outdoors to draw their surroundings. Writing therefore had a purpose beyond practising shapes on paper. Books, rhymes and songs also threaded through the day, with comfortable reading spaces where children shared familiar stories with staff.

Role play brought children’s ideas together. In April 2024, children discussed who they would pretend to be and listened to suggestions from friends. Outdoors, they persisted with exercise hoops while adults encouraged their attempts. These examples give a concrete picture of the nursery’s emphasis on communication and independence: children had opportunities to negotiate with one another and keep trying a difficult task.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Forest Garden uses a largely natural setting and keeps manufactured resources to a minimum. It offers a different kind of exploration from the artificial-grass area, which supports outdoor play across the seasons. The wider garden has space for large-scale play, creative activity and problem solving, so outdoor time can accommodate more than a quick run around.

Footprints shares its premises with Imagine Soft Play Arena. That shared address is part of the setting’s identity; the garden remains the clearest feature of the nursery’s own outdoor offer. Weather-appropriate clothing belongs in children’s bags, reflecting the nursery’s approach to going outside in different conditions.

Relationships and Communication

Parents receive a development report at the end of each full term. This gives a regular point for discussing what children are learning and what comes next, alongside contact with staff. Policies can be read at reception or requested by email, making the practical rules accessible in more than one format.

In April 2024, key people kept parents informed about development and the next steps in learning. Parents also contributed ideas through questionnaires, and managers acted on suggestions. The relationship was therefore more than an exchange of collection-time messages: there were routes for discussing both an individual child and the way the nursery operated.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A team of SENDCOs helps practitioners adjust their responses and strategies for children with additional needs, involving external specialists where appropriate. At the April 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that SEND support combined individual plans, professional input, close monitoring and timely referrals, with guidance for parents and key people. For families seeking additional support, the useful detail is the mechanism: planning and communication connect the adults working with the child.

Food is freshly made by the nursery chef using raw ingredients in a professional kitchen, with provision for special dietary requirements. Meals follow a four-week menu cycle, giving families a predictable pattern across breakfast, snack, lunch and tea.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Footprints operates throughout the year except bank holidays; additional closures between Christmas and New Year may be announced in advance. Families can choose term-time attendance or an all-year arrangement.

For three- and four-year-olds, bookings can start and finish on the hour or half-hour, with a minimum stay of three hours. Different days can have different hours, but the agreed weekly pattern repeats. That makes the arrangement useful for a predictable timetable with uneven working days.

For children aged two and a half to three, the fixed choices are 8am to 2pm, 9am to 2pm, or 8am to 6pm. Permanent changes to hours or cancellation of a place require four weeks’ notice. Extra paid bookings can be cancelled by the Wednesday before the week of attendance; after that deadline, the booked time is charged even if the child does not attend.

Getting There

The address is 2A Britannia Lane, Kingsnorth, Ashford, Kent, TN23 3SU. A large car park allows cars close to the door, which is useful when managing a child and their belongings.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email. A booking becomes confirmed only after the completed registration form has been received and the family has received a booking confirmation.

Funding and Paid Extras

Footprints offers universal funded hours for three- and four-year-olds, Working Parent Entitlement and Free For 2 funding. Funded hours are used during its own term dates, across 38 weeks, rather than spread over the whole year. Private hours can be added, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Private fees include meals and, where needed, nappies and wipes. For funded attendance, the charging terms describe a separate surcharge covering food, nappies and wipes, with the alternative of supplying those items; families must use one arrangement rather than mix the two. Where a day combines paid and funded hours, the nursery applies the position covering the majority of that day. The funding and fees information sets out these arrangements.

• Starting age. The current age range is three to five, while the younger booking patterns cover two and a half to three. Families considering an earlier start should confirm which age arrangements apply to their child.
• Group learning. In April 2024, extended sitting and interruptions for care routines meant some children missed the intended learning. During a show-round, ask how group activities now adapt to children’s attention and needs.
• Funded-day costs. The funding information describes both universal care with no extra charges and a surcharge or home-supplied items for funded days. Obtain a written explanation of which arrangement applies before agreeing a funded timetable.
• A repeating weekly routine. Flexible hours for older children still require the same weekly bookings, and permanent changes need four weeks’ notice. This suits a stable rota more readily than hours that change every week.

Footprints suits families seeking term-time preschool attendance or year-round care, including those who want different hours on different days within a repeating weekly pattern. Its garden, natural Forest Garden and regular development reports give the offer substance. The April 2024 group-time concern remains a useful point to explore, while starting-age arrangements and funded-day charges deserve a clear written agreement. The appeal is practical: outdoor space, play-led learning and attendance options that recognise different family routines.