Lavender Hall Kindergarten

Mud pies in Lavender Woods, ballet and baking give Lavender Hall Kindergarten a character that reaches beyond its room names. Natural materials in the mud kitchen give children something to shape and experiment with.

Ofsted rated the kindergarten Outstanding at its 17 January 2025 inspection, finding that thoughtful teaching and a carefully organised curriculum supported excellent progress. The detail behind that judgement matters: children chose resources for their play, worked together outdoors and discussed the feelings of characters in stories. Learning involved decisions and conversation.

There are 57 places in total, with a current age range of 2 to 60 months. Snowdrops, Bluebells and Sunflowers organise care by age. Attendance can be year-round or term-time, with full days and shorter Daisy sessions among the choices.

Rooms and Ages

Snowdrops takes children up to two years, with care centred on relationships between babies, their practitioners and their families in an equipped baby room.

For children aged two to three, Bluebells combines adult-led activities with free play, encouraging confidence, sharing and playing alongside others.

Sunflowers serves children aged three to five, supporting individual development through movement, music and ballet alongside early reading, science and maths. Its approach allows children to explore letters, writing, shapes and counting when they are ready, rather than treating preschool as a race through formal tasks.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for the day: learning through play develops communication, physical skills and relationships alongside early literacy, maths, creativity and understanding the world. This is the shared foundation for early-years provision. Lavender Hall adds concrete activities, including dance, cooking and woodland exploration.

Much of the day uses free flow between indoor and outdoor activities. Children can pursue an interest independently or with friends, while practitioners also plan activities around their development and interests. That balance gives a child scope to make choices while still receiving adult guidance.

Ballet, music and movement sessions involve a dance teacher and opportunities to experiment with sound and physical expression. Bake club gives children a shared cooking activity, making treats to eat at nursery or take home. Cooking and taking turns connect practical tasks with early maths, language and fine motor skills.

Healthy body and mind brings together conversations about feelings, self-care such as toothbrushing, staying safe and calming yoga. It gives wellbeing a practical place in the day, rather than leaving it as an abstract aim.

Outdoor and Community Life

Lavender Woods has a mud kitchen, opportunities for supported climbing, exploration of bugs and their habitats, and spaces for campfire role play and den building.

In January 2025, children in the outdoor nature area collaborated on making potions, pouring liquids into bottles with containers of different sizes. Adults encouraged them to predict, solve problems and try things out. The activity joined conversation, cooperation and experimentation in one piece of play.

Police officers and firefighters visit the kindergarten, and outings include farms and nature reserves. Parents give permission before trips. These experiences extend children's encounters beyond the nursery, introducing people and places they can connect with their learning.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person, providing a familiar practitioner as they get to know nursery life. Observations and photographs are recorded through Tapestry, an online learning journal. The open-door approach gives parents opportunities to discuss their child's experiences.

Parents can discuss development or difficulties through an open-door approach.

In January 2025, practitioners knew their key children's strengths and developmental concerns in detail. Younger children turned to adults for comfort when uncertain, while older children asked for help with tasks. Families also received ideas for continuing activities at home, connecting nursery learning with experiences beyond the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that individual support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities was carefully organised and that safeguarding arrangements were effective.

During January 2025, staff used words from children's home languages, and children expressed their wishes and feelings confidently. In shared reading, they discussed characters' emotions and ways to help a sad character. These examples show how language and emotional understanding were brought into ordinary interactions.

A designated safeguarding lead is on duty throughout opening hours. The safeguarding policy also provides for early-help discussions with families and, with their consent, links to support such as counselling or parenting services. These are mechanisms for responding to needs, distinct from the inspection judgement on effectiveness.

Cooks prepare meals daily, including hot lunch and tea, and food can be adapted for special dietary needs. That is useful for families whose child's diet needs planning alongside the rest of their care.

Sessions and Attendance

The kindergarten operates Monday to Friday, with Full Day running from 8am to 6pm and Morning AM from 8am to 1pm. Afternoon PM carries the same 8am to 1pm window; families considering that option should use the session question below before making an arrangement.

Daisy AM runs from 9am to noon and Daisy PM from noon to 3pm, both for ages three to four. Daisy Day runs from 9am to 3pm and is labelled for ages zero to four.

Families can choose 52-week attendance or term-time attendance. Requests for other hours can be considered, subject to what the kindergarten can accommodate. This is flexibility by agreement, rather than an unrestricted choice of hours.

Public holidays are closures, and the kindergarten remains open between Christmas and New Year. Term-time attendance follows the nursery's funding dates, which can differ from school terms, especially at the start of January and September. Families coordinating nursery and school calendars therefore need to use the nursery timetable.

Getting There

The address is The Gattinetts, Hadleigh Road, East Bergholt, Suffolk, CO7 6QT. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01206 299511.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered from the term after a child turns nine months, subject to eligibility, alongside two-year-old funding, Universal Early Education Grant Funding and additional eligible hours. The universal entitlement is 15 hours a week for 38 weeks from the term after the third birthday; eligible parents can use an additional 15 hours against sessions. Stretched funding requires written agreement with the nursery. Attendance choices and funding arrangements need to be considered together.

Private fees include breakfast, lunch, tea, snacks and activities. For funded sessions, snacks are included, while meals are charged separately unless families supply packed food; the meal or packed-food arrangement is made for a whole term.

Fees are payable monthly in advance, and a refundable deposit is required when joining, with repayment after the child leaves and the account is settled. Booked sessions cannot be swapped; extra sessions, once arranged, cannot be cancelled or exchanged. Permanent session changes require one month's notice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Afternoon PM timing. This option has the same 8am to 1pm window as Morning AM. Before booking, ask which hours the Afternoon PM arrangement actually covers, especially if care after lunch is essential.
• Term-time coordination. Nursery attendance starts with funding dates, and January and September starts can fall later than school starts. Compare those calendars before relying on matching childcare for siblings.
• Funding and food. Funded meals are separate from the entitlement, with packed food an alternative for the whole term. Families managing dietary needs should confirm how the meal arrangement will work for their child.
• Changing or ending attendance. Sessions cannot simply be exchanged, and permanent changes need one month's notice. Ask how the leaving terms will apply to your agreement: the hours-and-fees terms specify two months, while the fee policy specifies eight weeks in writing.

Lavender Hall suits families looking for woodland exploration, creative movement and practical cooking alongside a play-based nursery day. The key-person system provides a familiar practitioner, while the open-door approach gives families opportunities to discuss their child's development.

The attendance choices serve families using Full Day care as well as those considering shorter Daisy AM or Daisy PM sessions, with year-round and term-time arrangements. The decision needs careful attention to session timing, funded meal costs and the restrictions on changing bookings.