College Town Montessori Nursery School and Preschool

A growing garden, French lessons and a Montessori-inspired approach give College Town Montessori Nursery School and Preschool a recognisable character. Children can explore their interests indoors, then turn to bikes, scooters, planting and a mud kitchen outside. The emphasis is on doing things for themselves, with practical experiences alongside language and creative activities.

At its 27 February 2026 inspection, Ofsted recorded Expected standard in achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance, with safeguarding standards met. These are area judgements, rather than an overall grade. Two priorities deserve attention: clearer organisation around preschool mealtimes and more purposeful language learning outdoors for babies.

The Sandhurst setting accepts children aged 3 to 60 months, from babies through preschool. Its full-day booking model has a minimum attendance of two days a week. That practical commitment matters as much as the educational approach when deciding whether it fits family life.

Rooms and Ages

Children move between playrooms according to their readiness. That makes developmental progress, rather than simply reaching a birthday, relevant to the move. The preschool room emphasises independence and preparation for school, with learning experiences intended to build the foundations children will use in their next setting.

The Montessori-inspired approach encourages children to pursue interests and develop at their own pace. It sits alongside the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation and everyday routines become opportunities to practise communication, movement and social skills. Montessori is the approach to those experiences, rather than a replacement for the framework.

Learning and Activities

French lessons introduce another language, while yoga provides coordination and movement practice. Sow and Grow and Make and Bake are enrichment activities alongside creative experiences.

In February 2026, babies heard songs, stories and new vocabulary during ordinary interactions with staff. Older children used counting and comparisons during play. Washing dolls in water and scooping compost into pots provided practical occasions for adults to introduce words and numbers, rather than keeping language and mathematics in separate lessons.

Group activities that month included yoga, singing and letters and sounds activities, giving children practice in listening and cooperating.

Outdoor and Community Life

The Growing Garden gives children plants to tend. Bikes, scooters and a mud kitchen bring physical play and exploration into the same outdoor space.

Regular community outings include walks to parks and other outdoor spaces. College Town is close to Sandhurst Memorial Park and nature reserves, although the outings themselves are described more broadly. The enrichment package also includes visits to the local library and high street, contact with different generations and visits from community members, extending children's experiences beyond their playrooms.

Babies' outdoor learning needs a closer look. In February 2026, climbing and crawling received more attention outside than planned opportunities to develop communication. The issue was the balance of teaching outdoors: physical exploration was happening, but language learning needed more deliberate planning alongside it.

Relationships and Communication

A nursery app shares updates about learning, activities and meals, giving families a view of the day that goes beyond a brief conversation. Staff also work with parents on routines, behaviour and transitions, connecting what happens at nursery with life at home. This is useful when a child is practising a new routine in both places.

In February 2026, children had formed attachments to their key person. Staff used reassurance, signs and visual prompts during care routines and changes between activities. For a child who needs help understanding what happens next, those concrete cues matter more than a general promise of individual attention.

Settling sessions and a settling pack are included in the administration arrangements. They give the start of nursery its own preparation, while later room moves are based on children's readiness. These are different transitions, but both deserve attention when considering how a child will adjust to the setting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCo role supports children with additional needs, and the team includes practitioners with specialist experience in this area. At the February 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received responsive support and made progress, with professional advice, additional funding, small-group language work and individual support used to address their needs.

During that month, staff combined information from parents with observations of children's development to identify where extra help was needed.

Everyday independence also ran through the February 2026 account. Children practised handwashing, putting on coats and, for older children, serving their own food. Staff explained hygiene and hydration and helped younger children move safely downstairs. Care routines were occasions to practise skills as well as tasks to complete.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 117 College Rd, College Town, Sandhurst GU47 0RD. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full days are sold as ten-hour sessions, with a minimum booking of two full days each week; the opening window and the booked session length are separate considerations.

Attendance runs across 47 weeks, with bank holidays excluded. The 2026 closure periods are 30 March to 10 April, 17 to 31 August and 21 December to 1 January. Families needing care through these breaks will need to plan around that calendar, rather than treating the weekday opening hours as continuous year-round provision.

Enquiries can be made through the branch's question form or on 01276 34540. Place allocation gives priority to full-time working families.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible two-year-olds receiving additional government support, the universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, and eligible working families with children from nine months to four years. The first two entitlements provide 15 term-time hours; the working-family entitlement provides up to 30. Here, funding is stretched across 47 weeks, giving the stated weekly allocations of 12.12 or 24.24 hours respectively.

Working-family funding requires a valid code before term starts and begins in the term after the child reaches nine months. Funded-hours families complete a Parent/Carer Agreement Form within local authority deadlines. Funding runs in continuous blocks.

Private hours are charged separately from funded education and care. Total childcare fees include Everyday Essentials, a package covering food, care products and enrichment; during funded hours, these categories are charged separately from the funded provision. Fully funded sessions can be taken without additional charges, with arrangements for families unwilling or unable to pay for the package discussed with the manager.

Catering covers snacks, breakfast, cooked lunch and tea, with vegetarian and vegan choices. Nappies, wipes, suncream and hand sanitiser form the care-products element included in total childcare fees, while these consumables are separately chargeable during funded hours.

The enrichment element includes Sing and Sign alongside instruments and community experiences. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A non-refundable administration charge covers enrolment, settling sessions and the settling pack. For children accessing funded hours only, that charge is replaced by a deposit credited to the account and returned within a month of starting. Annual childcare costs are divided into twelve equal monthly payments, giving a regular billing pattern despite the closure periods.

• Babies outdoors. In February 2026, outdoor teaching gave babies fewer planned language opportunities than indoor activities. During a visit, ask how conversation, songs and vocabulary now accompany crawling and climbing outside.
• Preschool mealtimes. February 2026 lunch transitions sometimes left children uncertain whether to tidy or prepare to eat. Ask how staff now make the change from play to lunch clear and consistent.
• Calendar and attendance. The minimum is two full days weekly, across 47 weeks, with specified holiday closures. Match that commitment to your working pattern and ask how the ten-hour booking sits within the opening window.
• Funding and extras. Catering, care products and enrichment are separately chargeable during funded hours, while fully funded sessions can carry no additional charges. Before joining, discuss the intended package and, for a child with allergies, confirm current food arrangements.

College Town suits families seeking Montessori-inspired learning, regular community outings and practical outdoor experiences, with full-day attendance for at least two days a week. French lessons, the Growing Garden and an app connecting nursery and home give that choice useful substance.

February 2026 findings put babies' outdoor language learning and preschool lunch transitions among the priorities. Alongside those practical concerns, the 47-week calendar and funded-hours charges matter for the family's attendance needs.