The Oaks Nursery

Natural materials, muted organic colours and signing give The Oaks Nursery a recognisable character. Its Communication Friendly Spaces approach shapes the indoor and outdoor surroundings, while sing & sign extends into family life through DVDs parents can borrow. These are concrete ways of connecting the nursery environment with communication at home.

On Park Wood Road in Canterbury, the nursery takes children from three months to five years and has 90 places in total. Babies, toddlers and preschool children have separate age-based rooms, so the surroundings and activities can change as children grow.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its 13 October 2022 inspection, with improvements requested in staff development and the organisation of group activities. That dated judgement is useful context, rather than a description of every aspect of today's provision. Attendance includes year-round childcare, funded sessions and a student term-time contract.

Rooms and Ages

Caterpillars and Butterflies are the baby rooms, covering the nursery's youngest children up to age two. Squirrels takes children aged two to three. Owls and Badgers serve the three-to-five age group. The age-based arrangement gives children access to experiences matched to their stage, rather than treating the whole nursery as one undifferentiated group.

Communication Friendly Spaces shapes the indoor and outdoor environment, with organic colours and natural materials and resources throughout the building. The physical surroundings are part of the approach. For parents who prefer an environment built around natural materials, this is a useful feature to weigh alongside the age-based room arrangement.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides learning through play, including language, movement, relationships and early mathematical understanding. It is the shared framework for early years provision; here, the key person uses it to plan experiences, assess development and keep records of learning. This connects what children do during the day with an individual account of their progress.

Sing & sign is used across the nursery, with DVDs available on loan so parents can practise at home. The useful detail is the connection between nursery and home: families can take part in the same named activity rather than leaving it entirely to practitioners.

In October 2022, babies explored seasonal vegetables, including leeks and pumpkins, investigating what was inside a pumpkin and handling its seeds. Older children worked with play dough and added materials to their creations. These examples show sensory exploration for younger children and practical opportunities for older children to use their hands creatively.

During that same month, staff talked alongside children's play and drew attention to important words. Mathematical conversations included size and quantity. Language and early number ideas were therefore woven into activities, rather than confined to a separate teaching slot.

The October 2022 picture also included children practising sharing, turn-taking and personal care. These everyday experiences matter alongside creative activities: learning to cooperate and do things independently forms part of preparation for the next stage.

Relationships and Communication

The key person has a practical role in planning and recording each child's development. Parents also have opportunities to discuss learning at consultation evenings and through everyday conversations with staff. That combination gives families both a planned discussion and a route for smaller questions as they arise.

Settling begins with two free visits of about an hour before the child's start date, with flexibility for individual needs. This provides an introduction before the contracted routine begins. The arrangement matters for parents of babies as much as for older children: the first experiences can be adjusted to the child rather than treated as a fixed test of readiness.

In October 2022, communication with families included suggestions for activities at home and information about children's development. Staff also used pictures and signing with children learning English, and learnt words from their home languages. Those practical tools helped children understand routines and communicate what they needed.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the October 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and identified successful additional support for children with SEND, including work with families and other professionals to adapt provision. The finding concerns practice at that visit; the useful substance is the combination of individual support and collaboration around a child's needs.

The nursery's SEND arrangements include a SENCO role, consultation with parents and individual education or play plans where additional support is needed. Plans are reviewed at least each half term. Activities, equipment or the surroundings can be adapted, and specialist services can be involved when further advice is required. These are specific mechanisms for discussing support, rather than a blanket assurance about every child's experience.

Moving to another setting includes sharing children's assessments and individual plans with parental consent. For a child receiving additional support, this can help the next setting understand the work already taking place.

The nursery's chef prepares meals featuring fresh produce alongside vegetarian options, meat and fish, using a three-week menu cycle refreshed each term. Special dietary needs are accommodated.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with bank holiday and Christmas closures. Regular childcare is contracted across the year. University of Kent students can use a separate 38-week term-time contract, with student status required for that arrangement.

Funded morning sessions run from 9am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Paid wraparound can extend these with 8am to 9am or 5pm to 6pm bookings. The student contract has a different funded pattern: mornings from 8am to 1pm and afternoons from 1pm to 6pm. These are separate contract arrangements, so the relevant pattern matters as much as the nursery's opening hours.

Contracts require a minimum of two sessions each week. Fees are payable monthly ahead of attendance, and changes to sessions or ending a contract require three months' notice. This is an arrangement to plan around, especially for families whose work or study timetable may change.

Getting There

The address is Park Wood Road, Canterbury, CT2 7FL, on the Canterbury Campus. Families can contact the nursery on 01227 827676 or use its online registration form. Admissions give priority to University of Kent staff and students and Kent Union staff, while also welcoming families from the wider community.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds and eligible two-year-olds, plus the 30-hour entitlement for eligible working parents of three- and four-year-olds. The stretched arrangement runs over 48 weeks, delivering 12 or 24 funded hours each week; the student contract instead uses a 38-week term-time pattern with 15 hours weekly.

Children attending solely for their funded education have no administration charge or charges for goods and services. Additional private sessions and wraparound hours are charged separately. Regular childcare and student contracts carry a non-refundable administration charge when a place is accepted. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the contract structure explained on the pricing and sessions page.

Eligible University of Kent and Kent Students' Union employees can use the Workplace Nursery Salary Exchange Scheme. It exchanges part of an employee's salary for an equivalent nursery-fee payment by the University. This is a separate employment arrangement, and the nursery directs families to independent financial advice when considering its implications.

• Different funded timetables. The stretched-funded and student contracts have different session hours and annual patterns. At a visit, discuss which contract fits your child's attendance and your work or study calendar.
• Notice and commitment. A two-session weekly minimum sits alongside three months' notice for session changes or termination. Build that commitment into any plan involving changing timetables.
• Group activities and staff development. In October 2022, younger children sometimes disengaged during adult-led groups, and staff training needed a sharper connection to teaching improvements. Ask how group sessions and practitioner development work now.
• Food and care supplies. The nursery caters for special dietary needs, while funded-only attendance carries no goods-and-services charges. Discuss your child's dietary requirements and which meals and care supplies belong in your proposed contract.

The Oaks suits families seeking year-round childcare, funded morning or afternoon sessions, or the student term-time arrangement. Its natural-material surroundings, named age-based rooms and sing & sign home loans give parents concrete features to consider beyond the timetable.

The Good judgement from October 2022 provides a dated assessment, with clear improvement points about group activities and staff development. For families connected with the University of Kent, the student contract and salary exchange scheme add practical reasons to consider it. The notice period deserves equal attention: this is childcare to plan around carefully.