Cranbrook Independent Nursery & Pre-School, Clover Court

Big spoons and patient turn-taking give Clover Court’s December 2021 inspection account its character. Children served their own lunch, while preschool children waited as another child received adult help. Independence and consideration were practised through ordinary routines.

At its December 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found effective safeguarding, positive relationships with key people and helpful support for children learning English or experiencing speech and language difficulties. That is a dated judgement, rather than a description of every aspect of care today. The two improvement priorities concerned recognising toddlers’ attempts to communicate and adapting younger children’s group activities.

Clover Court has capacity for 84 children, with care starting from three months old. Its Maidenbower setting serves babies through the preschool years, and its attendance choices include full days, half days and specific funded sessions.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children’s learning, development and care. In everyday terms, learning includes play, conversation, movement and relationships, rather than being confined to organised teaching sessions. In December 2021, props gave children another way to understand and communicate. For children still developing spoken language, objects could help make an exchange easier to follow.

In December 2021, activities followed children’s interests, with staff planning from what they knew about individual children. Children selected things they wanted to do, and adults helped them pursue those choices. Indoor and outdoor experiences both featured. For parents, the useful distinction is between simply occupying children and giving their interests a role in the day’s learning.

Independence also appeared in ordinary routines in December 2021. Children served themselves at lunch, while preschool children practised waiting when another child needed an adult’s help. Those examples put self-care and consideration for others into everyday situations. They are small actions with a clear purpose.

Group activities were less consistent for toddlers in December 2021. Adults sometimes continued after children’s attention had faded, while baby and preschool group experiences worked better. The issue was how the activity fitted the children taking part, rather than whether group time existed. That distinction matters when considering the nursery for a younger child.

Relationships and Communication

In December 2021, settling arrangements took account of children’s emotional needs both when they started and when they changed rooms. Babies received especially careful support, and staff used information from parents about preferences, personalities and interests. This made settling a shared process, with family knowledge contributing to how adults cared for the child.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2021 inspection, Ofsted found that props helped children with speech and language needs, or those learning English, understand and communicate, but also identified missed communication signals among toddlers who were not yet speaking. The strengths and the concern belong together: older children’s conversation was supported well, while younger children’s non-verbal messages needed more consistent attention.

In December 2021, baby-room staff recognised signs of tiredness and responded affectionately. Gentle reminders and explanations were used to guide behaviour. These examples show how care and learning met in routine interactions, although they remain observations from that period.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Clover Court, The Pavilion, Maidenbower Square, Maidenbower, Crawley, RH10 7QH. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year. Full-day and half-day bookings are offered, with both set-session and ad hoc charging structures.

Funded attendance has its own timetable. The stretched extended offer uses an eight-hour day from 10am to 6pm or a seven-hour day from 11am to 6pm. For the full stretched entitlement, the attendance pattern requires at least three days: two seven-hour days and one eight-hour day. A two-day arrangement allocates seven hours to one day and eight to the other.

Universal funding for children over three is allocated to afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm during term time. Taking the full 15-hour entitlement requires at least three days each week. A full day adds a paid morning to that funded afternoon, so the opening window and the funded timetable should be considered separately.

The nursery’s telephone number is 01293 887533. The branch email is clover@cranbrooknursery.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible working families can use the extended entitlement from the term after their child turns nine months, stretched across 51 weeks to a maximum of 22 funded hours each week. Universal funding starts from the term after a child turns three and provides 15 hours across 38 term-time weeks. Eligibility for the extended offer requires a code, and families must reconfirm their eligibility every three months.

Extra attendance outside the funded allocation is charged separately. For funded hours, food, activities and consumables carry no additional charge; this funded-hours position should be kept separate from the cost of extra private hours. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

Enrolment carries a non-refundable registration charge, except where a child attends only for government fully funded hours. Settling sessions are charged using the applicable hourly or session rate. These are separate parts of the joining cost, rather than extra funded hours.

• Toddler communication. The December 2021 improvement priorities concerned recognising non-verbal requests and adjusting group activities to younger children’s attention and development. During a visit, ask how staff recognise these requests and change an activity when interest fades.
• The funded timetable. The universal offer sits in term-time afternoons, while the stretched extended offer uses later-starting days across 51 weeks. Compare those actual patterns with your working day, including any extra paid morning hours.
• Joining costs. Settling sessions are charged, and the non-refundable registration charge is waived only for children using government fully funded hours exclusively. Include both conditions when assessing a written quotation.
• Settling and room changes. In December 2021, staff used parents’ knowledge of children’s preferences and gave babies careful settling support. Ask how your child’s routines would shape settling and any later move between rooms.

Clover Court suits families considering full-day or half-day care, as well as those whose routines fit funded term-time afternoons or the later-starting stretched sessions. The funded timetable gives those families a concrete basis for comparing attendance with their working hours.

The Good judgement from December 2021 provides a useful quality reference, with clear strengths in relationships and clear improvement priorities for toddler practice. The decision turns on the fit between your child’s needs, current toddler practice and the attendance pattern.