Claygate Montessori School

Pouring, buttoning and learning letter sounds sit alongside French songs and Thursday football at Claygate Montessori School. This is a preschool with a practical Montessori identity: children choose activities, use specially designed materials and receive individual guidance rather than spending the day following whole-group instructions.

Based at Claygate Village Hall, Church Road, Claygate, Esher, KT10 0JP, it has capacity for 18 children aged two to five. That is the whole-setting capacity, rather than a claim about how many children attend together. At its November 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall, with the same judgement across education, behaviour, personal development and leadership.

Attendance follows school terms, with morning and afternoon sessions and a flexible approach to days. The combination gives families a choice of shorter attendance patterns, while practical learning and specialist activities give the nursery day its character.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing communication, physical development and learning through everyday experiences into the nursery day. Montessori is the teaching approach used alongside it: children select activities within an organised environment, work at their own pace and have an adult available to guide them.

Work Time makes that approach tangible. Tasks include folding, pouring and fastening buttons, while sensory activities encourage children to explore through touch, taste and listening. These are purposeful opportunities to practise everyday independence. Special Montessori equipment introduces words, letters and numbers, including sandpaper letters that connect a letter's shape with its sound.

Daily Circle Time offers a different kind of participation. Children discuss their news, feelings, the weather and calendar concepts, giving them a shared occasion to speak and listen. The Book Corner supplies children's books for stories and, when children are ready, reading aloud. Child-sized furniture, shelves and tools make the classroom's organisation part of the learning experience: materials are within children's reach and have a place to return to.

In November 2022, younger children used tools to fit wheels to toy cars, while older children made shopping lists for planned baking and explored recipes with adults. These examples connect early writing and vocabulary to something children wanted to do. Leaf rubbing also gave children practice with the hand movements used for writing.

Creative work extends beyond drawing. Each term brings a craft project, with clay, collage and experiments in colour among the activities. Geography uses Montessori maps and jigsaws; growing plants from seed introduces botany. The detail matters: abstract ideas are approached through objects children can handle and processes they can observe.

Movement and Shared Experiences

Little Kickers teaches football on Thursday mornings. A weekly Movement Tutor adds musical games, mime, acting and dance, while gymnastics activities practise balance and coordination. These sessions provide contrasting ways to take part, from ball skills to imaginative movement.

French is introduced through rhymes, songs and games. In November 2022, visits from a teacher also introduced simple French words, and discussions included Buba Marta Day, the Bulgarian celebration welcoming spring. That dated example shows how conversation connected children's learning with experiences beyond their own households.

Monty the Classroom Bear goes home with a different child each week, creating a link between family life and the classroom. Show and Tell gives children another opportunity to share experiences and practise communication and listening. Both offer a concrete starting point for a child who has something to say but needs help organising it.

At the November 2022 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements and strong support for children's differing learning needs, including children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language. These are dated judgements, rather than assurances about every subsequent year.

In November 2022, staff gathered information about children's home lives and earlier experiences when families joined. Pictures and familiar words helped children learning English communicate what they needed. Daily conversations with a key person gave parents a regular opportunity to discuss their child's learning, making communication part of the routine rather than something reserved for a formal meeting.

The same month, picture prompts supported choices and classroom routines, and children selected resources and returned them after use. Discussions about dental care introduced vocabulary associated with teeth and oral health. Care and learning overlapped in practical ways: expressing a need, managing materials and understanding personal wellbeing all had a place in the day.

Families provide labelled snacks. Parents also apply sunscreen before nursery, and staff do not apply it during the nursery day; this is a practical consideration for attendance in warmer weather.

Sessions and Attendance

Monday to Thursday, morning sessions run from 9am to 12.45pm and afternoon sessions from 12.45pm to 3.30pm. Friday has a morning session from 9am to 1pm. Days and sessions can be arranged flexibly, so the offer includes both morning attendance and afternoon attendance rather than a single fixed daily pattern.

The year follows three school terms, with half-term breaks and school-holiday closures. Families needing childcare throughout the year should weigh that calendar carefully. The shorter Friday is also important when matching nursery attendance to work or other commitments.

Getting There

The nursery operates from Claygate Village Hall on Church Road, rather than the Hinchley Drive address used in its heading. An on-site car park supports collection and drop-off.

Enquiries and visits can be arranged by telephone or email. The contact email is claygatemontessori@outlook.com, with 01372 47 0611 used during nursery hours and 020 8398 8104 also provided for enquiries.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds and 30 hours where eligible, with funding beginning in the term after the child's third birthday. Eligible two-year-olds can receive 15 hours through FEET or the Working Parents Entitement. Attendance is term-time; eligibility remains a condition of the relevant offer.

Parents supply snacks and take responsibility for sunscreen before attendance. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which gives families a basis for assessing the arrangement alongside their chosen sessions.

• A term-time calendar. Three terms and half-term breaks shape attendance, and Friday finishes at 1pm. Match those boundaries to your family's childcare needs before choosing a pattern.
• Practical independence. Work Time includes pouring, folding and fastening tasks, while children choose Montessori activities. During a visit, explore how adults help a new child make choices and join shared activities.
• Sun protection. Sunscreen must be applied before nursery, and staff do not apply it during the day. How would sun protection be managed for your child across a morning and afternoon?
• An older inspection judgement. The Outstanding judgement dates from November 2022. A visit offers an opportunity to discuss how the current day uses the practical learning and individual guidance described here.

Claygate Montessori School suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon attendance with a clear emphasis on practical independence. Work Time, daily Circle Time and the Book Corner give the core day substance; Little Kickers, French and weekly movement teaching add different ways for children to participate.

The November 2022 Outstanding judgement is a strong dated endorsement. The present decision is also practical: the term calendar, shorter Friday and home-applied sunscreen need to fit family routines. For parents who value hands-on tasks and child-selected activities, the nursery offers a clearly defined approach rather than an indistinct preschool day.