Christchurch Nursery

An outdoor library, two playgrounds and plenty of scope for imaginative play give Christchurch Nursery a clear character: this is a place for children to talk, experiment and practise doing things for themselves. Based on Ingles Way in Folkestone, it welcomes children aged two to five. Its provision combines practical activities, such as cookery and construction, with spaces for books, small-world play and role play.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, while identifying outdoor physical challenge and the organisation of transitions as areas needing improvement. Those are useful distinctions for parents: outdoor resources matter, but so does how adults use them; an engaging activity also needs protection from interruptions.

Morning and afternoon sessions provide different attendance options, alongside separately priced additional time. Parents provide food, and the nursery accepts several funded childcare entitlements without add-on charges for funded sessions.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS brings together children's learning, development and care, including communication, physical development, relationships and early literacy and mathematics. Here, the practical materials give those areas something concrete to work through: children can build, make art, explore sand and water, or invent situations in the indoor and outdoor role-play spaces. Technology is also provided, without online access.

In April 2025, play dough supplied opportunities to introduce words describing hand movements, while learning about animals from around the world introduced words such as eucalyptus and bamboo. Adults repeated pronunciation and encouraged children to try words themselves. This connects language to something a child is already handling or thinking about, rather than treating conversation as a separate lesson.

Children's interests also shaped activities at that time. Toy sea animals became material for imaginative games, and a board game gave children practice in taking turns. Adults sometimes joined play to extend it and also left children time to investigate independently. For parents, these examples offer a more useful picture of the day than a long list of learning aims: conversation, curiosity and sharing were woven into play.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two playgrounds and an indoor/outdoor library extend activity beyond the indoor play spaces. Construction, cookery and art give children different ways to handle materials and make choices, while trips into the local area add experiences beyond the nursery itself.

In April 2025, children moved between indoors and outdoors, listened to stories in the outdoor library and explored healthy eating through pretend food-making. Outdoor time therefore included language and imaginative activity as well as movement. The important qualification concerns physical development: adults were less consistent in extending children's skills when they used outdoor apparatus. The resources were there; the challenge provided through adult interaction needed further work.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2025, adults used pictures and visual reminders to explain expectations, alongside simple signing to help children communicate. These offer more than one route into understanding a routine or expressing a need, which matters for children still developing spoken language.

Everyday independence was practised through manageable tasks. At that time, children chose resources, put on coats, used the toilet, washed their hands and helped clean their plates and cups. These are small actions with a practical purpose: they let children take an active part in their own care rather than waiting for an adult to do everything.

Parent support sessions in April 2025 explored ways to help children's development at home. Staff also listened to parents' views. That creates opportunities to connect what a child is doing at nursery with the activities and routines their family recognises.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children made good progress, including through individual planning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and judged safeguarding effective. The current team structure includes a SENCO role and designated safeguarding leads, giving families identifiable responsibilities within the staff team.

In April 2025, staff put advice from professionals involved in children's care into practice, and additional funding bought sensory resources intended to help children manage their emotions. These examples show the mechanisms used to support individual needs: planning, professional advice and practical resources, rather than one uniform response for every child.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery's address is The Annexe, Ingles Way, Coolinge Road, Folkestone, Kent CT20 1ER. Opening hours are 8.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across the year, with closures for bank holidays and Christmas.

Non-funded attendance includes a morning session from 9am to noon and an afternoon session from noon to 3pm, plus an early slot from 8.30am to 9am. An hourly rate and a full-week price are also offered. Opening hours and individual session times serve different purposes: families should distinguish the hours the nursery is open from the attendance pattern they book.

Enquiries can be made by telephone or email, and the waiting list operates in order of enquiry. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Non-funded accounts can incur a late-payment charge when fees remain outstanding at the end of the week.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts Free for two, Universal and Working family funding. Funded sessions carry no add-on charges; the session prices apply to non-funded attendance. This separates the funded offer from privately purchased time, rather than treating all attendance as having the same charging structure.

Parents supply a healthy snack and packed lunch for both funded and private attendance; the nursery provides milk and water. Food therefore needs to be part of the family's daily preparation.

In April 2025, the nursery operated within the grounds of Christchurch Primary School. Attending the nursery does not guarantee a Reception place.

• Outdoor challenge. In April 2025, adults did not consistently extend children's physical skills outdoors. During a visit, ask how staff now build challenge into play with the apparatus.
• Interruptions and waiting. In April 2025, changes between activities and the movement of families disrupted play, with noise and lengthy waits affecting children's engagement. Ask how these parts of the day are organised now.
• Funding pattern. Free for two, Universal and Working family funding are accepted without add-on charges for funded sessions. Ask how your entitlement fits the morning, afternoon and additional-time options, including its delivery across the year.
• Starting with individual needs. The staff structure includes a SENCO, and individual SEND planning was part of practice in April 2025. Discuss how settling, communication and any care supplies would be organised for your child.

Christchurch Nursery suits families seeking morning or afternoon attendance, with additional paid time also forming part of the offer. Its playgrounds, library, creative materials and practical activities provide several ways for children to participate, while parents retain responsibility for snacks and lunch.

The April 2025 picture combines positive learning and care findings with two concrete cautions: the quality of adult interaction around outdoor physical skills, and interruptions during transitions. These deserve attention when choosing the setting. The strongest fit is for families who value play, communication and everyday independence, and whose attendance needs match the session arrangements.