Greenfields Nursery

Real objects, open-ended play and outings to Saga woods give Greenfields Nursery a recognisable character. Children can investigate natural materials, move between indoor and outdoor experiences and explore the neighbourhood beyond the nursery. The emphasis is on finding things out through play, rather than following a day built entirely around adult-led activities.

Greenfields welcomes children aged two to five at its Sandgate Primary School site on Coolinge Lane in Folkestone. Its 29 June 2023 judgement was Good, with a teaching-development priority concerning how consistently staff recognise and improve weaker moments in their practice. That qualification matters alongside the positive judgement.

Morning, afternoon and school-day sessions sit alongside optional extra hours, with both term-time and year-round attendance. This gives families several ways to organise care around work or other commitments. Its school-site address is also useful context for families thinking ahead to Reception, although nursery attendance does not guarantee a school place.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play, conversation, physical activity and early reading, writing and number experiences belong within the nursery day. Greenfields adds The Curiosity Approach, using everyday and natural objects in place of conventional plastic toys to encourage investigation and imaginative play. The practical difference is in what children handle and what they can decide to do with it.

Reusing furniture and salvaging objects are part of that approach, giving children materials they can use imaginatively in different games.

Connected indoor and outdoor spaces let children choose construction, pretend play, storytelling, water exploration and clay or dough. Painting, mark making and listening games bring creative and communication experiences into that play.

In June 2023, children investigated historical photographs and inventions, then built their own representations of engines with blocks and tubes. Water exploration involved experimenting with pipes and jugs. These examples show how an initial idea could become something children tested with their hands, linking discussion, construction and observation rather than keeping them as separate tasks.

In June 2023, songs in Arabic introduced another language through listening, while yoga gave children opportunities to explore movement.

Outdoor and Community Life

Mini outings to Saga woods, the library, shops and the beach extend children's exploration into the surrounding community.

Forest School adds hands-on experiences in natural surroundings and opportunities to tackle outdoor challenges. Sessions run across the year, while the programme is also marked as under review. For families, the useful distinction is between the continuing outdoor emphasis and the precise organisation of this particular programme.

The garden provides another outdoor learning space. In June 2023, children also travelled by train to the beach and practised managing physical challenges through tree climbing. These activities brought travel and risk awareness into learning beyond the indoor environment. They help explain why the quality of adult support outside deserves attention as much as the resources themselves.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2023, staff discussed children's achievements and their next learning steps with parents, and shared ideas that could be used at home. Parents were also encouraged to contribute materials for a bug hotel. That is a concrete form of involvement: families could help develop a resource children would then use, rather than receiving updates alone.

In June 2023, leaflets explained open-ended play and the nursery's approach, helping parents understand the purpose of natural and repurposed resources.

Children attending another early-years setting also benefited from information sharing in June 2023. Staff exchanged details about their learning and interests with other practitioners. For families dividing attendance between settings, this provided a way to connect the child's experiences across their week.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its June 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and recognised support for children with SEND, including work with occupational therapists and the use of visual cues to develop communication. These were specific mechanisms behind the judgement: joint observation and practical changes to communication support, rather than a general statement about inclusion.

Current staff responsibilities include safeguarding lead roles, SEND responsibilities and paediatric first aid. These provide a starting point for discussing a child's support in daily activities.

In June 2023, children practised handwashing independently and responded to one another's feelings with comfort and reassurance. These everyday routines sat alongside more structured learning. Physical care and social development were therefore part of ordinary nursery life, rather than confined to a separate activity.

Sessions and Attendance

Greenfields is at Sandgate Primary School, Coolinge Lane, Folkestone, CT20 3QU. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, with bank-holiday closures and approximately a week's closure in summer and at Christmas. The opening window needs to be distinguished from the sessions families book.

Morning sessions run from 8.50am to 11.50am, afternoons from noon to 3pm, and the school-day session from 9am to 3pm. Optional additions include an Early Bird session from 8am to 9am, shorter early starts and hourly extensions between 3pm and 6pm. The former eight-hour and ten-hour packages were withdrawn in April 2023, so the current arrangement is a core session with extra hours where required.

Attendance can follow a 38-week term-time pattern or a 48-week year-round pattern. Moving from year-round attendance to term-time care requires at least a term's notice. These are attendance arrangements, separate from the nursery's opening calendar, and the distinction matters when planning holiday care.

Applications enter a waiting list. Allocation follows application order, with priority for existing children and siblings; the main September allocation takes place in March or April. A place is confirmed in writing and, for fee-paying children, requires a non-refundable enrolment charge, while children whose attendance is entirely funded through Free Early Education are exempt from that charge.

Application forms go by email to info@greenfields-nursery.co.uk; general enquiries use the contact form or telephone on 01303 226406. An enrolment form follows an offer.

Funding and Paid Extras

Greenfields offers Universal Entitlement – 15 Hours for 3 and 4 Year Olds and Working Parent Entitlement for eligible families, with term-time funding or a stretched arrangement across 48 weeks. The nursery's accepted age range remains two to five, even though the working-parent entitlement itself covers younger children. Funded sessions operate between 8.50am and 3pm; extra hours outside that window are separate from the funded session offer.

Working Parent Entitlement requires an eligibility code and reconfirmation every three months. The stretched arrangement spreads the entitlement over more weeks using fewer funded hours each week. Families need to distinguish the entitlement they qualify for from their chosen booking pattern, especially when adding early or late hours.

Morning-session snacks are included, including within funded sessions; hot lunches, breakfast and light tea carry separate charges, with parents able to provide their own alternatives. Hot lunches are ordered through Sandgate School and follow its term dates, so children attending at midday need a packed lunch when they do not take a paid hot meal.

Parents supply nappies, wipes and cream. Sun cream carries a separate summer-term charge unless families provide their own. Extra activities are offered by choice, with content, duration and additional cost explained beforehand.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fees and funding page explains the charge structure. Nursery attendance does not guarantee admission to Sandgate Primary School; families still use the local authority's Reception admissions process.

• Outdoor teaching. In June 2023, adults sometimes missed opportunities to respond promptly or position themselves effectively, especially in the garden. At a visit, ask how staff now review their interactions and organise outdoor support.
• Forest School arrangements. The programme runs across the year but is marked as under review. Ask how sessions are currently organised for your child's stage and attendance pattern.
• Funded hours and holiday meals. Funded sessions fall between 8.50am and 3pm, while school-supplied hot lunches follow school terms. A booking that includes early starts or holidays needs a clear plan for the additional hours and food.
• Changing attendance patterns. Moving from year-round care to term-time attendance requires at least a term's notice. Families expecting work arrangements to change should weigh that commitment before choosing their pattern.

Greenfields suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as a school-day booking with optional extensions. Its natural resources, free-flow play and local outings give the day a clear identity, while term-time and year-round patterns serve different family routines.

The Good judgement from June 2023 is accompanied by a specific teaching-development issue, most relevant to adult interaction outdoors. The strongest decision is therefore about fit: whether the child's interest in exploratory play, the family's attendance pattern and the separate arrangements for meals and extras work together.