St Hilary's Nursery School

An outdoor book area and learning that could change direction with a child's curiosity give St Hilary's Nursery School its character. Based at Senacre Skills Centre in Maidstone, it has 32 places in total. The account of daily life below dates to January 2023.

At its January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that collaboration with parents and other professionals supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to make good progress. Children attending then were aged two to four.

In January 2023, children used a large indoor play space and could choose activities outside too. Low pegs with labels helped them manage their coats independently. Books were also accessible outdoors, giving children somewhere to browse together rather than keeping reading indoors.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: here, the January 2023 examples included conversation, imaginative play and making marks. Children contributed to activity planning, so their interests helped shape what happened next.

An igloo-making activity became an opportunity to explore glitter and experiment with marks. Elsewhere, staff connected children's play with a story they remembered. When a dog caught children's attention beyond the garden fence, practitioners spent a few minutes talking with them about what they could see; children with limited language repeated a word from that conversation. These examples show how everyday interests could become opportunities to practise language and recall.

In January 2023, children had close bonds with their key persons. Practitioners knew when to join an activity and when to give children space to explore independently. Pairing children for activities also gave them opportunities to learn alongside one another.

Work with families extended beyond the nursery day. In January 2023, staff discussed children's individual needs with parents and worked with other professionals, including liaison with a local special needs school over placements. Staff development included supervision and appraisals.

Children brought healthy snacks from home in January 2023 and chose between milk and water. Risk assessments were revisited after incidents; an adult toilet had been locked, with its key kept out of children's reach.

The address is Senacre Skills Centre, Titchfield Road, Maidstone, ME15 8FX.

In January 2023, opening hours were 8.30am to 11.30am and midday to 3pm on weekdays, across 39 weeks of the year. At that time, the nursery received funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four. These are dated attendance and funding arrangements.

• Extending learning. In January 2023, staff sometimes became occupied with other tasks and missed chances to develop children's learning. On a visit, discuss how practitioners are deployed across indoor and outdoor activities to pick up those moments.
• Attendance fit. The January 2023 timetable divided the day into two opening periods across 39 weeks. What attendance arrangements now suit your child's routine and your family's working hours?

St Hilary's suits families who value child-led exploration, independence and close relationships with practitioners. Its January 2023 examples are concrete: shared outdoor reading, imaginative construction and conversation prompted by children's interests. Families considering a sessional nursery have a useful starting point here, with staff deployment the clear improvement priority from that date.