Tiger Cubs Day Nursery

Farm animals, woodland walks and a garden enclosed for outdoor play give Tiger Cubs Day Nursery a recognisable character. Based at New Line Learning Academy on Boughton Lane in Maidstone, it combines opportunities to explore nature with separate rooms for babies, toddlers and preschool children. For parents who want outdoor experiences woven into nursery life, the farm is a substantial part of the appeal.

At its 1 May 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. The practical strengths include a gradual settling programme, a personal learning journal that parents can contribute to, and a SENDCo who works with outside specialists. These arrangements give families several ways to share what their child needs and follow their development.

Children are accepted from 4 to 59 months. Morning, afternoon and all-day sessions run during term time, so families can choose between shorter attendance and a full nursery day.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room spans the nursery's youngest age band up to two years, with activities adapted to development, individual routines and a diary for parents about each day's care. Its emphasis is familiarity: information from home helps staff organise the day around the baby rather than expecting every child to follow the same rhythm.

For children aged two to three, the Toddler Room combines construction, creative work, puzzles and pretend play with quieter spaces for music and stories, plus physical activity inside and outside. That mix makes room for energetic exploration and a quieter pause within the same stage of nursery life.

The Pre-School Room serves the three-to-five stage, with a spacious layout and play led both by children and adults to encourage exploration and independence before school. Across the rooms, the progression is from closely following personal routines towards doing more for oneself.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage guides daily learning through play, including language, movement, relationships, early reading and mathematics. It is the common framework for early years provision; here, staff use observations of children's development to plan what comes next. The curriculum page explains that learning includes watching others, adult examples and guided activities as well as children's own play.

Alongside this, the curiosity approach brings natural materials, soft furnishings and a visually calm setting. The practical addition is an environment built around open-ended exploration. Children can investigate materials rather than being limited to one prescribed use for each resource.

In May 2024, a bug hunt linked interest in living things with counting and comparing worms; babies explored water by pouring, emptying and noticing its temperature and texture. These examples connect early science, physical control and language to something children are actually doing. At the May 2024 inspection, Ofsted identified two teaching priorities: arranging larger group activities so everyone could participate fully, including having enough room to explore, and developing the youngest children's communication more consistently.

Outdoor and Community Life

An enclosed garden provides outdoor equipment for use across the seasons. Farm visits and walks in nearby woodland extend learning beyond that garden, bringing animals and changing natural surroundings into children's experience. The on-site school farm includes goats, sheep and donkeys, with farm staff experienced in activities for young children.

Outings also include the local fire station and parks. Together, these offer different kinds of exploration: nature close to the nursery and encounters with the wider community. The farm visits are frequent.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person, giving the family a familiar contact for care and development. Settling begins gradually: a registration visit lasting around one hour keeps a parent alongside their child, followed by visits of around two and three hours as separation is introduced. Progress towards a morning or afternoon session depends on how the child settles. A favourite blanket or toy can come from home.

Tapestry is the online learning journal used to share photographs, videos and observations with parents. Families can add their own photographs and comments, so learning at home becomes part of the conversation too. Staff record key moments rather than attempting to document everything, leaving time for interaction with children. Informal daily conversations and private meetings with the key person or SENDCo provide a more direct route for discussing concerns.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

SEND support has a defined structure. The SENDCo works with room leaders and practitioners, alongside the Specialist Teachers and the Speech and Language Team. Targeted plans are discussed with families; where further help is needed, staff discuss referrals and seek parental consent. Makaton signing and visual cards support communication and interaction, providing ways to make meaning beyond spoken words alone.

Accessibility is concrete here. The building and outdoor area are on one level, with wide doors, accessible toilets and low washbasins. These features matter for children and parents who use wheelchairs, while adaptations to activities and room layouts form part of planning for individual needs.

Meals are cooked at the nursery, with menus rotating over three weeks; its catering arrangements include accommodating dietary needs and preferences. In May 2024, children also practised toothbrushing and discussed why it matters, connecting a health routine with understanding their own care.

School preparation includes changing the role-play space into a school, using local school uniforms, inviting teachers to meet children and practising independence with coats, belongings and toileting. Transition information is shared with the next setting with parental consent, and staff accompany additional visits where possible. The annual Graduation ceremony marks the move to primary school, with families invited and children wearing caps and gowns to receive certificates and a small gift.

Sessions and Attendance

Tiger Cubs operates Monday to Friday, opening at 7.30am and closing at 6pm. The AM Session runs from 7.30am to 12.45pm, the PM Session from 12.45pm to 6pm, and the All day session from 7.30am to 6pm. It opens for 40 weeks each year, during term time. That calendar is a central consideration for families whose work continues through school holidays.

Applications use an online Admissions Registration Form, with a paper version obtainable from reception. Places are allocated in order of application, with Future Schools Trust staff receiving first priority; a waiting list operates when the nursery is full. General and admissions enquiries go to enquiries@tigercubs.co.uk or 01622 943995.

Getting There

The address is New Line Learning Academy, Boughton Lane, Maidstone, ME15 9QL. Parents with disabilities can drive close to the nursery door, supporting access when bringing or collecting their child.

The nursery describes working with Early Years Teachers from Tiger Primary School. This supports nursery practice; attending Tiger Cubs does not guarantee a school place, and families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered for eligible two-year-olds, alongside 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds and 30 hours subject to eligibility. The nursery operates during term time. Its funding information also explains the working-parent entitlement for younger children, but that national entitlement should be kept separate from a particular funded booking at Tiger Cubs.

Paid childcare fees include meals, formula, nappies, wipes, bottles, outings and children's celebrations or entertainment. This brings food and several everyday baby-care supplies within the fee rather than treating them as separate purchases. The fees page sets out the session structure; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

A refundable registration charge applies when registering to secure a place. A deposit is not taken for a fully funded place. These are separate terms, so the registration charge and deposit position should be read separately when budgeting.

• Term-time calendar. Forty weeks of opening suits families organising care around terms. Work out how the remaining school-holiday periods fit your childcare plans.
• Teaching priorities. The May 2024 priorities concerned participation in larger groups and language support for the youngest children. During a tour, ask how staff now organise group play and extend babies' communication.
• Funded booking costs. Meals and everyday care supplies are included in paid fees. Ask how those items are treated within your proposed funded-hours arrangement.
• Individual settling and dietary needs. Settling visits increase gradually, and catering accommodates dietary requirements. Use the initial visit to discuss your child's separation needs and, where relevant, confirm current allergy arrangements.

Tiger Cubs suits families seeking term-time morning or afternoon sessions as well as all-day attendance, with nature and practical independence running through nursery life. The farm, woodland walks and two-way Tapestry journal give parents clear reasons to consider it. Its Good judgement from May 2024 sits alongside specific teaching priorities that deserve attention, especially for families choosing care for a baby. The strongest fit is a family that values gradual settling, outdoor exploration and a term-based calendar.