Prima Montessori & Day Nursery

An outdoor classroom and a vegetable patch give Prima Montessori & Day Nursery a practical character: children can explore growing and everyday independence alongside their play. The Gillingham setting occupies three purpose-built buildings at Elm Court on Capstone Road. Its gardens include a covered area for babies, so outdoor provision extends beyond the preschool years.

At its 17 April 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, inclusion, and leadership and governance to be Strong standard, with achievement and curriculum and teaching at Expected standard, and safeguarding standards met. That is a differentiated picture: care and relationships earned stronger judgements than teaching. It gives parents a useful basis for weighing the nursery's strengths against its development work.

Prima accepts children from three months to five years and has 132 places in total. Full days, mornings and afternoons form the booking offer, with attendance across the year. The strongest reasons to consider it are its outdoor spaces, its practical emphasis on independence and the detailed family-support arrangements seen in April 2026.

Learning and Activities

Montessori principles sit alongside the Early Years Foundation Stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care through experiences such as play, communication and physical exploration. Montessori is an approach associated with children's independence and choice; here, preschool learning also extends into the outdoor classroom. The practical question is how staff turn those principles into appropriately challenging experiences for each child.

Babies and toddlers have calmer exploration spaces, the middle house centres on the kitchen, and preschool children use the outdoor classroom. For babies, quieter indoor provision is complemented by a covered outdoor area.

In April 2026, babies used soft-play resources for climbing and balance, and shared books and rhymes. Other children rolled differently sized tyres down outdoor ramps, giving them opportunities to explore size and motion.

In April 2026, children measured ingredients for playdough, while older children handled money in the community shop. Counting, shapes and colours also featured, connecting mathematical ideas with practical activities.

The April 2026 teaching priority was for some staff to develop activities further and pause long enough for children to process questions or instructions. This matters even where children enjoy the activity: a recipe or a construction task needs timely questions and pauses if it is to deepen understanding. Leaders had an action plan addressing consistency of teaching.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School, an approach to learning through outdoor exploration, forms part of the garden provision among trees and wildlife. A mud kitchen and vegetable patch give children concrete materials and growing spaces to investigate, while all-weather resources support outdoor use. These are useful reasons to consider Prima for a child who enjoys active, practical experiences.

In April 2026, children investigated herbs in the mud garden and selected ingredients and recipes through the community shop. Food therefore connected several parts of the day: outdoor exploration, choosing, conversation and experiences to take home. The shop was also used for free food support for families, giving it a practical role beyond children's activities.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person. Staff respond to emotional expression, including gestures and cues from children who are not yet speaking, so communication does not depend on spoken words.

In April 2026, a front-of-house management role gave families an immediate contact, and routines were adjusted to help individual children settle. Children sought staff out for comfort and affection. These are concrete examples of relationship-building, rather than a promise that every child will settle in the same way or at the same speed.

Independence ran through ordinary routines in April 2026. Older children cleared food from their plates and helped with recycling, while others managed handwashing and toileting for themselves. These small responsibilities give children repeated opportunities to practise self-care. They also help parents understand what preparation for the next stage can look like in daily nursery life.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In April 2026, support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities included visual prompts, adapted spaces and funded specialist resources. Families received funding and advice support; staff worked with external agencies and the local authority on education, health and care plans and school transitions.

Calmer spaces offered children somewhere to retreat in April 2026, and toothbrushing activities made oral health part of self-care. Visual aids helped children anticipate what would happen next and choose activities. For a child who needs help understanding routines, that makes the organisation of the day an important part of support, alongside the activity itself.

Meals are cooked on site each day using seasonal ingredients. In April 2026, the setting employed a chef and a nutritionist, linking food preparation with nutritional planning.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Elm Court, Capstone Road, Gillingham, ME7 3JQ. Opening hours are 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with public holidays and a Christmas week excluded. On-site parking provides a collection and drop-off option for families travelling by car.

A full day runs from 7am to 7pm; morning sessions run from 7am to 1pm, and afternoons from 1pm to 7pm. The minimum weekly booking is either two full days or four morning or afternoon sessions, and must include Monday or Friday. That weekday condition is consequential: families should assess the booking rule alongside the session length, rather than choosing a timetable on hours alone.

Enquiries and personal tours can be arranged through the nursery. Fees are paid monthly in advance, and one calendar month's notice is required for cancellations or permanent changes to sessions. Bank-holiday closures remain chargeable, and sickness or holidays do not attract a credit, exchange or refund. These terms affect the cost of maintaining a regular pattern even when a child does not attend.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, each based on 38 weeks, alongside 2 Help funding. The standard arrangement stretches entitlement across the nursery's operating weeks. Funded hours can be used alone or combined with additional paid attendance; use within day, morning or afternoon sessions depends on availability.

Private fees include meals and consumables. During funded hours, food, consumables and enrichment are charged separately through the optional Essentials Package; consumables include wipes, nappies, nappy bags, cream and suncream. Parents can opt out by contacting the manager before term begins, although suitable alternatives or arrangements for collecting and disposing of consumables may be required under the nursery's policies.

The Enrichment Programme covers possible additions such as gardening, baking, cultural activities and graduation events, rather than a guaranteed timetable of named weekly sessions. Registration charges and a deposit apply, but both are waived for fully funded places; the deposit is credited against the final invoice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, which should distinguish paid attendance from funded-hours extras.

• Teaching consistency. The April 2026 development priority was to extend children's learning more effectively and allow enough thinking time. During a tour, ask how staff now demonstrate this in play and practical activities.
• The weekly booking rule. Two full days or four morning or afternoon sessions must include Monday or Friday. This could determine whether Prima fits a family's working week, even when the session times themselves suit.
• Funded-hours extras. The Essentials Package is optional, with opt-out arrangements made before term starts. Establish what your child would need to bring and how consumables would be handled if you decline it.
• Settling and continuity. By the April 2026 inspection, a new management structure and team were in place following governance and staffing challenges. Ask how your child's key person, settling arrangements and family contact will work within the current team.

Prima suits families choosing full days or morning and afternoon sessions who value outdoor exploration and practical independence. The garden provision gives the Montessori approach a tangible setting, while April 2026 examples of the community shop and tailored support add substance to its family-facing character.

Care, inclusion and routines received stronger inspection judgements than teaching. The teaching priority deserves attention alongside the outdoor spaces, while the weekday booking condition and optional funded-hours charges shape whether Prima fits family life.