Tiggers Nursery School

A Quarry for moving gravel, a Busy Beehive for books and dressing up, and visits from therapy dogs Heron and Myrtle give Tiggers Nursery School a recognisable character. This Sevenoaks preschool shares the Dunton Green Primary School site. Outdoor exploration sits alongside quieter spaces, with practical opportunities for children to become more independent.

Ofsted rated Tiggers Outstanding on 27 March 2025 and found its safeguarding arrangements effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: children contributed ideas to planning, took responsibility for small daily jobs and explored learning through activities that connected making, talking and counting. This is a preschool where participation has a practical meaning.

Children can start in the term after their second birthday, and sessions have a maximum of 24 children. That is a session limit, rather than a promise about the number attending on any particular day. Alongside the preschool provision, Kangaroo Klub offers after-school care for preschool and KS1 children.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning and care, with termly themes covering its areas of learning through activities and family participation. At Tiggers, those themes give staff a way to introduce new experiences while keeping children's own interests involved. The framework is the foundation; the garden, family contributions and practical routines show how the day takes shape.

In March 2025, daffodils prompted painting and conversations about flowers, while making flowers introduced counting petals. One subject connected observation, creativity and maths.

Children's ideas shaped planning in March 2025. Staff balanced guidance with uninterrupted play, leaving children time to develop interests and friendships.

An airport departure lounge play setting brought family experiences into learning in March 2025. Parents shared knowledge of Pakistan, Turkey and Ireland through food, dance, songs and stories, introducing children to lives beyond their own.

Outdoor and Community Life

The outdoor provision has several different purposes. The Quarry is a fenced space for using stones and gravel, with buckets and diggers for shifting materials. In the Busy Beehive, children can draw, read or dress up. These spaces support different kinds of play, from energetic handling of materials to a quieter activity with a book.

A Wild Garden contains the Bug Cafe, where the nursery aims to avoid plastic. Elsewhere, the garden includes a mud kitchen, a tunnel and a sandpit large enough for children to climb into. Herbs can be picked from planters and incorporated into play, adding another real material to explore. Climbing equipment and a small hill provide further opportunities to move.

The primary school's field provides running space, its playground accommodates scooters and bikes, and its Forest School pond area hosts outdoor learning sessions. Covered garden space and provided waterproof trousers support daily outdoor play across different weather conditions.

Family events give the preschool year its own rhythm. Grandparent's day takes place in October, with an afternoon visit and singing. At Christmas, families gather at Pavilion Hall for children's songs and activities. A Summer Picnic brings relatives into the garden, while the Leaver’s Party and Ceremony marks the end of the summer term for children moving on to school. These are opportunities for families to share parts of nursery life rather than leave participation to formal meetings alone.

Relationships and Communication

Settling is adapted to the child. Individually Tailored Taster sessions are free, and parents can stay and play while their child becomes familiar with the setting. The number of settling sessions can increase where needed. A video introducing the premises and staff is sent to new starters, so families can revisit familiar faces and spaces before the first term begins.

Key-person allocations can change to reflect the child's preferred adult. Termly consultations provide regular opportunities to discuss development, while the Big Book combines activity photographs and progress reports for families and children to revisit.

A private Facebook group shares weekly photographs, with an opt-out. Home visits support settling or extended absence, and staff can accompany families to progress meetings.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted found excellent SEND support, including collaboration with professionals, help accessing speech and language services, and personalised activities that supported rapid progress towards children's targets. Current support arrangements include individual plans with achievable targets, assistance with EHCP applications and tailored plans for settling and transitions. A SEN Lead and deputy SENCO provide identified roles within that work.

A quiet room next to the main room contains sensory equipment and toys, offering somewhere to pause or relax. Heron and Myrtle visit through the Pets As Therapy programme, which trains and assesses therapy dogs; staff supervise children's contact with them. Activities can include gentle stroking or sitting together during stories. The dogs add a specific form of interaction, while the separate quiet space gives children another option for stepping back from activity.

Healthy snacks are prepared for the morning routine and can connect with the theme being explored, such as choosing yellow foods during work on that colour. Identical water bottles and name cards give children opportunities to recognise their own names.

Independence is practised in ordinary routines. The cloakroom gives children space to change shoes and manage clothing, and families are asked to send footwear for indoor use. In March 2025, daily helpers also served snacks and helped tidy. These are small responsibilities children can understand and carry out themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery address is Dunton Green Primary School, London Road, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, TN13 2UP. Children enter from the term following their second birthday. A buggy store offers sheltered space for a pram or pushchair.

In March 2025, the preschool operated during term time, opening at 8.40am and closing at 5pm from Monday to Wednesday and at 3pm on Thursday and Friday. Those are dated opening hours, rather than a set of bookable morning or afternoon sessions.

Kangaroo Klub runs on weekdays from 3.15pm to 5.30pm for preschool and KS1 children. Cooking, construction and arts activities sit alongside dancing and outdoor play when weather allows, giving the later part of the day a different shape. Snacks and drinks are provided during club sessions. Information and tours can be arranged by telephone or email.

Funding and Moving on to School

In March 2025, Tiggers provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. That dated participation statement should be kept separate from the individual funding arrangements a family needs to agree for its own attendance pattern.

Reception teachers are invited into Tiggers during a child's final term, giving children a chance to become familiar with their next teacher. In March 2025, staff also took children on school visits. These activities support familiarity with the next setting; they do not confer an admissions advantage. Being based within Dunton Green Primary School's grounds does not guarantee a Reception place, and families still apply through the local authority admissions process.

• Starting point and settling. Entry begins in the term after the second birthday, and free taster sessions can be adapted to the child. Use a tour to discuss how that starting point and the stay-and-play arrangement would work for your child.
• Preschool and after-school attendance. Kangaroo Klub serves preschool and KS1 children on weekdays, while the preschool's March 2025 hours followed a term-time pattern. Discuss the combination of preschool attendance and later collection you need, including arrangements during school holidays.
• Contact with therapy dogs. Heron and Myrtle visit and interactions are supervised. Families with animal allergies or a child who is uneasy around dogs should discuss how contact and alternative activities are managed.
• Funding and charges. The March 2025 provision included funded early education. Request a current written quotation covering your child's funded hours, any additional care, snacks and non-food consumables before agreeing an attendance pattern.

Tiggers suits families seeking preschool provision with substantial outdoor play, opportunities to take part in nursery life and settling arrangements that can respond to the child. The Quarry, Busy Beehive and adjacent quiet room offer different ways to spend the day. Support plans and termly key-person consultations give families concrete points of contact around development.

Families combining preschool attendance with after-school care also have Kangaroo Klub. The Outstanding March 2025 judgement supports the choice; the starting age and attendance arrangements must fit the family's week. Reception admission remains a separate application.