Squirrel Lodge Nursery & Forest School

Woodland exploration and art made from children's own ideas give Squirrel Lodge Nursery & Forest School its character. At The Meads Community Centre in Sittingbourne, children have indoor and outdoor spaces for creating, while woodland beside the nursery garden provides the setting for Forest School, an approach to learning through outdoor play and practical exploration.

The current age range is two to five years, with 30 places in total. Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 31 July 2024 and found safeguarding effective, with strengths in children's independence and relationships alongside improvements needed in language support and the precision of learning plans. Those qualifications matter as much as the grade.

Reggio Emilia influences the approach through indoor and outdoor ateliers, art workspaces with accessible resources for children's own investigations and practitioner-guided activities. This suits families who value experimentation rather than identical finished pictures. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 48 weeks, with closures over Christmas, Easter and Bank Holidays.

Rooms and Ages

Acorn Room combines pans and whisks for pretend cooking, wooden small-world materials, quiet hideaways and garden water and messy play, allowing exploration alongside others or a quieter rest; waterproof suits and wet shoes are recommended.

Oak Room also has a room leader. The nursery's 30 places are a whole-setting capacity, not an activity group size.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, play should develop communication, physical skills, relationships and understanding, alongside early mathematical and literacy experiences. Squirrel Lodge's enquiry based learning approach adds an emphasis on children's questions and theories: adults observe what interests them, introduce materials and help them investigate further.

Reggio Emilia inspiration is tangible in the indoor and outdoor ateliers, art workspaces where children can select resources themselves or join an activity guided by a practitioner. Painting, clay and construction offer different ways to communicate an idea. Staff demonstrate how materials are used and cared for, so independence includes looking after the things children choose.

Projects continue while children remain interested. A den can be revisited the next day, while uninterrupted play gives children time to test and alter ideas.

In July 2024, potion play introduced mathematical estimation, while construction brought opportunities to explore patterns. Children also investigated bubbles and bottles, and younger children persisted with magnetic shapes. These examples connect familiar play with more demanding ideas, rather than separating learning into a formal lesson.

In July 2024, children enjoyed activities, but imprecise next learning steps meant they were not consistently challenged.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School takes place in woodland beside the garden, with sessions on several days. Children aged three and over participate when the Forest School leader considers them ready, and they go out in small groups. This is a readiness decision as well as an age threshold.

Following tracks, hand-tool work, shelter building, fire cooking, maps and wildlife exploration give children practical problems to investigate outdoors. The Meads Community Woodland is another nearby natural space.

In July 2024, children used torches to find insects and reminded each other about boundaries and protective goggles, incorporating risk awareness into woodland exploration.

Relationships and Communication

In July 2024, children approached their key person with their needs and sought staff during play for comfort and reassurance, giving them support when confidence faltered.

Children were given advance warning before changing activities and time to finish what they were doing. That supported concentration and made changes less abrupt. Relationships between children also featured in daily life: they shared resources and included others in games.

Parent communication had a practical element in July 2024. Staff sought families' views, used feedback to adjust provision and offered ideas for continuing learning at home. In its January 2020 advice to parents, the nursery emphasised school readiness through everyday independence: managing clothing, opening lunch containers and communicating needs.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff recognised emerging SEND needs and worked with families and professionals on support, but some practitioners lacked confidence in helping children with communication difficulties, making language support uneven. The distinction is important: a positive finding about wider inclusion did not remove a specific weakness in communication teaching.

The team includes a SENCO, a supporting SENCO, safeguarding lead roles and staff with paediatric first aid training, providing contacts for discussing additional needs and care.

Acorn Room's care approach adapts sleep to the individual child. Quiet spaces and a den also provide places to rest, read or observe. For a child who needs a break from active play, the opportunity to pause is part of the room's design.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is The Meads Community Centre, Emerald Crescent, Sittingbourne, ME10 5JL. The contact form requests a starting timeframe, starting age and preferred sessions before a prospectus is sent; information packs use the same contact route.

The April 25 to April 26 session terms offered mornings from 8am to 1pm, afternoons from 1.15pm to 6.15pm and full days from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. They also offered paid extensions before the full day, from 7.30am to 8am, and afterwards, from 6pm to 6.30pm. These are dated booking terms; the opening window itself is 7.30am to 6.30pm.

The 48-week calendar is an important planning detail. Christmas, Easter and Bank Holiday closures mean families need to match the nursery year to their working arrangements, even though opening spans the working day.

Funding and Paid Extras

For the April 25 to April 26 cycle, the funding terms listed universal 15-hour funding for three- and four-year-olds, extended 30-hour funding for eligible working parents of children aged nine months and over, and 15-hour free for two funding for eligible two-year-olds. Entitlement eligibility and the nursery's accepted ages are separate questions. The current age range here starts at two.

Those terms spread funding across 48 weeks, with maximum weekly use of 12 universal hours or 24 extended hours. For funded sessions without additional paid care, the stated weekly use was 10 universal hours or 20 extended hours, leaving the remainder for use elsewhere if parents chose. Additional private hours could sit alongside funding, so the choice affected both attendance and how entitlement was used.

Under those dated terms, nursery meals and snacks were separately charged optional choices, with a meal agreement allowing families to provide food instead; children entitled to EYPP had meals free on Universal hours. Families supplied formula and non-food consumables, including wipes, nappies, nappy sacks and sun cream.

Forest School, outings and events were separately priced optional activities in the same cycle; for children entitled to EYPP, they were free on Universal hours. Funded places carried no registration or administration charge, and invoices separated funded hours, private care and chosen extras. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their intended attendance.

• Starting age and Acorn Room. The current age range begins at two, while Acorn Room's description covers children from three months to two years. Before planning a start, establish how that room's offer relates to your child's age.
• Language support and challenge. In July 2024, communication teaching was uneven and some activities needed clearer next steps. At a visit, ask how staff now plan support for a child with language difficulties and extend learning beyond an initial interest.
• Attendance and the nursery year. The opening calendar spans 48 weeks, while the detailed session and funding terms cover April 25 to April 26. Obtain the current session agreement and closure dates together so your care plan matches the offer.
• Woodland participation. Forest School starts from age three when the leader judges a child ready. Discuss how readiness is assessed and how your preferred sessions fit woodland participation, including the current arrangements for paid extras.

Squirrel Lodge suits families drawn to art, sustained play and woodland exploration. Its ateliers and Forest School give that preference concrete expression, while the July 2024 findings provide a balanced picture of warm relationships, independence and teaching that needed greater consistency.

Morning sessions, afternoon sessions and full days all featured in its dated booking model, so its appeal extends across different attendance needs. The strongest fit is a family that values children's initiative and practical discovery, and wants a clear account of how language support, learning challenge and the current attendance agreement work for their child.