Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Tatsfield

A garden designed by preschool children, cooking over a campfire and a different artist to explore each month give Monkey Puzzle Day Nursery Tatsfield a clear character. Outdoor activity and creative work are substantial parts of the offer, alongside a sensory room for quieter exploration. This is a setting where the physical surroundings give children plenty to do.

At its November 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, while identifying improvements needed in activity planning, baby sleep arrangements and nappy changing. Those findings matter alongside the current facilities: appealing resources and the way staff organise children's day are separate considerations.

Children attend from three months to five years, with 56 places in total. The nursery occupies Old School on Church Hill in Tatsfield, and offers full-day and half-day attendance across the year. Its strongest practical attractions are the outdoor spaces, clearly described activities and communication through the Blossom app.

Rooms and Ages

Sparrows Room is the baby space, with an emphasis on comfort and early exploration; the baby provision accepts children from three months to two years and includes opportunities to use the sensory room. For a young child, that means both familiar care routines and experiences involving touch and visual stimulation.

Robins Room serves children over two in an open-plan space divided into separate areas, with places for creative work, books and role play, plus children's toilets to support growing independence. Blackbirds Room takes children from three until their move to school, combining early number and letter work with regular yoga and mindfulness sessions that children help lead.

These stages give parents a useful picture of progression. The emphasis shifts from babies' communication and movement towards managing everyday tasks and preparing for school, while the activities remain rooted in play.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the framework for learning, development and care: children's days involve language, movement, relationships, early mathematics, literacy and creative play. It is the baseline for nursery education. Tatsfield adds concrete experiences that make those areas tangible, rather than relying on a curriculum label alone.

Artist of the Month introduces a new artist each month, with children trying ideas and techniques through practical art activities. That gives creative work a changing point of reference. Big Chef, Little Chef brings children of different ages together for cooking and baking, including measuring, mixing and following a recipe's instructions. The result is something they can make and taste, with opportunities to practise everyday skills along the way.

The group-wide curriculum also describes a progression in independence. Babies work towards feeding themselves and cooperating with dressing; toddlers practise handwashing and using cutlery; preschool children develop turn-taking and recognition of letters, sounds and mathematical vocabulary. These are useful topics for conversations about a child's next steps, rather than a reason to expect every child to develop at the same pace.

In November 2021, activity planning did not consistently identify the intended learning clearly enough. Staff needed more support to connect an enjoyable activity with a precise educational purpose. That remains a useful distinction for parents considering the nursery's current curriculum approach: what children enjoy doing and what staff intend them to learn should connect.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School adds practical learning in nature, including planting, supervised tool use and cooking around a fire. Sessions run regularly, with a Forest School leader within the team. The attraction is hands-on participation: children encounter materials, growing things and practical tasks beyond the indoor rooms.

Two gardens support outdoor play, and children have daily access. The main garden includes climbing frames, a built-in sandpit and planting spaces. In the preschool garden, children's ideas shaped areas for dinosaurs, imaginative fairy play and a mud kitchen. Growing food gives the space another purpose: children plant, water and harvest produce, which goes to the chef for meals. They can follow the connection between growing ingredients and eating them.

Regular outings extend that experience into Tatsfield. Destinations include Tatsfield Park and its duck pond, Biggin Hill Airport, The Lookout Café and Tatsfield Post Office. These are specific local experiences, rather than a promise of weekly trips. Nature, transport and everyday community places give children different subjects to explore and talk about.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who maintains a Learning Journey, which parents can discuss and contribute to with experiences from home. That creates a continuing account of development, rather than relying only on a brief conversation at collection.

Blossom provides updates and photographs during the day, alongside information about sleep, nappy changes and food. For parents of babies, those practical details can help connect the nursery day with the evening routine at home. The baby care arrangements initially support home sleep patterns, while toddler care includes help with becoming confident using the toilet.

Current staff roles include leaders for the baby and preschool rooms, a deputy manager who leads Forest School, and a manager with SENCO, safeguarding lead and paediatric first aid training. These describe responsibilities and training within the team.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2021 inspection, Ofsted found effective SEND support, with the special educational needs coordinator working with key persons, families and other professionals, including arranging a quiet area for children who became anxious. That is a dated example of individual support, rather than a blanket assurance about every child's needs today.

The current sensory room contains illuminated resources and sensory equipment, offering another setting for exploration and calmer activity. Preschool children also take part in yoga and mindfulness. Together, these provide different ways to engage: energetic outdoor play is only one part of the day.

The November 2021 findings about indoor organisation deserve equal attention. Babies' sleep arrangements restricted other children's play while they waited for sleepers to wake, and nappy changing in older children's play rooms sometimes affected the space with unpleasant smells. These were practical care concerns, not simply matters of decoration. Current descriptions of activities should be considered alongside questions about how sleep, play and changing work together.

Sessions and Attendance

Full-day sessions run from 7.30am to 6.30pm, and half-day sessions are also offered. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 6.30pm, across 51 weeks of the year. The nursery closes for the week between Christmas and New Year and on bank holidays, so that calendar matters when planning care around work.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01959 928427 or by email to manager@monkeypuzzletatsfield.co.uk. The nursery caters for children from three months to five years, making the age range relevant both to an initial booking and to later changes in attendance.

Getting There

The address is Old School, Church Hill, Tatsfield, Surrey, TN16 2JX, between Biggin Hill, Oxted and Westerham. A car park is provided for collection and drop-off, giving families an on-site option when organising journeys.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use 15 or 30 hours of funded childcare, with entitlement stretched across the year. Private paid hours can be combined with funding. The distinction is important: a funded entitlement and the complete cost of a child's attendance are different things.

Private fees include breakfast, lunch, tea, snacks and drinks, as well as nappies, wipes and creams; hot meals are home-cooked. For funded attendance, meals and consumables, including nappies, wipes and sunscreen, carry additional charges, as do trips and hours beyond the entitlement.

The funding and fees page explains the structure, and current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Families using funding should compare the whole attendance package, including food, consumables and additional hours, with the care pattern they need.

• Baby sleep and changing. November 2021 findings identified restricted play during baby sleep and changing arrangements that affected older children's play spaces. During a personal tour, ask how sleeping babies, awake children and nappy changing are accommodated now.
• Purpose behind activities. Planning needed greater precision in November 2021. Ask how staff connect Artist of the Month, cooking and outdoor experiences with each child's next steps, and how that appears in their Learning Journey.
• Funding and the whole bill. Funded attendance carries additional charges for food, consumables, trips and extra hours. A written quotation should show how these apply to your chosen full-day or half-day pattern.

Monkey Puzzle Tatsfield suits families seeking either full-day or half-day attendance, with outdoor learning and practical creativity playing a substantial role. Artist of the Month, Big Chef, Little Chef and regular Forest School sessions give the nursery recognisable substance, while the gardens connect imaginative play with growing food.

The balance lies in considering those opportunities alongside everyday care. The Good judgement dates to November 2021, and the indoor sleep, changing and planning findings provide concrete questions for a tour. For families who value both active experiences and detailed communication about their child's day, this is a nursery with clear reasons to consider it.