Benjamin Rabbit Nursery at Holborough Lakes

Weekly farm outings and play areas reached directly from the rooms give Benjamin Rabbit Nursery at Holborough Lakes an outdoor thread that runs beyond its own grounds. This purpose-built, ground-floor setting in Snodland combines space for younger children with a partitioned room for older toddlers and preschool children. The physical arrangement matters: outdoor play is connected to the rooms, while the minibus extends learning into the surrounding community.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its inspection on 27 January 2025. There were also clear priorities for development: more precise teaching for babies and better organisation when children move between activities. These are useful points for parents to explore alongside the outdoor offer.

The nursery has capacity for 77 children aged three months to five years. Extended days, full days and morning or afternoon sessions give families several attendance patterns, with both privately paid childcare and funded education offered.

Rooms and Ages

Babies covers three months to two years, Toddlers two to three years, and Pre school three to five years. These age bands describe the stages of care; they should not be read as separate, self-contained classrooms. The building has a room for babies and younger toddlers, while older toddlers and preschool children use a larger space divided by a partition.

Two outdoor play areas connect directly to the rooms. Supervised use of further play spaces within the housing development extends that arrangement.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, that means learning through play, with opportunities to practise communication, movement and social skills rather than treating learning as a separate lesson. Structured activities sit alongside play that children choose themselves.

Holborough's June 2026 programme gives a concrete snapshot of how those ideas become activities. In Baby room, the plans paired Peekaboo Farm with puppets, animal textures and Makaton sign language for animal names, while tomato planting was planned for the baby room garden. Toddler room paired Road safety with a planned walk to observe traffic, alongside body-part activities and the stories Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Little Red Riding Hood. Pre-school's plans included garden cycling, counting different forms of transport and name-writing for children preparing to leave for school.

These monthly plans connected animal vocabulary with signs and puppets, and early writing with children's own names.

In January 2025, communication and language were central to the curriculum, and learning built on children's earlier experiences as they moved through the nursery. Activities included feeling paint and searching for letters and numbers in messy materials. However, teaching for the youngest children sometimes needed a clearer link to what each child was intended to learn. Enjoyable sensory play and a precise learning purpose need to work together.

Outdoor and Community Life

A minibus takes children to a working farm each week for forest school type planned activities: outdoor learning connected with the farm environment and children's social and emotional development. The preschool farm offer sits alongside optional excursions for younger children to places such as country parks and the beach. Those activities carry an additional charge for families choosing to take part.

In January 2025, the outdoor adventures included exploring animals and wildlife and building camp fires. Within the nursery, babies experimented with movement in a ball pool and on wheeled toys; older children used a rope bridge and mud kitchen. Community outings also included parks, a duck pond and the library.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key worker who liaises with parents about their progress. A monthly newsletter and regular parent meetings provide further opportunities to keep the nursery and home connected. The named contact is the practical starting point: families have someone responsible for discussing their individual child, rather than relying solely on general updates.

In January 2025, settling arrangements used the youngest children's home routines to make the change into nursery care more familiar. Staff shared information at handovers and through an app, where parents could contribute updates and see the next steps in their child's learning. That exchange works in both directions, giving parents something concrete to build on at home while allowing staff to learn about changes outside nursery.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the January 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, children with SEND well supported through adapted teaching and work with outside agencies, and children making good progress. Specialist teachers visited to observe children and contributed to staff meetings so practitioners could use consistent approaches. This is a specific support mechanism, rather than a general promise about inclusion.

Family information also shaped children's experiences in January 2025. Staff gathered details about cultures, faiths and other important aspects of children's lives, and children learning English as an additional language sang in their home languages during group activities. Familiar language and family knowledge had a place within the nursery day.

Food is prepared in the nursery's own kitchen, and dietary requirements can be accommodated. Meal inclusion depends on the booking pattern, so the distinction between full-day meals and morning-session lunch matters when comparing attendance options.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens from 7am to 6.30pm on weekdays and operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas. An Extended Day runs from 7am to 6.30pm; a Full Day begins at 7.30am and also ends at 6.30pm. Morning sessions run either from 7am to 1pm or from 7.30am to 1pm, while the afternoon session runs from 1pm to 6.30pm.

Full-time places are billed over 52 weeks. Bills are spread evenly across the months using the chosen attendance pattern, and payment is due in advance by the seventh of the month through direct debit or BACS.

Placements follow a first-come, first-served rule, subject to staffing and the nursery being able to meet the child's needs. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01634 786 060.

Getting There

The address is Providence House, 1 Manley Boulevard, Snodland, ME6 5GB. On-site parking serves nursery drop-offs and staff, and the location offers access to Snodland train station and local bus routes.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded education includes 15-hour and 30-hour options, with term-time funding and a stretched arrangement over 51 weeks. The two-year-old scheme requires local authority approval and supporting documentation; families using 30-hour funding need a code verified with Kent Council. For stretched funding, Kent's payments cover 48 weeks, so an additional payment may be needed in June to cover the nursery's 51-week arrangement.

Full-day fees include snacks and meals, while session fees include breakfast or afternoon tea; lunch is an additional charge for morning sessions, and afternoon sessions do not include lunch. Nappies and wipes are included in fees, but parents supply their child's sun cream.

Optional farm activities and minibus excursions are charged separately, with the cost depending on the outing. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the Holborough fees page explains the attendance and charging structure.

• Baby-room teaching. In January 2025, activities for the youngest children were not always closely enough matched to individual learning needs. During a visit, ask how practitioners choose an activity for a particular baby and explain what they want that child to learn.
• Waiting between activities. In January 2025, some toddlers and preschool children became restless while waiting for lunch, and preparation for outdoor play also needed better organisation. Ask to discuss how these parts of the day now keep children engaged.
• The whole attendance bill. Morning-session lunch, optional outings and the stretched-funding payment arrangement can affect the cost beyond the chosen hours. Request a written quotation for the exact pattern, including how meals and consumables are treated during funded hours.

Benjamin Rabbit Nursery at Holborough Lakes suits families seeking either extended or full days, or shorter morning and afternoon sessions, with outdoor activity woven into the offer. Direct access to play areas and weekly farm visits give that claim substance. The key-worker arrangement and regular communication also provide clear ways for parents to stay involved.

The January 2025 priorities remain important decision points, especially for families choosing baby care: individual learning purposes and well-organised changes between activities.