Holden Park Pre-School

Paint-covered cars, fruit-scented water and a bear travelling between home and pre-school give Holden Park its character. In May 2023, children explored how materials change, invented stories together and took Billy the bear home before sharing his adventures with friends. These are small, concrete ways to connect conversation, imagination and practical learning.

Holden Park Pre-School occupies Holden Park Gospel Hall on Prospect Road in Southborough, Tunbridge Wells. It has 27 places in total and accepts children aged 24 to 60 months. At its 9 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good and judged safeguarding effective. Morning and afternoon pre-school sessions sit alongside breakfast and after-school clubs, giving families several attendance patterns to consider.

Rooms and Ages

The Pre-school room serves children aged two to four, combining activities children pursue individually with experiences shared as a group. Its emphasis includes exploring relationships and emotions, working through problems and finding somewhere quiet to pause. That gives the day room for both sociable play and time away from it.

Planning starts with children's interests and developmental needs. The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care, bringing communication, physical development and relationships into the day alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. Activities take place outside as well as inside, so learning is planned across both environments.

Learning and Activities

In May 2023, sensory exploration had a practical purpose: children combined water with fruit to investigate changes in smell, while cars became tools for making marks and patterns with paint. These experiences connected experimentation with early mark-making. Children also selected their own activities and managed tasks such as washing their hands, giving independence a place in everyday routines.

Conversation ran through the play. In May 2023, children responded to questions that invited them to think, exchanged ideas and created stories during imaginative activities. Rather than separating language from play, these examples put speaking and listening into something children wanted to do.

Cultural celebrations also inform current planning, including Diwali, Holi and Eid. In May 2023, children explored Spanish music and dance and encountered clothing traditions including saris. These were concrete introductions to differences between people's lives, through sound, movement and dress.

Outdoor and Community Life

Links with the local library, parks and church connect Holden Park with Southborough beyond the hall. The outings consent arrangements cover local trips and require parents to be informed and give specific permission for journeys further afield. This gives families a defined role in decisions about trips.

In May 2023, children practised balancing and climbing using equipment, and visits to a dentist helped connect healthy habits with an experience outside the setting. Billy the bear supplied another link beyond the pre-school: children took him home and later talked about what they had done together. The value was in having a personal experience to tell others about.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has an allocated key person, who acts as the family's main contact and maintains their records. Parents receive notification if that person changes. Settling arrangements are agreed with families, while initial conversations and observations establish the child's starting points. Familiar interests, comfort objects, sleep patterns and fears all have a place in that discussion, helping staff understand the child beyond a list of developmental milestones.

Parent consultation evenings take place each term, with development trackers supporting conversations about learning. Tapestry, used to share photographs and comments about activities, gives another connection between the day at pre-school and home. Together, these provide both regular updates and a scheduled opportunity for a fuller discussion.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that staff supported children's progress, including children learning English as an additional language, and met the needs of children with SEND through work with outside agencies and strategies such as a quiet space to recover when overwhelmed. These findings describe support at that time, with practical examples behind the judgement.

Current registration arrangements invite families to explain additional needs, existing support plans and the involvement of other professionals. They also include discussion of bilingual support with the key person. That makes the family's knowledge part of planning from the outset, rather than leaving important needs to emerge after attendance begins.

The pre-school snack menu rotates across four weeks, including fruit, yoghurt, hummus and vegetables; breakfast is included in Breakfast Club and a meal in After-school Club. Known allergies and food intolerances trigger an individual risk assessment. Parents supply sun cream and nappy cream, so these items belong in preparation for the child's day.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning pre-school sessions run from 8.45am to 11.45am, with afternoon sessions from 11.45am to 2.45pm. The attendance form offers these across Monday to Friday. Early Starters runs from 8.30am to 8.45am, and late collection extends the pre-school afternoon from 2.45pm to 3pm.

Breakfast Club runs from 7.30am to 8.30am. After-school sessions begin at 3pm, with collection options at 4pm, 5pm or 6pm. These are separate booking choices, allowing parents to distinguish pre-school attendance from care around the school day.

Getting There

The address is Holden Park Gospel Hall, Prospect Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, TN4 0EH; the contact address identifies the hall at 61 Prospect Road. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form.

Breakfast Club children are walked to Southborough CofE School and taken to their designated class or gate. This is a practical school-day service, rather than a reason to infer an admissions advantage from attending pre-school.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes Free for2 (FF2), Universal Entitlement and Working Parent Entitlement. The entitlement information includes 15 hours for two-year-olds, 15 hours for children aged three to four and 30 hours for eligible children aged three to four. Eligibility conditions matter: the maximum entitlement depends on the child's circumstances, and only one entitlement can be claimed at a time for eligible two-year-olds.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Parents should distinguish the pre-school sessions from breakfast, early-start, late-collection and after-school bookings when deciding which attendance pattern fits their week.

• Teaching and behaviour guidance. In May 2023, staff mentoring needed strengthening, and explanations did not consistently help children understand why an action should stop. On a visit, ask how staff now explain boundaries and support consistent teaching.
• Settling around the child. A key person and an agreed settling process are part of joining. Discuss how your child's comfort objects, home language and familiar routines will shape those first sessions.
• The complete attendance cost. Morning and afternoon pre-school sessions have separate extension options, while funded entitlements depend on eligibility. Ask for a written breakdown covering your chosen sessions, funded-hours delivery, food and consumables.
• Allergy arrangements. Known allergies and intolerances lead to an individual risk assessment. Families affected by allergies should confirm how current food and snack arrangements will work for their child.

Holden Park suits families seeking morning or afternoon pre-school sessions, as well as those organising breakfast or after-school care around Southborough CofE School. Interest-led planning, termly parent discussions and an allocated key person give its current offer a clear shape. The May 2023 examples add character: sensory experiments, imaginative storytelling and Billy's home adventures made learning tangible.

The balance matters. The Good judgement sits alongside specific improvements concerning staff mentoring and explanations of behaviour. For parents, the useful next step is to connect those dated concerns with the current experience of settling, communication and everyday teaching.