St George's Childcare

Handmade recycled paper in Badgers, vegetables growing in the allotment and a garden Calm Corner give St George's Childcare a recognisable character. Environmental learning takes practical form here: children reuse materials, tend plants and have somewhere quiet to talk about feelings. The charity's work also reaches beyond the nursery day, with fundraising supporting assisted childcare for local families facing difficult circumstances.

At its November 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. Two aspects needed attention: maintaining learning during changes of routine for the youngest children, and giving children consistent guidance about behaviour. Those are useful points to explore alongside the outdoor provision and relationships with staff.

Based on Chilston Road in Tunbridge Wells, the setting accepts children from three months to five years. Nursery attendance spans the year, while Little Dragons provides a separate term-time preschool option; both offer morning, afternoon and full-day patterns.

Rooms and Ages

The rooms give children several stages between baby care and preschool, rather than a single move from babies into an older group. Some age bands overlap, making readiness for a move a relevant part of conversations with staff.

Squirrels, for three months to two years, uses changing activities to encourage exploration, with parents' knowledge of their baby's daily routine informing care.

Hedgehogs, for one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half years, provides an intermediate stage where children practise choosing and making decisions before moving into Moles.

Moles, for two to three years, puts independence into everyday tasks, including dressing, setting the table and serving food.

Badgers and Otters, both for three to five years, arrange activities for children to choose independently, alongside shared discussion, early writing and number recognition.

Little Dragons, for two-and-a-half to five years, combines play areas and a quiet reading corner with a garden and vegetable plot where children can grow produce and later prepare and eat it.

The differences are useful. A parent choosing between nursery preschool rooms and Little Dragons can compare the attendance calendar as well as the room's activities, rather than treating them as interchangeable versions of the same provision.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards for learning and care: children learn through play, with adults planning around their development and interests. Books, construction materials, role play, musical instruments and sand and water activities give that framework a practical shape. Children choose much of their play, so practising decisions is part of the day rather than a separate exercise.

Forest School adds hands-on exploration outdoors, with weekly sessions in a developed part of the allotment. Little Dragons includes Forest School alongside its music and movement activities. This gives outdoor learning a recurring place in the timetable.

At Little Dragons, Musical Bumps and Tatty Bumpkin bring music, singing and yoga into the weekly timetable, with no extra charge for these sessions. These add opportunities for music and movement to the playgroup's ordinary activities. The nursery includes regular yoga, music and singing too, giving children other ways to participate beyond table-based play.

Outdoor and Community Life

A separate baby outdoor area, a climbing frame and slide, mini allotments and a Mud Kitchen support different kinds of play. The youngest children have their own area, while older children can climb, explore materials and care for plants. These are concrete differences to weigh when outdoor time matters to your family.

The Calm Corner has two living walls, planted containers and a water feature, with emotion pictures and a reflective surface supporting conversations about feelings. In Badgers, the Recycled Paper-Making Station turns shredded and scrap paper into material for later craft activities. Children can follow what happens to something they would otherwise throw away.

Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation was awarded in July 2025 following activities including litter picking, growing produce and taking turns as light monitor. The practical work matters more than the badge: environmental ideas connect to things children can actually do. Annual participation in The Big Garden Bird Watch adds another reason to pay attention to the garden's wildlife.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who gets to know their interests, routines and development, and acts as the family's first contact for concerns. The settling plan is agreed with parents; where possible, a back-up key person supports continuity when the main adult is absent. The policy also seeks to match settling time to the key person's working hours, a useful detail for a child who needs familiar faces.

Settling sessions are free and arranged approximately four weeks before the child's start. Room leaders use those conversations to learn about home routines, likes and dislikes. For babies, that exchange is especially relevant: the Squirrels approach aims to follow the routine parents describe as closely as possible.

Ovivio/Blossom carries photographs, learning updates and information from staff, and parents can contribute achievements or experiences from home. Those contributions help shape later activities. Parents' evenings offer longer conversations with the key person, while newsletters keep families informed about the setting more generally.

Each room has a Senior Childcare Leader, with a floating team and supply staff providing cover for absences. Regular staff development sits alongside dedicated Special Needs Co-ordinator and Child Protection Lead roles. These are arrangements for organising care; their value for an individual child depends on how consistently familiar adults and information carry across the week.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the November 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that staff knew children's individual needs well and worked with parents and outside agencies on support plans for children with SEND. Current procedures set out a graduated response: the key person raises concerns with parents and the SENCo, support is planned, and progress is reviewed. Action plans specify the help, resources and adults involved, with reviews agreed at least termly.

The admissions policy recognises that the building's physical constraints affect what can be offered. For more complex needs, preparation may include staff training, risk assessment or a health care plan before a child starts. Families therefore have a concrete planning process to discuss, rather than relying on a broad promise of inclusion.

Food is cooked daily in the on-site kitchen, with seasonal summer and winter menus. The nursery's nut-free policy extends to food brought from home; dietary arrangements use preference charts, coloured plates and individual place mats, making allergy planning a specific conversation with the team.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 7 Chilston Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 9LP. Nursery opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Morning sessions run from 7.30am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6.30pm, and full days from 7.30am to 6.30pm. Bank holidays and the Christmas closure are uncharged.

Little Dragons operates for 38 term-time weeks, with mornings from 9am to noon, afternoons from noon to 3pm and full days from 9am to 3pm. That shorter timetable is a materially different choice for families who want preschool attendance around the school calendar.

There is no general minimum booking requirement, although the nursery recommends two sessions each week to help settling. Bookings cover whole sessions, even if a family collects earlier or starts later within them, and sessions cannot be swapped. Booked attendance remains payable during illness or holidays, so the pattern needs to fit the family's ordinary week.

Registration is free. Deposits have different conditions for nursery and Little Dragons, including an exemption for fully funded Little Dragons places. Ordinary reductions or withdrawal require four weeks' written notice; reducing advance bookings before the start date requires three months' written notice, with the original pattern charged for the first month following a reduction if shorter notice is given.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds from the term after their third birthday, and up to 30 hours for eligible working parents from the term after their child reaches nine months until school age. The Free For 2 scheme is also offered to eligible two-year-olds. Funding runs across 38 term-time weeks.

In nursery, funding covers five hours per session or ten per day, with the additional half-hour of each session charged separately. Little Dragons delivers three funded hours per session or six per day. Private hours are also offered. Families receive current prices in the nursery's written quotation, with the nursery fees and sessions explaining the attendance structure.

Nursery session fees include breakfast, snack and a two-course lunch in the morning, or snack and a two-course tea in the afternoon; Little Dragons provides a snack, with parents supplying lunch for afternoon or full-day attendance. Parents supply nappies, wipes and formula themselves.

The Assisted Places Scheme uses charitable fundraising to reduce childcare costs for families assessed individually. Self-referrals are accepted alongside professional referrals. Assisted places require at least four sessions weekly and are offered for an agreed period, normally six months, with support dependent on funding and space.

Getting There

On-site parking uses allocated bays, and drivers must keep access routes clear. Frequent buses serve St John's Road (A26), travelling to and from Tunbridge Wells.

• Youngest children's routines. In November 2024, changes of routine sometimes reduced adult interaction and interrupted learning. During a visit, explore how Squirrels now manages transitions and keeps children engaged.
• Behaviour guidance. In November 2024, explanations of expectations and the effect of behaviour on others were sometimes inconsistent. Ask how staff give children the same messages across rooms and daily routines.
• The right attendance contract. Nursery and Little Dragons have different calendars, session lengths and funding delivery. Use the Enquiry Form to arrange a visit and compare the two, including the notice rules for changing advance bookings.
• Additional needs and allergies. The converted building has physical constraints, and dietary care uses individual arrangements. Discuss access adjustments and confirm current allergy practice before agreeing the child's care plan.

St George's suits families seeking either year-round nursery mornings, afternoons or full days, or the shorter term-time sessions at Little Dragons. The allotment, Forest School and practical recycling work give children substantial reasons to explore outdoors, while charitable assisted childcare adds a clear community purpose. The judgement is balanced by the November 2024 concerns about routines and behaviour guidance. For families comparing the two preschool routes, the strongest decision is the combination of room, calendar and care arrangements that fits their child.