The Rocking Horse Montessori Kindergarten

A family-home setting, child-height shelves and a garden used throughout the year give The Rocking Horse Montessori Kindergarten its character. Montessori methods sit alongside traditional nursery activities, with children encouraged to choose resources, try things for themselves and take increasing responsibility for everyday tasks. This is a nursery where independence has practical form: choosing an activity, putting it away and keeping personal belongings in their own spaces.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that children felt emotionally secure, that assessment helped identify children needing SEND support early, and that safeguarding arrangements were effective. The detail behind that judgement matters: children listened to one another, used newly learned measuring skills in play and took part in checking the garden for hazards.

The nursery has capacity for 30 children, with an accepted age range of 24 to 60 months. Attendance is term-time, Monday to Wednesday, with both a longer day and a morning-only pattern. The shorter working week is a defining practical consideration for families.

Rooms and Ages

The learning environments distinguish between 2 year olds, 3 year olds and Pre-school, rather than presenting every child with the same day. For 2 year olds, low shelves support independent choices, a personal coat peg and bag drawer give belongings a clear home, and larger tabletop toys encourage children to play together. The emphasis for 3 year olds is on exploring interests while developing independence and social, physical and thinking skills. Pre-school combines adult-planned activities with children's own choices, using materials and tools to develop language, number skills, creativity and problem-solving before school.

These are useful differences for parents to consider. The youngest children have concrete routines for looking after their possessions and resources; the older children's activities make more room for experimenting and expressing ideas. Preparation for school is woven into play and practical tasks rather than treated solely as early literacy and maths.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes planning across language, physical development, relationships, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. In everyday terms, children learn through play, conversation, movement and making things, with their interests and next developmental steps informing activities. The Montessori element sits alongside this framework; here, its practical expression includes accessible resources and opportunities to make independent choices.

Art includes both freely chosen painting and adult-supported making, using materials such as clay, chalk and collage. Easels can be used inside and outdoors. That gives children opportunities to explore materials for themselves as well as try a technique introduced by an adult. Maths is similarly practical, with construction, puzzles, sorting and measuring bringing ideas about shape and number into play.

Afternoon enrichment follows a clear weekly pattern: Fun French introduces another language on Mondays, Music and Movement runs on Tuesdays, and Dance and Movement takes place on Wednesdays. Specialist visitors lead these sessions after lunch, so the longer attendance pattern includes experiences that morning-only children do not stay for. Singing also happens daily, and children can explore rhythm with instruments during play.

In April 2025, books were used both for enjoyment and to explore information alongside activities, while a lending library allowed favourite stories to continue at home. Children also shared holiday pictures and drawings in small groups, listening to others and asking questions. These examples show how conversation grows from something children already care about, rather than relying only on an adult-led topic.

Outdoor and Community Life

Morning garden time lasts at least one hour for every child. Covered areas and nursery-supplied puddle suits help outdoor play continue in wet weather, while changing resources include a sandpit, tricycles, scooters, a playhouse and outdoor easels. The garden therefore supports both energetic movement and quieter creative play.

A Nativity takes place each Christmas, and the Summer Concert brings preschool families into the garden for singing and dance. These give children a shared occasion to work towards and parents a way to see their participation. In April 2025, parents were also invited to contribute their cultures, religions and occupations to children's learning, linking the nursery day with family experience.

Each child has a Key Teacher who plans around individual interests, developmental needs and next steps. Additional staff can step in during sessions to make time for individual attention from that key adult. For families, the useful feature is continuity: a particular practitioner is responsible for understanding the child's learning rather than leaving that knowledge spread across the whole team.

The staff structure includes a SENCo, a supporting SENCo role, a designated safeguarding lead and a deputy safeguarding lead. Staff receive safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training. These are arrangements and responsibilities, with the dated safeguarding judgement given above providing the independent assessment of their effectiveness.

In April 2025, families received written developmental updates and met staff in person to discuss next steps and ways to help at home. The nursery also sought input from speech and language therapists and teachers working with deaf children. That combination matters for parents who want an ongoing conversation about development, with specialist perspectives informing staff's understanding where relevant.

Parents supply packed lunches for children staying until 2.30pm, while the nursery provides snacks. Healthy eating, toothbrushing and exercise also feature in children's learning, connecting care routines with things children can begin to understand and practise themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 8 Lansdowne Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2NJ. Opening hours are 8.30am to 2.30pm, Monday to Wednesday. The longer session uses that full window; a shorter morning pattern runs from 8.30am to 12.30pm. The difference is consequential: afternoon specialist activities follow lunch, rather than being spread across both booking patterns.

The nursery operates for 39 weeks annually, broadly following local primary-school terms. Its autumn term lasts 14 weeks, spring 12 and summer 13. This gives families a school-term rhythm, but requires a separate arrangement for the holidays and for any care needed outside the three operating days.

Email and telephone are the contact routes. Visitors attend by appointment, which makes a planned visit the appropriate way to explore whether the setting fits a child's needs.

Funding and Paid Extras

KCC FEEE funding, up to 15 hours weekly, can be applied where applicable for children over three. The nursery's attendance pattern is term-time. Funding participation is useful, but the eligibility condition remains part of the offer rather than a promise that every child will qualify.

Private fees are paid ahead of attendance, with payment due at the beginning of each term. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. For longer-day attendance, the packed lunch comes from home; snacks are supplied by the nursery. Families should consider the attendance pattern and the written charge structure together when deciding what they need.

• A three-day, term-time week. Opening is Monday to Wednesday for 39 weeks a year. Families needing Thursday, Friday or holiday care will need a plan covering those periods.
• Afternoons carry the specialist timetable. Fun French, Music and Movement, and Dance and Movement happen after lunch. The morning pattern ends at 12.30pm, so choose between the two patterns with those activities in mind.
• Make the visit specific to your child. Visits require an email or telephone appointment. Use it to discuss how the Key Teacher supports the move from home, and which non-food consumables your family would need to supply or pay for.

The Rocking Horse suits families seeking either morning sessions or full days within a school-term calendar. Its strongest practical qualities are easy to picture: resources children can reach themselves, a substantial morning outdoors, individual planning through a Key Teacher and specialist activities after lunch.

The April 2025 Outstanding judgement gives weight to that offer, while the limited operating week requires careful thought. For families whose timetable fits Monday to Wednesday, this is a compact, home-based setting with a clear emphasis on independence, conversation and preparation for school through everyday experience.