School House Nursery, Uckfield

Private gardens at both the front and back give School House Nursery, Uckfield a clear outdoor element, while its Montessori-inspired approach follows children's interests when planning learning. The scale is modest: 30 places in total, for children from six months to five years. For families choosing care through the early years, that combines a small whole-setting capacity with a broad age span.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good at its July 2021 inspection. The current offer includes a play space for its youngest children, individual learning plans developed with parents when additional needs arise, and a key person backed by a Key Buddy.

Rooms and Ages

Mini Monties is the youngest children's group, with an emphasis on social interaction and development through play. Painting, singing, bug hunts and duckling hatching are examples of activities for the under-twos. These are possibilities within their experience, rather than a fixed timetable.

Home routines help shape care for the youngest children, as far as nursery life permits. Their toys are selected with development in mind, and photographs are shared each week through an online Learning Journal. That gives parents a regular picture of what their child has been doing, rather than only a verbal account.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the educational basis: children develop through play and learning suited to their stage. Montessori-inspired practice sits alongside it here, with staff using individual interests to plan what a child might try next. The practical point is individual starting points, rather than expecting every child to follow the same interests.

The group-wide Additional Services package combines practical care extras with activities. At Uckfield, these include French, yoga, gardening club and a cooking club, offered within that voluntary package. Nativity Play and Graduation are also group-wide events included in the package, giving children opportunities to participate and show what they can do.

Outdoor and Community Life

The private gardens provide outdoor space on both sides of the building. Outings and walks also form part of Additional Services. Families considering the package are therefore weighing experiences beyond the classroom as well as supplies and food.

Relationships and Communication

A key person oversees each child's care needs and records; a Key Buddy takes responsibility when that person is absent. Parents have a defined contact, with a second practitioner providing continuity. Developmental concerns can be discussed privately, and parents and staff can then make a joint plan.

The youngest children's weekly photographs build into an online Learning Journal over their time at nursery. Alongside those updates, the key person arrangement gives families a route for conversations about care and learning.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The SENCO supports practitioners and liaises with other professionals when needed. With parental permission, East Sussex's Early Years Support Team can provide additional support; information from health visitors and speech and language therapists can also inform a child's care and learning. These are specific support mechanisms, rather than a promise that every need will be met in the same way.

A designated safeguarding lead and deputy provide contacts for welfare concerns. The baby team has specialist baby training and first aid qualifications. Care for younger children also aims to reflect routines from home, helping parents explain the habits that matter to their child.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. Closures fall on bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year, with neither charged. This gives families an annual childcare pattern with specific breaks to plan around.

Booked days cannot be swapped on an ad hoc basis. Fees remain payable during absences apart from those closures, and payment is due in advance by the first of the month. Regular attendance commitments therefore need to fit the family's usual week.

Getting There

The address is 6-7 Falmer Court, London Road, Uckfield, TN22 1HN. Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01825 749717 or through the Uckfield contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers the 30 hours EYEE grant for eligible working families and the 15 hours grant for three- and four-year-olds. Funding is stretched across the year to support consistent monthly billing, and private fees apply to hours beyond the grant.

Food and consumables are separately charged through the voluntary Additional Services package, including during funded hours: food covers breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks, while supplies include nappies, wipes and sun cream. Families opt in or out; opting in means buying the package together, including its activities. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the charge structure explained on its Uckfield fees page.

• Package choice. Additional Services combines food, supplies and activities into one voluntary purchase. Discuss how opting out would work for your child's usual day before choosing.
• Fixed booked days. Ad hoc day swaps are not permitted, and absences remain chargeable apart from the stated closures. This matters if work patterns change frequently.
• Your child's first weeks. Care for the youngest children follows home routines where possible, with a key person and Key Buddy providing continuity. At a showround, ask how those arrangements would shape your child's settling period.

School House Nursery, Uckfield suits families seeking care across the year, a Montessori-inspired approach organised around individual interests, and regular photographic updates for their youngest children. Its private gardens and defined key person arrangements give that offer practical substance. The main decision is whether the fixed-day commitment and bundled Additional Services fit the family's routine and priorities.