West Borough Primary School Nursery

Two three-hour sessions give West Borough's nursery day its shape, with an all-day option, subject to space, for families who need a longer stay. This maintained nursery takes children from three until school entry, with a maximum of 30 children per session. It belongs to the early years team within West Borough Primary School in Maidstone.

Flexibility has a condition: both extra sessions and all-day places depend on space. Staying all day includes a charged lunch club. Families can therefore consider a shorter session or a longer day, while keeping the lunch arrangement separate from their funded provision.

Morning nursery runs from 8.35am to 11.35am; the afternoon runs from 12.20pm to 3.20pm. Each gives children a defined block of time rather than requiring an all-day booking.

Learning follows the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum. Writing develops through the early years, while Little Wandle is the school's phonics programme. In October 2022, inspectors found that nursery children were already beginning reading, writing and number work, and that children across the early years enjoyed learning. Songs, rhymes and stories supported vocabulary, listening and speaking in that early years provision.

The wider school grounds provide context for the nursery's setting. Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) has brought a mud kitchen, tyres and dressing-up clothes into school playtimes. These are school play resources, rather than a separate description of the nursery's outdoor provision.

Support sits within a school team that includes an EYFS/Key Stage 1 lead, a SENCO, a speech and language teaching assistant, a nurture practitioner and a family liaison officer. Those roles give families identifiable points of contact for learning, communication and family support.

The school aims to identify special educational needs early. Staff exchange information with parents and seek advice from outside agencies, linking family knowledge with specialist input. The Lodge is the school's nurture space, intended to help children with emotional and social needs that interfere with learning.

Lunch club is part of the all-day nursery option and carries a charge. The school also prohibits nuts in packed lunches, so families preparing food need to follow that restriction. For welfare concerns, parents can contact the office to reach the designated safeguarding team.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place or confer priority under the school's admission criteria. The ranking criteria cover children in Local Authority Care and children adopted from Care, current sibling association, health, social and special access reasons, and nearness of children's homes to school. Choosing the nursery should therefore be a decision about the nursery day itself.

Families must make a separate Reception application through Kent County Council's online primary admissions route. For the September 2026 intake, the deadline was 15 January 2026. That cycle has passed; its dates should not be treated as the timetable for a later intake.

Universal Nursery Funding and Working Families Nursery Funding are accepted. Additional sessions and the all-day option are available subject to space. Staying all day includes a chargeable lunch club. Contact the school for current charges.

To register interest, use the nursery waiting-list form or call 01622 726391. General enquiries and school tour bookings can also go through office@west-borough.kent.sch.uk. The school is on Greenway, off Queens Road, with another access route from Tonbridge Road through Cherry Orchard Way.

Longer childcare hours. Acorns Club serves children from Reception to Year 6. Its before-school and after-school arrangements therefore do not extend the nursery booking options.