Smallville Nursery, Snodland is set in the grounds of a beautiful, historic building, beside a wonderful cricket meadow. Being surrounded by nature, we have been inspired by and utilised natural, ecological and sustainable resources wherever possible. Children are instinctively curious so we provide opportunities that nurture their interests and provoke thinking. The children have access to a range of loose parts, real and authentic resources and plenty of freedom to be creative. When your child is the focus child, the learning environment for that week will be enhanced to meet their specific needs and interests. When it isn’t their week we still of course support their learning, capturing ‘WOW’ moments to share with you in our journals. Our fantastic outdoor spaces allow children to enjoy and develop a love for nature in our mud garden and growing areas, and provide opportunities to take sensible risks, strengthening their core muscles in our grassed area. We also make good use of the adjoining cricket ground where the children can enjoy a larger outside space too. We believe in creating a calm but stimulating learning environment where children can explore and discover a range of open-ended and natural resources. Designed as a small setting, we can provide a highly personal and individualised approached to children’s education but this inevitably means we have a high demand for our places. We offer places from 24 months but to manage admissions fairly we operate a waiting list which you can join at any time. Email or call to reserve your space. Staying in Touch
Idyllic Settings
Our nursery was set up by a qualified teacher, and all staff strive to ensure children feel valued, understood and find pleasure in learning. We understand that children learn best when they are happy and are playing but should your child require additional support we have access to our own Smallville Occupational Therapist. We follow the interests of the children and respond to learning in the moment to ensure we capture those ‘wow’ moments.
What's our pedagogy?
Owls & Squirrels
Owl Room is for our children who are 3 and 4 years old. The learning environment provides lots of opportunities for learning through play and encourages the exploration and growth of creative ideas. With direct links to the garden space, the children can free-flow between the inside and outside environments
Squirrel Room is for our 2 year old children and have been carefully designed so that all the resources are easily accessible. The children are provided with lots of opportunities to mark make in different ways, develop their gross and fine motor muscles and to think critically and problem solve.
Registrations and Admissions
Parent partnerships are key to our service
and strive to build a strong and trusting relationship with each of our
parents/carers. We provide a variety of opportunities to discuss your
child's development.
- Personal learning journals
- ‘Focus child’ session
- Biannual developmental reviews
- Appointments to talk to your key person
- Informal chats with staff at drop off
- Parents evenings
INDUCTION SESSIONS
Before your child starts at Smallville Nursery, they will be allocated a Key Person and an introductory session will be booked to help them famailirise themselves with the setting and staff. We understand that all children are different, so our induction process is individualised to each child to ensure that they all feel safe and happy when they start with us.
FREE UNIFORMS
Your child will be given a complimentary Smallville Nursery T-shirt when they start with us. We believe that children should be given the opportunity to explore using their whole bodies, and to be independent in their play. We encourage them to self select their own resources, which means they don't always remember to grab an apron (and we would never want to interrupt their play). We also recommend you provide an all-weather suit and wellies that can be stored at the nursery, as we will use our outdoor spaces each day regardless of the weather.
