Frequently Asked Questions

Because our team of highly qualified and experienced staff are at the heart of the nursery and will make sure your child receives the best possible care alongside valuable early learning opportunities.

The nursery is purpose-built, recently refurbished, and located in an idyllic area of woodland with large gardens for plenty of outdoor play.

Montessori settings inspire children’s confidence, nurturing their innate desire for learning and discovery in an environment where  teachers are encouraging, engaging and value each individual child. Children learn how to learn, and this prepares each of them for future academic and social excellence.

You can find more information on the ‘Our Methods‘ and ‘News and Resources‘ pages of our website. 

“All of our handling of the child will bear fruit, not only at the moment, but in the adult they are destined to become.”

— Maria Montessori

• ‘My daughter has attended for as long as the nursery has been open. Our experience has been all positive. The staff, environment, structures, resources, food and children create a great space for under 5’s to develop. The nursery ethos encourages independence, curiosity and a love for learning. The staff care about the children and treat them with respect (and plenty of patience). As far as nurseries go it is a calm environment. I’m certain my daughter has benefited from her early years at Rocking Horse and will confidently go forward to school. We feel very lucky to have such a good nursery available on our doorstep. I don’t think we could ask for any more.’
• ‘We’re so happy to have found this nursery, our daughter loves her time here and settled in really well thanks to the thoughtful care and support of Maria and her team.
  The setting is brilliant (great outdoor play area and lovely indoor space) and the variety and quality of activities is fantastic. The communication is also really good, we love getting the updates and photos through the day.’
• ‘My daughter loves every second at Rocking Horse. The staff are attentive and caring. The calm, nurturing and educational atmosphere is the perfect mix. The activities and equipment are perfectly pitched to support development.’
• ‘Our one year old absolutely loves it here. We searched far and wide for the right place for him & we were so happy when we found this nursery. Maria and the team are creating a truly unique and special environment for children & we couldn’t be happier sending our little boy here.’
• ‘We tried several nurseries before we finally found Rocking House Montessori Nursery. Our child didn’t settle well at any of them. Thankfully we found Rocking Horse and our child has settled extremely well. The attention that the staff give the children is exceptional. The activities they provide are highly educational and well thought through, so they deliver a multitude of benefits for the children. I love that it’s focused on following the interests of individual children yet they manage to turn these into group activities too. An exceptional experience for both parents and children.’
• We were really nervous about our son starting nursery as he is a very anxious little boy but the experience has been wonderful. He loves going to pre-school and we have really noticed him calming down and concentrating more. The staff are absolutely brilliant with him and it is a really great setting. I couldn’t recommend it more and am so much more confident about him starting school next September now. Our daughter is hopefully starting in January as well.
• Our son adored Maria when he was in her care at a previous nursery. Her patience, kindness and genuine affection for him and the other children was so reassuring for us as parents. I would highly recommend Maria as an early years professional.

• Our little boy absolutely loved being with Maria and her team and didnt want to leave the nursery! The whole team are so attentive and thoughtful, we couldn’t think of a better place for our little one!
• Maria is very particular and makes sure that everything is right for the children. Her interaction with the children is second to none and I would recommend the nursery.
• ‘My daughter loves attending this nursery. It is well run and communication between staff and parents is excellent.’

• ‘I like coming here because it makes my heart happy’
• ‘The toys are so cool!’
• ‘The rooms are awesome!’
• ‘I don’t want to go home!’

• ‘Children feel happy, safe and secure in the care of the staff.’
• ‘Staff support children’s independence extremely well.’
• ‘Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress from their starting points.’
• ‘Leaders plan a clear and ambitious curriculum to provide the skills children need so that they are ready for their move on to school.’
• ‘Staff sing with children at every opportunity. Babies enjoy joining in with action songs and clap along to the words. Toddlers sing to themselves as they play. Older children join in with action songs.’
• ‘Leaders are passionate and knowledgeable and have a clear vision of what they want to achieve. ‘

Ofsted inspected the nursery in May 2024 and gave us an overall grade of ‘Good’.

The full report can be viewed at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/16/2683803

Our Ofsted URN is 2683803

We always do our best to accommodate parent requests for extra sessions or to swap days. The more notice we have, the easier it is for us to organise.

We’re open throughout the year Mondays to Fridays from 8am to 5.30pm and offer the following sessions:

Morning: 8am-1pm

Afternoon: 1pm-5.30pm

Full day: 8am-5.30pm

We can accommodate early starts (from 7.30am) or late finishes (up to 6pm). These need to be booked in advance.

Our wonderful chef Julie prepares nutritious lunches and teas from fresh ingredients every day and provides appropriate alternatives for any children with specific dietary requirements. For snacks between meals, she bakes delicious buns, loaves and biscuits.

All meals and snacks are included in the nursery fee.

All aspects of nursery life are shared with the parents/carers of children attending the nursery both through your child’s key person and with our nursery software.

We are always available for a friendly informal chat or professional advice.

We welcome parents, grandparents, guardians and carers to actively participate by visiting the nursery setting to share experiences of their work, culture and interests.

To secure a place at the nursery, we just need you to fill in a registration form and send a £50 booking deposit which will be refunded when your child joins the nursery.

You can find our 2026/27 fees here or contact us for more information.

Monthly fees, due in advance on the first day of the month they apply to, are calculated as follows:

Weekly sessions cost multiplied by 51 (number of weeks we’re open) divided into 12 equal monthly payments.

If eligible, funded hours are deducted from this total.

Yes, there is a 10% fee reduction for children attending the nursery full-time (five full days a week).
When a second sibling attends nursery, there is a reduction of 5% off the older child’s fees.

Each child is entitled to two weeks free holiday a year from their regular attendance pattern.

For example, if a child attending nursery for two days a week goes on holiday for four weeks, two of those four weeks will be charged at the child’s regular fee.

This holiday entitlement runs from January to December and cannot be carried over. Four weeks written notice is required if a holiday is to be taken, otherwise full rate charge will apply.

There are no fees for the week we close over Christmas.

To cover staffing costs, we charge regular fees on the days we close for bank holidays.

Yes, they can. All 3 and 4 year olds are eligible for 15 hours a week free childcare; most working families are eligible for an additional 15 free hours a week (30 hours a week in total).

Most working families with children aged from nine months old are eligible for 30 free hours a week.

Please see our Fees & Funded Childcare page for more information about eligibility for working families.

*Please note that the government funding only covers 38 weeks a year (term times) and, as we’re open 51 weeks a year, we ‘stretch’ funding across those 51 weeks. This works out as an average of 22.4 funded hours a week/95 funded hours a month or 11.2 funded hours a week/47.5 funded hours a month for the universal 15 funded hours a week for children over three years old.

Please also note that, according to Department For Education guidelines, ‘government funding … is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables, additional hours or additional activities. Parents can therefore expect to pay for any meals offered by the provider alongside their free entitlement.‘ For children attending funded morning or funded full day sessions, there is a meals fee of £3.78 per day which includes breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and a light tea; the fee is £1.62 for children attending funded afternoon sessions. Parents are welcome to provide their own packed lunches instead, so long as they meet our packed lunch policy requirements.

Eligibility for working parents entitlements

A child is entitled to free early years provision if the child’s parent meets the following eligibility criteria:

• the parent of the child (and their partner where applicable) should be seeking the free childcare to enable them to work
• the parent of the child (and their partner where applicable) should also be in qualifying paid work. Each parent or the single parent in a lone parent household will need to expect to earn the equivalent of 16 hours at the national minimum wage rate over the forthcoming quarter
• where one or both parents are on certain forms of family leave from work (including maternity, paternity or shared parental leave) or in receipt of certain forms of statutory pay in connection with sickness or parenting, they are treated as though they meet the minimum income requirement – this only applies for specified periods for those parents on family leave that was started because of the birth or adoption of the child in free childcare
• where one parent (in a couple household) is in receipt or could be entitled to be in receipt of specific benefits related to caring, incapacity for work or limited capability for work that they are treated as though they are in paid work
• where a parent is in a ‘start-up period’ (such as being newly self-employed), they do not need to demonstrate that they meet the income criteria for 12 months in order to qualify for the working parent entitlement
• if either or each parent’s adjusted net income exceeds £100,000, they will not be eligible for the working parent entitlement

Further details on eligibility criteria, including family leave from work and return to work dates, can be found by using check you’re eligible for free childcare if you’re working.

Yes, our preschool is open year-round. If  your child turned three the term before (or earlier), he or she will be entitled to 15 hours a week free childcare with us (extended to 30 hours if eligible).

Please see our Fees & Funded Childcare page for more information. 

Yes, we are.

You can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).

If you get Tax-Free Childcare, you’ll set up an online childcare account for your child. For every £8 you pay into this account, the government will pay in £2 to use to pay your provider.

You can get Tax-Free Childcare at the same time as 30 hours free childcare if you’re eligible for both.

For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare

You may be able to claim back up to 85% of your childcare costs if you’re eligible for Universal Credit.

You (and your partner if you live with them) will usually need to either:

• be working – it does not matter how many hours you or your partner work
• have a job offer

The most you can get back each month is:

• £646 for one child
• £1108 for 2 or more children

You can claim Universal Credit online.

If your child is off due to sickness, there will be a 50% fee discount providing staff have been informed of the absence.

Special dietary requirements can be catered for and, as part of our allergen control policy, we make sure none of the food we provide contains common allergens such as nuts, peanuts, celery, or sesame seeds.