Abacus Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in New Malden for children from birth to 8+, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £5.00 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2021, though that is 5 years ago now. Open since 1993, with 52 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| All ages | £5.00BREAKFAST or Breakfast club £6.00LUNCH or Lunch club £24.00Each 3 hour, 3 hrs £25.00Each 3 hour (from January 2026), AFTERNOON, MORNING, 3 hrs |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £100.00 DepositALL children from September 2024 (with the exception of 2-year funded, refundable
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Universal Funding: The Government provides funding for children aged 2 and 3 which can be used towards 15 hours per week for childcare. From September 2023, we will only be accepting universal funding for our morning sessions.
Worth knowing. From September 2023, we will only be accepting universal funding for our morning sessions.
What childcare usually costs in Kingston upon Thames
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Kingston upon Thames from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
KT3 3QEWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 20 May 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and engaged in learning. Relationships between staff and children are strong and children settle in quickly and grow in confidence. The keyperson system is well implemented throughout the pre-school. For instance, children spend a significant amount of time with their key person, who supports their learning and emotional well-being and has regular communication with parents. Children learn how to keep safe during play. The management team ensures staff meet the needs of individual children well and they are proactive in identifying if children need a specific level of support. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those disadvantaged receive a high level of support from dedicated and caring staff. Pre-school remained open during the
COVID-19(coronavirus) pandemic. The management team ensures the curriculum is well planned and implemented to benefit all children. For example, they recognised that during the pandemic some children had fewer opportunities to be active. Therefore, they designed the curriculum to focus on developing children's physical skills. Children who speak English as an additional language have a wealth of opportunities to hear and use their home language in their play. For example, children benefit from meaningful conversations with staff who speak their home language. Children learn to value and respect each other's differences and behave well.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop partnerships with other settings that children attend to promote continuity in children's learning and development n build on learning opportunities as they arise to extend children's understanding of making healthy choices.
- 20 May 2021Good
- 10 May 2019Needs improvement
- 16 March 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Abacus Pre-School
- Youngest age taken
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- Is £5.00 a session still the rate? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.