Cobnuts Steiner Kindergarten
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Maidstone for children from birth to 8+, open sessions in term time, often mornings. £25.00 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in June 2024. Open since 2005, with 15 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Standard fees are £25 per session.
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
All three and four year old children are entitled to Kent County Council (KCC) funding for 15 hours kindergarten time per week. This means that they can have 4 sessions per week completely free , starting from the term after they turn three. We also qualify for the Free Childcare for Working Parents funding, which covers children aged two and three.
What childcare usually costs in Kent
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Kent 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
ME16 8PJWhat 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.
- 15 September 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 5 June 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are warmly welcomed into the kindergarten. They are happy and excited to see their friends. Staff spend quality time with all children and their families prior to starting at the setting. This helps children to build strong relationships, and children settle quickly. Staff have extremely high expectations for all children, who are making exceptional progress. Staff follow children's interests and provide exciting activities, such as apple picking in the orchard or planting carrot seeds together. They prepare and cook the fruit together, and add it to sweeten their porridge at snack. Staff continue this motivating learning inside and skilfully adapt the environment to develop learning further. For instance, children's problemsolving skills are sparked by a moth in the window. They carefully plan a rescue mission and release it outdoors.
Every moment of children's time at the kindergarten is used purposefully. Staff unfailingly implement their clear intention to give children the skills, resources and motivation to follow their own ideas. As a result, children are engaged and behave exceptionally well. They enjoy exploring sensory activities, such as making rye sticks from home-made dough. Staff quietly support children to be independent as they roll the dough, adding flour to stop it sticking to the board. Children talk about eating the rye sticks when they have been cooked. Staff are talented and skilful at keeping children engaged in their play. Talk in the kindergarten promotes children's exceptional progress in learning to communicate. They develop a rich vocabulary.
This excellent approach also means children who speak English as an additional language make rapid progress in learning to speak English.
- 5 June 2024Outstanding
- 12 July 2018Good
- 3 October 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Cobnuts Steiner Kindergarten
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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 £25.00 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.