Hawkhurst Pre-School
OutstandingBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Cranbrook for children from birth to 5, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in February 2023. Open since 2012, with 23 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
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
TN18 4JJWhat 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, 9 February 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children happily run into the pre-school and launch themselves at the caring staff for a cuddle. They have wonderful relationships with the adults. During group times, older children build their memories as they enthusiastically use props to join in with a story. Younger children sit in their own cosy area to listen to the story of
'Postman Bear'. Afterwards, they delight in writing their own letters, putting them in envelopes and posting them. This helps them to make connections and to develop fine motor and turn-taking skills. Older children benefit enormously from staff support of their emotional development. For example, they relish hearing a story about emotions and then choosing paint colours to match how they are feeling that day. They describe their emotions and the colour that represents them.
Staff give children thinking time and wait patiently for them to identify their feelings. Some choose yellow, as it means happy. They say that green means they are relaxing. The activity is a chance for children to develop their memory skills, as they recall parts of the story. Children share pipettes to transport the coloured paint into jars, which helps to support fine motor development and turn-taking skills.
- 9 February 2023Outstanding
- 3 July 2017Good
- 12 February 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Hawkhurst Pre-School
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? 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.