Pennington Park Pre School
GoodBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Tunbridge Wells for children from birth to 5, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 2016, with 30 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
TN4 0SJWhat 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, 23 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children throughout the pre-school are very happy and have a lot of fun as they play and learn. They develop very good social skills as staff support them to understand and respect the feelings and views of other people. Children benefit from the very warm, caring interaction of staff and copy these behaviours in their own interactions. For example, children who are the first to dress for outdoor play help their friends by collecting their boots. Staff also teach children how to share and take turns. Children work together to play complex and imaginative games.
They behave very well and are eager to help staff. Children understand the routines of the day and enthusiastically take part in domestic tasks, such as tidying up before going outside to play.
Children are independent and motivated learners. They confidently explore the inviting, and skilfully organised, indoor and outdoor environment. They become engrossed as they take part in the broad and varied range of activities. For example, children concentrate intently as they build towers of bricks. They cope maturely as their tower topples and, with the encouragement of staff, patiently rebuild even higher. Children also make very good use of the well-resourced roleplay area. Staff fully exploit the opportunities that this creates to extend children's learning, in particular their communication and language.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- make better use of staff's in-depth knowledge of each child to more precisely identify what they need to learn next n enhance information-sharing with parents to include more specific details about their child's progress to enable them to extend learning at home.
- 23 January 2024Good
- 24 April 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Pennington Park 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.