St Thomas More Pre-School
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in West Malling 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 November 2021. Open since 1991, with 26 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
ME19 6HNWhat 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, 10 November 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children happily arrive at the pre-school. Staff are ready to welcome them with information about activities and resources that they know will excite them. For example, staff had themed stickers on hand, which sparked children's interest in making a fairy picture. Children, including those who are new to the pre-school, build strong relationships with their key person. This enables them to settle quickly and to promptly engage in purposeful learning experiences. Children develop good communication and language skills. For example, they showed great imaginations as they extended a conversation from a book about a spider to discussions about where he would live. This included him having a suitcase, how many socks he would need and the hats he would wear.
Children develop warm and caring friendships with other children. For example, they encourage other children to join in their imaginative play at a restaurant. They manage to organise their roles between themselves. Children develop a good understanding of what they do can affect others. Staff support this with effective techniques, such as using sand timers to help children learn to share resources.
Children access a curriculum that staff plan effectively to challenge and extend each individual child's learning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- increase staff's understanding of how to embrace children's cultural backgrounds and how to plan more effectively for this n explore further ways to enable children to access from the wide variety of resources and to select for themselves.
- 10 November 2021Good
- 25 April 2017Good
- 14 May 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St Thomas More 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.