Top Banana Pre School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Sevenoaks for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £48.00 a day, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2023. Open since 2005, with 28 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year, minimum 2 days a week.
| Age | Full day | Session | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 year olds not qualifying for FF2 fundi | £53.006 1/2 hours from 8:30 am to 3.00 pm | £29.003 1/2 hours from 8:30 am to 12:00 noon, 3.5 hrs | £8.00Additional hours | |
| All ages | £48.00All Day £53.00All Day | £24.00Morning, 3 hrs £29.00Morning, 3.5 hrs | – |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £5.00 a half day extra half an hourif a child is all day and if the parents want to keep their children
- £5.00 a half day stay until 12:00 noonFEE funding hours
- £5.00 a half day stay all day until 3:00 pmFEE funding hours
- £5.00 per 15 minutes late pick upevery 5 minutes late
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £5.00 a half day 1/2 hour from 11:30 am - 12:00 noon
- £5.00 a half day 1/2 hour from 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
- £5.00 a half day 1/2 hour from 11:30am - 12:00 noon
Funded hours
15 hours free for 3 year olds, 30 hours for eligible 2, 3 & 4 year olds.
Worth knowing. FEE hours only 8:30-11:30am or 8:30am-2:30pm; £5 charge for 11:30am-12pm or 2:30-3pm.
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
TN15 0ALWhat 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, 15 March 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are instantly at ease and happy when they enter the pre-school. They settle quickly with staff who know them well and with whom they have formed strong attachments. Children are motivated and want to learn and discover. They focus well and demonstrate good concentration skills during tasks. For instance, they experiment with magnetic building blocks and are intrigued as they discover how magnets work to create a strong tower. Children have time to explore and become fully involved in their chosen activities.
Overall, children's behaviour is very good. Staff expect good manners and respectful behaviour from the children, which they reflect in their own kind and thoughtful teaching. They are consistent in supporting children to manage their own feelings and responses to difficulties they might face. This helps children develop successful strategies and resilience to challenges and to keep themselves safe.
Children benefit from new experiences when they go into their community and discover the natural world. For instance, they are fascinated by the pre-school's pet millipede when they hold it and try to count its legs. They take trips to the library and use the local recreation ground, as well as growing their own plants and enjoying visits from people such as the fire brigade. This helps children gain an insight into wider society and the environment they are part of now and will be in the future.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- deepen staff's understanding of the curriculum to ensure that children's learning is sequenced more precisely to challenge and extend their skills and knowledge even further n develop staff's practice so they can identify those children who need more highquality interactions to develop and extend their learning.
- 15 March 2023Good
- 4 May 2017Good
- 22 April 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Top Banana Pre School
- 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 £48.00 a day 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.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.