Places become available throughout the year.
Opening times
We’re open from 8am to 6pm, five days a week, 51 weeks a year. We’re closed on Bank Holidays and during Christmas Week.
Places
We have around 75 children on our roll and 50 places per day. We only offer full-year, full-day places and a minimum of two days a week. We don’t offer sessional or term-time only places. We have ten places each day for each ‘cohort’ – children born in the same academic year
Ages
Children can join us from 8 weeks old until they leave for school (in Kent this is in the September following a child’s fourth birthday).
School Structure
We have four separate rooms: Baby Room, Toddler Room, Big Toddler Room and Pre-School Room Each is staffed with permanent staff (we rarely use temporary staff) and each is headed up by a Room Manager.
Fees
Our fee (from 1 September 2025) is £57.00 a day. This includes three meals, but not nappies, wipes etc.
Applying for a place
We expect parents to visit us before making a choice, so we will provide an application form during this visit (there’s a copy of our application form on the Useful Information page).
Reserving your place
If a place is available that suits your start date and other requirements then you may reserve it by signing a contract and paying a deposit of two weeks’ fee. This is not refundable, but will be credited to your account and be available to part-pay your first invoice. A copy of our contract can be found on the Useful Information page.
Waiting List
If a place is not available, then you may be added to our waiting list. There are times, however, when we have to close the waiting list because there are just too many names on it and we don’t want to give false hope to anyone else.
Admissions Policy
Our admissions policy contains full, detailed information.
Settling-in period
We generally expect to ‘ease’ a child into nursery life during a settling-in period, agreed with the parents. We do not charge for this. Full details can be found in our settling-in policy.
Funding
We accept Free for Two, Universal and Working Parent Entitlements and offer a limited number of fully funded places on Thursdays and Fridays between 8am and 1.30pm. We accept childcare vouchers and are registered with the Government’s Tax-Free Childcare.
Current Availability
The way we work it is on a first-come, first-served basis. We have ten places each day for each ‘cohort’ – children born in the same academic year. If a place is available and a parent wants it, they reserve it by signing a contract with us and paying a deposit of two weeks’ fees. Parents rarely give up their place, but sometimes a change of circumstance (new job, house or spouse!) may result in a cancellation.
We currently (Mar 26) have limited space.
Enquiries
If you are interested in a place please write to us at admissions@sdn.org.uk
Or complete our online enquiry form