In 1982 when the new lavatories and small hall were constructed the nursery was temporarily moved to Rosie's house and garden! The nursery continued to thrive and though Rosie left in 1982 to return to her nursing career, Chris Paddock took charge and carried on the good work.

With the village becoming ever popular and the demand for childcare high, it became clear that we needed our own premises. Premises where we could register our establishment for full-day care. Kent County Council in 2004 offered Nurseries an incentive for merging with their Primary Schools and this started the ball rolling. The committee and in particular Jo Richard's and Laura Kyprianou began to sort through the legalities and embark upon some tenuous administrative tasks. When the committee was re-elected at the Annual General Meeting in November 2005, the sub committee for the new move was taken on by Mel Allen and Angela Writer. With a hectic 'new move' schedule ahead, Jan Little also joined this sub-committee in the new year.

Our History

The school was first opened in September 1975 by its founder Rosie Broadbent. Whilst in the Post Office, Rosie overheard a mother saying that she wished there was a playgroup in the village. This inspired Rosie and after making enquiries she was given permission to run the nursery at the Old School Hall, Sandhurst. She recalls "At the time the Old School had only one inside lavatory, one outside lavatory, no running hot water or central heating! The kitchen was literally a sink and an ancient cooker with no work surfaces. I would never have got registered today!"

Rosie explained that she began with 10 children, the original children being Caroline Baldwin, Samantha Vidler, Joanne Moore, Jackie Weller, Martin Noble, Adam Kerry, Anna Playford, Jason Pierce. A couple of whom still reside in the village of Sandhurst. As the nursery grew in popularity, Rosie was able to employ helpers, the first being Chris Paddock who joined her in the second term, bringing her new baby along, baby Dean, who slept in his pram.

As excitement mounted and grants came through the dream fast became a reality and it was all hands on deck to be ready for the opening on 19th April 2006. The hard work and help given by many finally paid off and the nursery is now situated within Sandhurst Primary School's grounds. The new nursery has timetabled use of the school facilities and already boasts it's own brand new facilities and equipment.

After two years in a mobile classroom the need to have a permanent structure became apparent. Business plans were compiled and a grant application was submitted to Kent County Council for money to build a permanent building on the school grounds. Permission was granted and plans were submitted for a new Nursery. We left the mobile classroom in July 2008 and set up a temporary Nursery at Sandhurst Social Club where we stayed for a year. 

Our Chairperson, Mr Charles Newton, has been part of this nursery school since 2005 and has spent all of these years, voluntarily, supporting and advising and leading the management team through some challenging years and still holds the same passion as he always has for the nursery school. There is more information further on in the website regarding the part Charles played in obtaining the loan for the new building and during the actual build itself of the nursery. Sandhurst Nursery School will be forever grateful for all this hard work and support from Charles.

After an enjoyable year we packed up our belongings and moved into our new building which we have transformed into a welcoming and fantastic place for our children to learn and play.

We also have our own grassed area on the school field which accommodates all outdoor activities including a “bug hotel”, a fantastic climbing frame and wooden train.