Pre-School of the Year Shortlist: Chelsea Pre-Prep at the Nursery World Awards

What makes a family choose a pre-school, and then keep talking about it at the kitchen table? In 2013, Chelsea Pre-Prep was shortlisted for Pre-School of the Year at the Nursery World Awards, one of the most respected recognitions in UK early years education. The nomination came from a parent. Writing about a multicultural neighbourhood where families arrive with very different nationalities, expectations and experiences of education, they described a setting that had, within only a few years of opening, become the first choice for many local families by taking the best of a traditional British early years education and bringing it to life in a fun, exciting environment that children adored.

The nomination was built around three words: confident, creative and kind. Confidence grew through drama, ballet, science and sport, and through everyday responsibilities: pouring drinks, delivering the register, presenting at show-and-tell, tending seeds in the garden, caring for duck eggs as they hatched and keeping an eye on Paella, the pet rabbit. Creativity filled classrooms decorated with children’s own imperfect, expressive work inspired by books, nations, animals and the seasons. Kindness extended to friends, families and the environment, from recycling and saving water to a ‘wormatorium’ that composted snack and lunch waste. A rare outdoor space in central London, with a grassy field, sandpit and planting boxes, gave children room to play and learn outside.

Perhaps the most telling detail was the simplest. The parents wrote that their two boys literally ran through the gate to their classrooms each morning. More than a decade on, the same commitment to confidence, creativity, kindness and joyful beginnings continues to shape Rocket’s work.