Canterbury Day Nursery

Gladys Garden gives Canterbury Day Nursery a clear thread: children investigate insects, watch birds and explore how plants grow, while the youngest have their own garden space and older children can move between their rooms and the outdoors. Nature has a practical place in the day. The nursery welcomes children from three months to five years at Havelock Street, Canterbury.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with a well-established key-person system supporting individual learning and effective use of additional funding for children’s needs. There were also two clear priorities: more consistent support for communication and broader exploration of people’s different backgrounds and experiences.

Ducklings, Caterpillars and Butterflies provide the nursery’s progression from babies to preschool children. Full-day and half-day bookings sit alongside an opening window of 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with care across the year except for Bank Holidays and the Christmas closure. A charitable organisation with a voluntary management committee, it includes parents in its governance as well as in children’s everyday care.

Rooms and Ages

Ducklings is the baby room, combining a gradual introduction to the key person with accessible play areas, a climbing frame for early movement, singing and sensory exploration using water, sand or foam. Its own garden gives babies outdoor space, while buggies make local walks and visits to parks possible.

Caterpillars serves toddlers and children under three, with independence and relationships developed through play and direct access to two gardens. Routines accommodate individual sleep and feeding needs, including keeping lunch for a child who is still asleep.

Butterflies is the preschool room, where children choose activities, practise personal care and use direct garden access to move between indoor and outdoor play. Staff extend children’s interests, while the layout lets them reach different activities for themselves. Putting on a coat, washing hands and helping to clear a table are treated as opportunities to become more independent, with help provided according to each child’s needs.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning and care: children develop through play, exploration and experiences that encourage them to think and try things out. Here, garden experiences contribute to that learning, while literacy and mathematics are developed through play. Children are encouraged to take manageable risks and practise doing things for themselves.

In June 2024, a farm visit became the starting point for further play: children recreated a farm shop, while babies explored animals in water and learnt their sounds. This connects an experience with opportunities to revisit it through imagination and language. Movement also had different forms according to age, from tunnels and balancing activities for younger children to supervised tree climbing for older children.

The preschool routine makes room for stories, children’s news and show-and-tell alongside creative activities and independent play. Snack arrangements also give children choices: they can select food and later help clear up.

Outdoor and Community Life

Opened in May 2025, Gladys Garden grew out of research undertaken with Christchurch university. It provides a quieter place to investigate living things and plant growth. The university collaboration also extends to developing the garden environments, giving outdoor provision a clear connection with the nursery’s own work on natural spaces.

All nursery children spend time in the gardens during their day, and spare clothing for different weather helps them take part. Ducklings also uses its buggies for outings in the surrounding area, including feeding ducks.

Relationships and Communication

Settling in Ducklings starts with building familiarity. Parents can spend time playing in the room and getting to know staff; the nursery prefers at least three introductory visits and can arrange more where needed. Parents provide information about their baby’s routine, helping staff accommodate familiar feeding and care patterns where possible.

For Caterpillars, short visits can lead gradually to longer periods apart from a parent. Moving into Butterflies generally happens around three, with introductory visits beginning about a month beforehand. Parents also meet the preschool staff during the transition, making the move a shared process rather than simply a change of room.

Key persons observe children and use information from home to understand their interests and needs. In Butterflies, photographs and observations are accessible through the Parentzone app, with learning folders also containing development records and creative work. Termly newsletters complement app updates. This gives parents both a view of their own child’s experiences and information about the wider nursery day.

In June 2024, staff also shared weekly news blogs with ideas for activities at home. Teaching was reviewed through recorded activities, including footage captured from children’s perspectives. That offered staff a way to examine what an activity felt like for the children taking part, rather than relying only on an adult’s recollection.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENCo team provides a named mechanism for discussing additional needs, and the nursery works with the Kent Local Offer. Families can also receive support through the Kent front door request for support scheme. These are practical routes for discussing a child’s circumstances and connecting care with wider family support.

In June 2024, an activity involving throwing suitable objects at targets gave children a safe outlet when emotions became overwhelming. Staff had also undertaken training on supporting children and families through bereavement, including ways to help children express feelings. These examples give substance to the nursery’s attention to emotional needs.

Food is freshly prepared by the nursery’s chef using seasonal menus; for half-day bookings, lunch is a separately priced option, while parents supply babies’ formula, weaning food and tea when needed. Parents also bring nappies, wipes, nappy cream and sun cream for Caterpillars, so these everyday supplies need to be included in the family’s nursery preparations.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery operates at Havelock Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1NP, opening from 8am to 6pm every weekday throughout the year apart from Bank Holidays and Christmas. Full Day, Half Day and Half Day + Lunch are booking options. This gives families a choice between a whole-day pattern and shorter attendance, with lunch considered separately for the half-day option.

Telephone and email enquiries go through the nursery office. The address is useful for families combining nursery care with activities in central Canterbury: the nursery describes its position as only a few minutes walk from the Cathedral and City Centre.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early education funding for three- and four-year-olds can cover up to 15 hours per week, with a stretched arrangement over 50 weeks also offered. Funding for children over nine months depends on family circumstances, and Extended funding can also be spread across 50 weeks.

Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. A place covered entirely by working family funding requires a holding deposit, returned within six weeks of starting; it is not refunded if the child does not start or funding is not awarded. For attendance beyond funded hours, a non-refundable administration charge and a separate deposit apply, with the latter refundable when a month’s leaving notice is given and fees are settled by departure.

• Communication and wider experience. The June 2024 inspection identified occasions when adults answered questions before children had enough thinking time, alongside too few opportunities to explore cultures and backgrounds beyond their own experience. On a visit, ask how conversation and learning about other communities have developed.
• The move into Butterflies. Caterpillars supports toilet learning before the preschool transition, and Butterflies has no nappy-changing facilities. Discuss how an individual transition would work if your child still needs changing support.
• Choosing the attendance pattern. Half-day bookings offer lunch as a separate option, and stretched funding runs over 50 weeks. Ask for a written quotation showing the intended sessions, funded hours and additional paid attendance together.

Canterbury Day Nursery suits families seeking either full-day care or half-day attendance, with a room progression that combines gradual settling, everyday independence and regular access to gardens. Gladys Garden, the university collaboration and the baby room’s own outdoor space give its nature-based experiences substance. The June 2024 Good judgement supports that practical appeal, while the communication and wider-world priorities give families useful subjects to explore before deciding.