Dan Dans

Recycled materials, child-led projects and support that reaches beyond the nursery make Dan Dans a recognisable choice in Herne Bay. This pack-away setting uses resources children can reach for themselves, with movement between indoor and outdoor play in all weathers. Its character comes from what children can do with the environment, rather than a fixed collection of equipment.

Dan Dans has capacity for 39 children and accepts children from 3 months to 5 years. At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The practical offer includes morning, afternoon and all-day attendance, with a shorter opening day on Mondays.

Family partnership includes a key person, a pre-start home visit, online learning journeys and termly development meetings, giving parents several ways to understand their child's experience.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guides individual observation and planning, with children learning through play and staff responding to what interests them. This is the shared early-years framework. Dan Dans adds a Reggio Emilia influence, an approach that gives children's interests and their surroundings a central role in learning.

That influence has a practical expression. Children choose independently accessible resources, while staff use their immediate interests as opportunities to teach. Recycled materials form part of the environment, linking play with the nursery's emphasis on caring for the world around them. The pack-away format makes the preparation of that environment an active part of staff's work.

The Reggio Approach also gives projects time to develop. Interests can be explored over weeks or months, rather than requiring a finished product at the end of each activity. Painting, construction, movement and role play provide different ways for children to express an idea. Photographs, observations and children's work document the process, making learning visible to families as well as staff.

Every Child's a Talker supports early communication through a lead practitioner who works with children and parents on language development and vocabulary. It gives language an explicit place alongside open-ended play. For babies, Treasure Baskets introduce objects and textures to explore in a quiet area, with an adult nearby and the baby choosing what to investigate.

In June 2024, learning examples included children building a balance beam together and making a canopy for a hover boat. Staff used questions to help children work through construction problems. Dice helped children match numbers and symbols, while older children explored words sharing an initial sound. These examples show how practical play can carry mathematical and language learning within the same day.

Outdoor and Community Life

Independent access to resources extends outdoors, and free-flow play continues in different weather conditions. This makes outdoor exploration part of the everyday arrangement. The nursery plans to use the Sun Safe Nurseries Scheme's teaching resources to introduce sun-protection messages, alongside reminders for families to supply sunscreen and a suitable hat.

In June 2024, children recalled singing for a care-home resident's birthday. They also talked about reusing materials for a sports day and helping fund toilets in other countries. These were concrete encounters with other people's lives and with the use of resources, giving the nursery's environmental and social themes something children could discuss from experience.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who observes development and plans individual next steps. Before a child starts, a home visit introduces the key person and buddy and gives families time to discuss the child's starting points. Familiarity begins before the first nursery day, while the wider approach encourages children to build relationships with other staff too.

The Dan Dans app gives parents access to individual learning journeys and shares daily routines. Daily feedback is supplemented by termly meetings, where parents and staff discuss development and agree what comes next. An open-door policy provides another route for conversations when a concern or family circumstance needs attention between those meetings.

Transition support includes parents as well as children. Discussions about moving to school allow children to talk about their feelings, while links with other nursery and school providers and health professionals support communication around a child's next stage. The emphasis is on preparation and continuity.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDco works alongside families and the child's key person to identify additional needs and plan strategies for nursery and home. Support can address communication, eating, sleep or behaviour; involving outside agencies is discussed with parents first. The nursery also offers practical help around appointments and meetings, which can matter when a family is managing several professionals or services.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND progressed through personalised learning, with external-agency partnerships and funding supporting individual needs. The examples included specialist resources and extra sessions for families. This dated judgement gives substance to the nursery's current support arrangements.

In June 2024, books and puppets helped children talk about emotions, and retreat spaces gave children somewhere to pause when feelings became difficult to manage. Babies used signs and visual pictures to express choices. Older children practised everyday independence through clothing, serving lunch and clearing away, connecting emotional support with opportunities to do things for themselves.

Sleep arrangements include an adult remaining in the sleeping area, a written sleep log and checks every 10 minutes. The key person discusses routine changes with parents, and families receive feedback on sleep. Food is freshly prepared, with a two-week menu cycle and separate summer and winter menus.

Sessions and Attendance

Morning, afternoon and all-day attendance are offered through the nursery's enquiry form. Opening hours are 8am to 1pm on Monday and 8am to 6pm from Tuesday to Friday. That Monday finish deserves attention when matching childcare to a working week.

The nursery operates across the year, closing on bank holidays and for two weeks over Christmas. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by email to info@dandans.co.uk. Joining involves requesting an application form, completing it and returning it by email.

Getting There

Dan Dans is at The United Reform Church, Herne Bay, CT6 7BH; its location directions identify the setting next to Broomfield Church, The Meadows, Broomfield. The postcode is useful when planning the route, alongside that local landmark.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded early education is offered. In June 2024, funding covered early education for children aged two, three and four; this is a dated description of participation, rather than an eligibility promise for an individual family.

A non-refundable registration charge is required when the completed application is submitted, and parents must read and sign the terms and conditions before the nursery confirms the booking. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Parents supply sunscreen and a sun hat for outdoor play in the hotter months, so those items need to be part of the child's nursery kit.

• Monday's shorter day. Opening ends at 1pm on Monday, compared with 6pm on the other weekdays. Families needing afternoon care throughout the working week should weigh that difference before choosing their attendance pattern.
• A pack-away environment. Children use independently accessible resources indoors and outdoors, with recycled materials shaping the setting. On a visit, ask how that layout works for your child's age and interests, including where a baby can rest or explore quietly.
• Support across home and nursery. The SENDco and key person plan strategies with families, and outside-agency involvement is discussed first. If your child has additional needs, use the visit to discuss how those arrangements would work for them.
• The funded-place quotation. Funded early education and a non-refundable registration charge both form part of the offer. Ask for a written breakdown of meals, consumables and any charges applying to your chosen funded attendance pattern before committing.

Dan Dans suits families looking for morning, afternoon or all-day attendance alongside child-led learning and close involvement in their child's development. The Reggio Emilia influence has practical substance in accessible resources, sustained projects and documented learning; Every Child's a Talker and Treasure Baskets give language development and baby exploration their own place.

The June 2024 Outstanding judgement adds weight to that offer, while the SENDco, home visit and termly meetings give family partnership a clear structure. Monday's early finish is the main practical consideration. For families whose timetable fits, this is a nursery with a coherent connection between the way children play, the support they receive and the information parents take home.