Jo Jo's Day Care Nursery

Sea Horses, Pebbles and Sea Shells give Jo Jo's Day Care Nursery a seaside vocabulary that fits its Herne Bay address. The rooms separate babies, toddlers and preschool children, while Star Fish provides an after-school and holiday club. That makes this a setting with provision across different stages of family life, rather than a preschool-only choice.

At its 27 January 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good. The detail behind that judgement matters: children explored jelly and a fish tank, cared for animals and took beach walks, but noise in the toddler room and teaching of older children's speech needed attention. Those observations describe January 2023 practice, rather than a guarantee about today's experience.

At 118 Sea Street, the nursery has capacity for 46 children, with a current early-years age range of 3 to 60 months. Standard opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with early arrival and later collection arrangements also offered.

Rooms and Ages

Sea Horses takes children from 3 months to 2 years; Pebbles is the toddler room for 24 to 36 months. Sea Shells is the preschool room, combining stories, group activities and child-led play with planned learning shaped by children's interests and preparation for school. Star Fish serves after-school children and runs during holidays, so its provision belongs to a different part of the nursery's offer.

The room names give families a clear starting point for understanding progression. The strongest account of a room's daily learning comes from Sea Shells: children have both time to choose their own play and activities organised by adults. For preschool families, that balance is more useful than a broad promise of school readiness.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage organises learning around language, physical development, relationships and emotions, alongside literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. In parent language, the day should connect talking, moving, playing together and exploring ideas. It is the common early-years framework; the nursery's concrete activities show how learning takes shape here.

In January 2023, babies investigated jelly's texture and watched bubbles inside a fish tank. Younger children enjoyed rhymes and stories, while toddlers practised waiting to use a slide and taking turns on its stairs. These are small, recognisable experiences with different purposes: sensory exploration for babies, language practice through familiar stories, and learning to share space for toddlers.

That same January, the toddler area could become sufficiently noisy to interrupt concentration. Older children's language teaching also needed work because adults did not consistently model accurate pronunciation. These are specific limitations to weigh alongside the positive activities, especially for a child who finds noise difficult or needs careful support with speech.

Outdoor and Community Life

In January 2023, beach walks took place throughout the year, and children helped care for a bearded dragon and tropical fish. Outdoor exploration and responsibility for living things gave children subjects to talk about beyond their immediate play. The beach was part of their experience, rather than simply a nearby geographical feature.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who coordinates learning and care around their individual needs. Parents can discuss concerns and learning at home with that practitioner; specialist support can involve the room leader too. Room-leader roles are identified across the baby, toddler and preschool teams, giving this arrangement a practical staff structure.

Settling is planned with families, with staff and parents deciding how to approach the child's first days and weeks. An open-door policy allows parents to join the setting, discuss progress and see their child's records. A daily email provides another point of contact, and parents can reply with information about their child. Together, these mechanisms give families several ways to contribute rather than waiting for a formal meeting.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

For children whose development raises a concern, practitioners discuss support with parents and help families reach specialist services where appropriate. Planning aims to include children in practical, physical and learning activities. At the January 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received effective support through collaboration with parents and professionals, and that safeguarding arrangements were effective.

In January 2023, staff also used signing to help children learning English communicate their needs and shared that approach with parents. The current behaviour approach uses praise, conversation and visual sand timers to help children express feelings, resolve disagreements and take turns. The timers make waiting easier to understand than a verbal instruction alone.

An onsite cook prepares a two-course lunch, with a hot tea for day-care and after-school children; the nursery's policy is to accommodate individual dietary requirements, including allergies. For babies, weaning is discussed with parents, and their usual feeding routine is followed while they are under 12 months alongside the nursery's mealtime routine.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, with standard hours of 8am to 6pm, for 50 weeks each year. It closes for bank holidays and approximately a week at Christmas. Early arrival and later pick-up can be arranged, while Star Fish provides after-school and holiday care.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email or by telephone. The address is 118 Sea Street, Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 8QZ. The nursery also offers guided tours.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded-hours attendance is offered, alongside paid childcare. A registration charge applies, with a T-shirt and jumper supplied after the child starts; for children attending solely for funded hours, that charge is refunded on their first day. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Parents supply nappies and wipes when needed, as well as sun cream. Nursery uniform is compulsory, and children also need spare clothing, a water bottle and separate footwear for indoor and outdoor use. These are practical preparations to make before attendance begins.

Withdrawal requires a full calendar month's written notice: notice given partway through a month means charges extend through the following complete month. Children leaving for school are exempt from the written-notice requirement, while changes to attendance hours need two full weeks' notice.

• Toddler noise and speech teaching. In January 2023, noise disrupted concentration in the toddler area, and adults' modelling of older children's pronunciation needed improvement. On a visit, ask how Pebbles manages sound and how staff now support speech in Sea Shells.
• The attendance package. Standard weekday opening is 8am to 6pm, with early and late arrangements offered. Establish the exact booked pattern and request a written quotation covering funded hours, additional care and meals.
• Uniform and supplies. Uniform is compulsory, and families provide nappies, wipes and sun cream. Factor those preparations into the nursery routine alongside spare clothes and both sets of footwear.
• Dietary needs. The nursery caters for individual dietary requirements and discusses weaning with parents. Families affected by allergies should confirm current kitchen practice and the arrangements for their child.

Jo Jo's suits families seeking nursery care from babyhood through preschool, as well as those needing after-school or holiday provision through Star Fish. Named rooms, an individual key person, daily email contact and collaborative settling give the offer a clear practical shape.

The January 2023 judgement provides a positive quality reference, with sensory exploration, animal care and beach walks adding substance to the account of nursery life at that time. The two teaching concerns deserve equal weight. For families choosing between rooms or planning care across different ages, the useful next step is to understand how those arrangements work for their own child.