Whitstable Day Nursery

A wormery built by preschool children and ice explored by babies and toddlers give a concrete picture of learning at Whitstable Day Nursery in March 2023: practical, curious and led partly by children's interests. At its 21 March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective.

The nursery has capacity for 35 children aged 0 to 60 months at Vulcan Close, Whitstable. Its opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

In March 2023, preschool children used a step-by-step guide to construct a wormery, using leaves, soil and sand and discussing ventilation. Younger children experimented with breaking ice. These activities gave children something tangible to investigate, rather than simply an answer to remember.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the March 2023 examples show learning through practical play, conversation and opportunities to do things independently.

Outdoor play that month included climbing, sliding and balancing on tyres, giving children opportunities to practise coordination. Indoors, staff helped younger children assemble a railway track, while songs and rhymes prompted smiles and clapping from babies and toddlers. Preschool children talked readily with adults and other children.

At the March 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND received effective support through collaboration between staff, parents and outside agencies, and made good progress.

In March 2023, staff worked with families to help children settle and used words supplied by parents in children's home languages. That connected nursery conversations with language familiar from home. Toddlers practised putting on coats, with help when needed; preschool children served their own lunch and waited for their friends.

Shared snacks and lunches provided sociable pauses in the day. Staff also discussed safe handling of scissors with preschool children. Behind this daily care, the manager used coaching, feedback and supervision to support staff practice in March 2023.

The address is Vulcan Close, Whitstable, CT5 4LZ. The nursery opens throughout the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas, with weekday hours of 7.30am to 6pm. This opening window gives families scope to fit childcare around different working days.

In March 2023, session times ran from 7.30am to 6pm, and the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Those are dated arrangements, separate from its current opening hours.

• Quieter children in groups. In March 2023, group teaching sometimes favoured more confident children. Ask how practitioners now adapt activities so a quieter child can contribute and benefit.
• Time for early language. In March 2023, staff sometimes asked babies and toddlers several questions before allowing a response. Ask how today's interactions give younger children time to understand and answer.
• Matching attendance to family life. The nursery opens across the year and closes for bank holidays and Christmas. At a visit, ask which booking patterns and funded arrangements fit your intended attendance.

Whitstable Day Nursery suits families seeking year-round weekday childcare, with bank-holiday and Christmas closures built into their plans. Its March 2023 picture combines hands-on investigation, outdoor movement and opportunities for independence. The two communication-related improvement points deserve attention, especially for families with a baby, toddler or child who tends to hang back in a group.