Dockside Day Nursery and Pre-school

A rooftop garden overlooking Chatham Maritime Marina gives Dockside its clearest sense of place. Boats, swans and activity around the piers become part of the children's surroundings, while wooden equipment and an artificial-grass surface make the roof an outdoor learning space rather than simply a viewpoint. Below it, the nursery's rooms take children from early exploration towards the practical skills needed for primary school.

Dockside Day Nursery and Pre-school occupies Unit N1 at Dockside Outlet Centre in Chatham, ME4 3ED, on Maritime Way, St. Marys Island. It accepts children from 3 to 59 months and has 107 places in total. Those places are a whole-nursery measure, rather than a guide to the number of children sharing any room.

At its 19 February 2026 inspection, Ofsted awarded Expected standard judgements for achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance; safeguarding standards were met. The practical picture includes close relationships, community outings and language activities, alongside work still needed on individual support during routines and helping parents extend learning at home.

Full-day, morning and afternoon attendance patterns give families different ways to use the nursery.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby & Toddler Room has a protected area for less mobile babies, allowing them to see more mobile children while exploring at their own stage, with home routines shaping their care. That physical separation matters: early exploration and energetic toddler movement need different arrangements.

Nursery Room 1 serves children aged 2 to 2.5 years and Nursery Room 2 those aged 2.5 to 3, with messy play, painting and water activities alongside spaces for rest and growing independence. The emphasis across these rooms includes learning bathroom routines and using gestures, signing and conversation as speech develops. Everyday care becomes another opportunity to communicate, rather than a pause in learning.

For three- and four-year-olds, the Pre-School Room links literacy and maths with practical experiences such as planning cooking and buying ingredients. Rising Fives Room adds school preparation through role play, movement and self-help activities. Its purpose is concrete: children practise the tasks and become familiar with the environments they will encounter next.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS sets the shared expectations for early-years learning and care: children's activities cover areas of development, with staff planning experiences and reviewing progress. Dockside connects that framework with children's interests, including dinosaur-themed activities, and with practical tasks that give language and number work a purpose.

Cooking preparation in pre-school starts before the food is made. Children help plan an activity, create a shopping list and visit shops for ingredients. Regular phonics, literacy and maths activities sit alongside this practical work, so preparing for school includes both early academic skills and doing things for themselves.

In February 2026, language featured in songs, rhymes, dinosaur conversations and pretend picnics. Children searched for letters in a tray of sand, while younger children counted with adults and babies explored tactile mixtures. These examples show the variety of routes into communication and early number work, rather than a day organised only around adult-led tasks.

There was a qualification to that picture. In February 2026, visual prompts and other learning resources were used unevenly, and staff needed to strengthen support for children's engagement, especially where additional needs or barriers affected learning. Interesting activities alone were not the whole answer; the consistency of adult support mattered too.

Outdoor and Community Life

The rooftop garden looks across Chatham Maritime Marina and combines handmade wooden furniture with a sprung surface covered in artificial grass. Outdoor learning follows children's interests as indoor learning does, and hotter weather brings an adjustment to when children spend time outside. For children with little outdoor space at home, this is a substantial part of the offer.

In February 2026, children explored the surrounding community daily and visited the local library regularly. Outdoor experiences included looking for birds with binoculars, building with lengths of guttering, and riding bikes and scooters. These were different ways to investigate the world: noticing wildlife, solving construction problems and practising movement.

Ward Security and their dog team visit pre-school, bringing a connection with the people working around the shopping centre. The setting's surroundings therefore contribute more than a backdrop to its day.

Relationships and Communication

The Key Person Approach gives each child a familiar practitioner responsible for their care and learning, and gives parents a regular contact. That role includes comfort, feeding, toileting and sleep routines, as well as exchanging information about the child's day. It makes the relationship useful in both directions: staff learn about home life, while parents can discuss changes and progress with someone who knows their child.

Settling sessions introduce children and parents to that practitioner and their room. The pattern is arranged individually after an initial exchange of information, allowing the pace to reflect the child rather than imposing an identical timetable on everyone. Parents can share new interests and skills as these emerge.

Daily communication and opportunities to speak with staff are part of the parent partnership. However, in February 2026, the work to help parents support learning at home was not yet consistently established. A friendly exchange about the day and practical guidance for continuing learning are related, but different, parts of that partnership.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that children, including those with SEND or barriers to learning, progressed from their starting points, with individual plans and professional partnerships supporting their needs, although adaptations at mealtimes and other transitions were inconsistent. That balance matters for families whose child needs support throughout the day, including its less structured moments.

The nursery has a SENCO role and designated safeguarding lead roles. In February 2026, staff undertook training for particular medical needs and the use of specialist equipment, while individual plans helped children prepare for school. Parents should consider how that planning translates into everyday routines as well as planned activities.

A chef prepares food on the premises using a four-week menu cycle, and the nursery's allergy policy uses colour-coded plates, with a red-apron practitioner supervising children allocated red plates until the meal and clearing away are finished. This is a specific procedure for managing dietary needs; allergy-affected families should discuss its current application to their child.

School preparation also includes personalised books made from photographs supplied by the child's future school, covering places such as classrooms and lunch areas. Teachers are invited to meet children at nursery. This gives transition work a recognisable purpose: making the next setting more familiar before the move.

Sessions and Attendance

The attendance choices are a full day from 7.30am to 6.30pm, a morning from 7.30am to 1pm, or an afternoon from 1pm to 6.30pm. The minimum weekly booking is two full days or three half days. That minimum is consequential for families wanting only a small amount of childcare each week.

Sessions run Monday to Friday. The nursery closes on bank holidays, and normal charges still apply. Booked days cannot be exchanged for different days; reducing sessions requires at least one calendar month's written notice, with the reduction beginning on the first of a month. Ending a place also requires at least one calendar month's written notice.

Tours can be booked through the nursery, and there is a waiting-list enquiry route. These are joining arrangements rather than an indication of how many places are free.

Funding and Paid Extras

Dockside accepts 15-hour funding and 30-hour funding for children aged 9 months and over, subject to eligibility and its terms. It does not offer funded-only places. Families therefore need to assess the complete booking and charge structure, rather than treating the funded entitlement as the whole package.

Meals, snacks and drinks are included in private fees. Funded attendance carries separate charges for these and for materials and toiletries through the Consumables Charge. This charge also covers listed activities and other elements beyond food, so its scope deserves attention when comparing the total arrangement.

A deposit and a non-refundable registration charge form part of joining. Fees are paid monthly in advance, and absences for illness or holidays do not produce refunds. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and funding page explains the attendance minimum and charge categories.

• Support during routines. In February 2026, adapting mealtimes and other transitions to individual needs remained an improvement point. During a visit, ask how staff now maintain that support when activities change.
• The funded package. Funded-only attendance is excluded, and funded sessions carry food and consumables charges. Request an itemised quotation for the pattern you intend to use, including how those charges apply.
• Hours, annual operation and deposit terms. Conflicting terms cover opening hours (7am to 7pm or 8am to 6pm), annual operation (51 or 52 weeks) and whether the deposit is refundable if a family does not join. Establish the applicable hours, closures and refund terms in the agreement before committing.
• Learning beyond nursery. In February 2026, guidance for parents on continuing learning at home needed strengthening. Ask for an example of the practical suggestions families now receive, rather than only an account of the day's activities.

Dockside suits families seeking either full-day attendance or morning or afternoon sessions who can meet its weekly booking minimum. The rooftop garden, practical pre-school learning and personalised school-transition books give the offer a clear character. Its community setting also creates opportunities to connect nursery activities with the world immediately around it.

The February 2026 judgements sit alongside specific improvement priorities, especially consistency during routines, engagement support and home-learning communication. Those priorities deserve attention alongside the facilities. For families considering funded attendance, the complete package of booked hours and additional charges is equally central to the decision.