Tiny Tugs Medway Trust Day Nursery

Books, outdoor exploration and children directing their own play shaped daily life at Tiny Tugs in December 2022. On the Medway Maritime Hospital site in Gillingham, this nursery combined practical learning with activities built around children's interests.

At its December 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall, with strengths in children's engagement and purposeful teaching, alongside improvements needed in communication and updates to parents. The nursery now has capacity for 68 children, with an accepted age range of 24 to 60 months. That is whole-setting capacity, not the size of an individual group.

In December 2022, children could move freely into outdoor play, giving those who preferred learning outside opportunities to pursue their interests. Exploring snow and ice brought new vocabulary into conversation. Small logs became pretend campfires, while resources that could be used in different ways encouraged children to develop their own ideas.

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage. Its December 2022 activities made learning tangible: children counted play dough leaves for a plant picture, matched quantities to numerals and joined in familiar rhymes during stories. Books were accessible throughout the nursery, and adults used expressive storytelling and questions about pictures to connect stories with children's experiences.

Families also contributed food and information about their cultural backgrounds in December 2022. Children explored similarities and differences between their peers, making family experience part of learning about the wider world.

At the December 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities supported effectively through collaboration with parents, speech therapists and other settings. Those children made good progress.

During December 2022, staff took time to get to know children from the outset and used calm reminders about sharing and taking turns. Children served themselves snacks and practised using cutlery; activities about oral health also supported everyday self-care. These were practical opportunities to build independence.

The team comprised 17 staff in December 2022. Parent communication needed more attention: families did not consistently receive updates about their child's next learning steps or ideas for practising skills at home.

Windmill Road, Gillingham, ME7 5NY is the nursery's address. It is open all year, with opening hours of 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The early start and evening closing time are useful considerations for parents planning their working day.

In December 2022, care was primarily for children of hospital employees, and the nursery received funding for free early education for three- and four-year-olds.

• Updates about learning. In December 2022, parents needed more consistent information about progress and next steps. Ask how those updates now reach families and how home activities are explained.
• Time to answer. In December 2022, younger children's thinking was sometimes interrupted by questions moving on too quickly. During a visit, discuss how staff give children time to formulate their responses.
• Hospital connection. Care primarily served hospital employees in December 2022. How does the current joining policy apply to your family, and what attendance pattern could you book?

For families seeking weekday childcare close to work at Medway Maritime Hospital, Tiny Tugs merits consideration. Its December 2022 daily life offered concrete learning through stories, counting, outdoor exploration and independent play. The same dated assessment makes communication the key consideration: both children's time to respond and parents' understanding of learning need attention in a family's decision.