D-Dee's Day Nursery

In February 2023, bread-making, coloured-water experiments and physical play supporting later writing gave D-Dee's Day Nursery a recognisable character. At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, with children experimenting, solving practical problems and developing their communication through play. Those examples give the judgement substance.

Based on The Ridgeway in Boughton-under-blean, Faversham, the nursery accepts children aged 2 to 60 months and has 40 places in total. Individual relationships are central to its current offer: the Keyperson Approach links a child and their family with a member of staff who learns their preferences, development and needs.

For parents, that makes the relationship with the person caring for their child as important as the activities themselves. Personal handovers and Blossom, an app for exchanging information between home and nursery, provide two ways to maintain that connection.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, its connection with everyday relationships is explicit: knowing each child helps staff support their exploration and learning rather than treating children as interchangeable members of an age group.

In February 2023, physical development ran through inventive play. Babies reached for balls held above them with sticky tape; older children crawled beneath ribbons stretched between chairs. These were opportunities to practise movement and build strength, including the shoulder stability needed for later fine-motor tasks such as writing.

Another activity involved spraying coloured water onto windows. Younger children squeezed the trigger with both hands, while older children attempted it with one. The interest lay in both the effort and the resulting patterns: a practical task combined physical challenge with something children could investigate.

Language also accompanied sensory exploration in February 2023. Staff used descriptive words while babies handled play dough and older children investigated changes in cornflour's consistency. Rather than separating vocabulary from experience, these activities gave children something tangible to talk about.

Bread-making added a different kind of investigation. Children weighed ingredients and operated a bread machine, then ate the finished bread at tea. The activity connected a sequence of actions with an edible result, giving cause and effect a concrete meaning.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2023, garden play included predicting how different objects would travel down a slide. Children considered what might happen, tried it and discussed safety. The garden therefore supported investigation as well as movement: outdoor play was part of learning, rather than simply a break between indoor activities.

The Keyperson Approach gives each child a continuing relationship with a practitioner who also works with their family. That member of staff learns about the child's interests and circumstances, helping care respond to the individual. For a parent, the useful detail is the connection between knowledge of home life and the child's experience at nursery.

Personal handovers take place at both ends of a session. Blossom complements those conversations by allowing families and nursery to exchange information about the child. The two channels serve different purposes: a conversation provides direct contact, while the app keeps the exchange going when parents are elsewhere.

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding, strong settling arrangements and outstanding progress that included children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, supported by close work between families and the special educational needs coordinator. These are dated findings about care and support, alongside the overall judgement.

In February 2023, that coordinator also held the wellbeing lead role. Staff worked with families on children's feelings and behaviour, using consistent messages to connect learning at home with nursery life. Settling was similarly relationship-led, helping children build bonds before extending their exploration.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, for 51 weeks each year. Its address is The Ridgeway, Boughton-under-blean, Faversham, ME13 9BB. The opening window is useful for matching the nursery's operating day with work commitments.

Funding and Paid Extras

In February 2023, the nursery received funding for early education for children aged two, three and four. That describes its funding provision at the time of the inspection. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Settling and your key person. Individual relationships shape the nursery's approach. During a visit, ask how settling would be planned around your child's habits and how contact with their key person would work.
• The operating year. Opening spans 51 weeks, with an 8am to 6pm weekday window. Families need an attendance arrangement that fits both their working day and the nursery's annual calendar.
• Funding and the complete cost. Funded early education formed part of the February 2023 provision. Ask for a written quotation covering your intended attendance, funded hours, meals and consumables together.

D-Dee's suits parents who value individual relationships, direct handovers and an exchange of information with home. Its weekday opening window also suits families whose care needs fall between 8am and 6pm.

The February 2023 examples are persuasive because they are concrete: physical challenges, sensory language and bread-making connected play with purposeful learning. The current Keyperson Approach and Blossom communication give families a clear relationship model.