Just Kidz Nursery at St Edwards

Herbs crushed with a pestle and mortar, art inspired by an artist, and counting handprints on an outdoor easel: the March 2024 picture of Just Kidz Nursery at St Edwards is one of learning through practical exploration. These are activities children can touch, change and talk about. The setting has capacity for 20 children and operates on a primary-school site in Sheerness.

At its 21 March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective. Children attending then were aged two to four; the examples of play, independence and relationships give families a more useful picture than the grade alone. Morning and afternoon sessions operate during term time, with an early drop-off option.

The early years foundation stage sets expectations for children's learning, development and care, bringing play and everyday experiences into their education. Just Kidz uses a play-based approach, encouraging children to explore, solve problems and think through what they are doing. The practical emphasis matters: children have something concrete to investigate rather than simply instructions to follow.

In March 2024, the nursery occupied a room within St Edwards Catholic Primary School. Activities extended outdoors, where children counted the handprints they made on an easel. Water play involved selecting syringes and plungers of different sizes and filling containers. These examples brought counting, comparison and choice into play, with adults offering questions and suggestions rather than taking over.

Creative work also had substance. During that March, children made their own artwork and discussed an artist they had encountered, while another activity involved making patterns using petals and paper. Crushing and combining herbs gave them a different material to explore. The appeal is the connection between making something and talking about it, rather than a succession of finished products.

There were also clear limits to the teaching at that point. In March 2024, some staff did not connect activities closely enough to each child's next learning steps, and opportunities to introduce or explain vocabulary were sometimes missed. Enjoyable experiences need purposeful adult support if they are to extend what a child knows. Those two points deserve attention alongside the variety of activities.

A quiet retreat was part of the room's arrangement in March 2024, giving children somewhere to pause when they wanted time alone. Staff knew families and individual needs, while children practised sharing, taking turns and choosing their own activities. Care here included room to withdraw as well as encouragement to join in.

At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received effective support, including individual adult help and liaison with external agencies, and made good progress. School staff and nursery staff also worked together to support settling. That combination gives the judgement practical meaning: support involved both direct help for children and communication beyond the nursery.

Communication with families in March 2024 included detailed information about children and inexpensive ideas for learning at home. Parents were invited to events, and staff explained how regular attendance supported learning. The useful thread is continuity between nursery and home, with families receiving ideas they could put into practice.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is St Edwards Primary School, New Road, Sheerness, ME12 1BW. Opening hours are 8.50am to 2.50pm, Monday to Friday, and attendance follows Kent County Council's term calendar. This is term-time provision, so its calendar matters as much as its daily hours.

Morning sessions run from 8.50am to 11.50am; afternoons run from 11.50am to 2.50pm. Early drop-off starts at 8.30am and carries a separate charge. The morning and afternoon patterns give families two different parts of the day to work around. Enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded options include Free for Two with 15 hours a week, the universal entitlement for three- and four-year-olds with 15 hours, and working-parent entitlements for two-year-olds and three- to four-year-olds with 30 hours. Eligibility conditions apply to Free for Two and working-parent funding. The term-time calendar governs attendance here.

Hours beyond a child's funded entitlement are paid privately. Families should obtain a current written quotation covering their intended sessions and any early drop-off, so the funded portion and additional hours are clear. The funding and fees page sets out those categories.

Being on a school site does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must still use the local authority's admissions process.

• Purposeful teaching. In March 2024, linking activities to individual next steps and extending vocabulary were improvement priorities. During a visit, ask how staff now use an ordinary play activity to develop a particular child's learning.
• Term-time routine. Morning and afternoon sessions follow Kent County Council's term calendar. Families needing care during school holidays will need to plan around that pattern.
• Food and everyday supplies. How are meals, snacks and non-food consumables arranged, and which charges apply to funded and private sessions?
• School-site expectations. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Keep the nursery decision separate from the local authority school application.

Just Kidz suits families seeking either morning or afternoon term-time sessions, with early drop-off as an additional option. In March 2024, hands-on exploration, a quiet space and individual support gave families concrete reasons to consider it. The balance is equally clear. Adults' use of learning goals and new vocabulary needed more consistency, making the substance of everyday teaching a useful priority for a visit.