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Choochoos Day Nursery in Dover

Ofsted: Good
(May 2023)
·
4.7(9 parent reviews) ·Crabble Road, DOVER, CT17 0QD · Kent
Number of places
51 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
May 2023
Local authority
Kent

About this day nursery

Choochoos Day Nursery, rated Good by Ofsted on 2nd May 2023, provides childcare for children aged 0-4 years. Open from 8am to 6pm for most of the year, the nursery focuses on creating a warm and nurturing environment where children settle well and develop strong bonds with staff through a strong key-person approach.

Children are encouraged to be independent learners, with younger children supported in self-care tasks and older children enjoying activities like making dough and exploring ingredients. The nursery offers good opportunities for physical development, with children benefiting from free-flow access to the garden where they can run, dig, and explore sand and water.

Staff place a strong emphasis on communication and language development, introducing a range of vocabulary through play. The nursery provides strong support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), with a dedicated SENCo who has clear support plans and strong links with external professionals.

This ensures children with SEND make good progress from their individual starting points. Parents consistently praise the approachable staff and the good relationships their children have with them.

The management team has a clear vision, implementing a curriculum that supports consistent teaching and good progress in learning for all children.

What it's like

Children settle well and develop strong bonds with staff, who provide warm and nurturing relationships through a strong key-person approach. They foster a keen interest in learning, with children actively participating in activities like making dough and exploring ingredients.

Strong bonds with staffKeen interest in learningGood physical developmentStrong SEND supportEffective communication developmentPositive parent partnerships

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)

Key facts

Opening hours

8am to 6pm, for most of the year

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Choochoos Day Nursery

Last inspected 2 May 2023

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children settle well and develop strong bonds with staff, who provide warm and nurturing relationships through a strong key-person approach. They foster a keen interest in learning, with children actively participating in activities like making dough and exploring ingredients.

Inspector highlights

  • Children settle well and develop strong bonds with staff.
  • The management team has a clear vision and the curriculum intent is clearly implemented.
  • Children receive good opportunities to develop their physical skills.
  • Staff place a strong focus on children's communication and language development.
  • Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive strong support.

Areas to develop

  • 1extend the support for the most-able children to ensure that their learning is extended to the highest level to help them make even more progress
  • 2develop further the transitions for the youngest children to ensure that children continue to receive high-quality care throughout the day.
Inspection #10281140 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

Parents are full of praise for the staff at nursery.

They find staff approachable and comment that their children have good relationships with staff.

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive strong support to meet their needs. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has clear support plans for all children and strong links with external professionals. The staff team works well together to implement a consistent approach, ensuring children with SEND make good progress from their individual starting points.

Outdoor space

Children receive good opportunities to develop their physical skills. Staff work hard to enable children to benefit from free flow into the garden, where children enjoy running fast and using the digging area. Children explore the sand and water in the garden and learn about how to use animal puppets inside.

Parent Reviews of Choochoos Day Nursery

4.7
(9)
Sophie Ward
6 months ago

I am very happy. My twins have settled into the nursery very quickly. All staff are excellent. Communication is brilliant. The learning and development has been great. Fantastic value for money as well. Would highly recommend.

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The Voices
6 months ago

Lovely staff, lovely nursery. Take good care of the kids, give you prompt and regular updates and most importantly the kids leave with a smile. Check it out for yourself.

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Selina
10 months ago

My daughter started at Choo Choos 6 months ago and goes 2 mornings a week. I chose this nursery in favour of the other nurseries I’d visited as it felt very friendly and homely, the children all looked really content and the staff were so lovely. Hayley, all of her team and Emma, my daughter’s key worker are fantastic. My daughter has come on leaps and bounds since being at nursery and I’m so thankful to them for creating such a safe, happy and stimulating environment. Thank you Choo Choos :-)

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Eleanor Perrow
2 years ago

Choochoos was one of the cheaper nurseries in our area and I had initially been impressed when I went to look at the setting. However, I was told repetitively that there were issues with my daughter's behaviour which we were not seeing at home and that were not picked up by other people who looked after her. Her new nursery hasn't commented on her behaviour either. Children often seemed to be left to their own devices while staff did jobs around the setting. I understand jobs need to be done, but not while I'm paying them to look after my child. I did appreciate the fact that all meals were included, it did help us out, but we were frustrated with a lot of what was going on, and just didn't feel that she was entertained or challenged the way I'd have liked.

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S Y
a year ago

During a recent visit to this setting, I was really impressed with the large outdoor space the setting has - what a hidden gem! It felt like a lovely place to be, the team were welcoming and the children were really engaged in lovely activities.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Choochoos Day Nursery. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Most recent inspection

2 May 2023

Good

Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.

View full Ofsted report

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This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more