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Little Explorers Day Care Kent (HB)

Ofsted: Good
(Aug 2025)
·Little Explorers, The Explorer, Herne Bay, CT6 6PN · Kent
Number of places
22 places
Age range
1–4 yrs
Last inspected
Aug 2025
Local authority
Kent

About this day nursery

Little Explorers Day Care Kent offers a nurturing and stimulating environment for children aged 6 months to 5 years, focusing on individual potential and a love for learning. The day nursery provides full-day care from Monday to Friday, with flexible hours from 7:30 am to 6 pm to accommodate working parents.

Healthy meals and snacks are provided, including breakfast and home-cooked dinners. Their approach emphasises daily outdoor adventures—weather permitting—with trips to a local farm, library, beach, and for swimming sessions.

Indoors, children engage in creative play, from reading and painting to model making and caring for a guinea pig. The "Home from Home" philosophy prioritises comfort and familiarity, encouraging children to bring items from home.

Their dedicated team, all professionally qualified and passionate about childcare, works in partnership with families to support each child's development. The day nursery is OFSTED registered and offers a secure parent portal, "Big Explorers," for essential news, event updates, menus, and priority booking for holiday clubs.

These holiday clubs extend care to children up to 7 years old, offering flexible, fun-filled programmes with diverse activities.

Our ethos

At Little Explorers, we believe that every child is a curious and capable individual, ready to explore the world around them. Our ethos is built on nurturing each child's unique potential, fostering a love of learning, and encouraging discovery through play. We are committed to providing a safe, stimulating, and supportive environment where children can thrive emotionally, socially, and intellectually. Our highly trained staff work in partnership with families to ensure that every child’s needs are met, and their milestones are celebrated. Through a mix of creative activities, outdoor play, and structured learning, we aim to cultivate the skills of communication, problem-solving, and confidence that will lay the foundation for lifelong learning. We embrace diversity and encourage respect, kindness, and empathy, creating a community where children feel valued, loved, and empowered to explore, imagine, and grow

What it's like

Children thrive at this inclusive and welcoming setting. Leaders carefully plan a highly ambitious curriculum, with personal, social and emotional development at its core. Staff spend time getting to know children before they start, helping them to feel settled and happy.

OFSTED RegisteredOutdoor AdventuresHome from Home EnvironmentFlexible Holiday ClubsParent Portal

Pricing & funding

Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

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Key facts

Food

Breakfast and fresh fruit provided; nutritional home-cooked meals for children staying until 6pm (day care); healthy snacks provided (holiday clubs); parents to pack lunch (holiday clubs).

Age range

6 months to 5 years (day care); 9 months to 7 years (holiday clubs)

Session types

Full Day Care, Funded Sessions (9am-3pm), Holiday Club Sessions

Waitlist

Holiday club places are offered on a first come basis to our parents but we are happy to place you on a reserve list.

Opening hours

07:30 - 18:00, Monday to Friday

Term time / All Year

All Year

Staff

At least 11

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Little Explorers Day Care Kent (HB)

Last inspected 14 August 2025 · Sarah Taylor-Smith

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 thrive at this inclusive and welcoming setting. Leaders carefully plan a highly ambitious curriculum, with personal, social and emotional development at its core. Staff spend time getting to know children before they start, helping them to feel settled and happy.

Inspector highlights

  • Leaders are very passionate and enthusiastic about the nursery and create a positive working culture.
  • All children, including those with SEND, make solid progress in their learning and development.
  • Children benefit from excellent opportunities to develop their physical skills through swimming lessons and tool use.
  • Partnership working with parents is good, and parents provide very positive feedback.
  • Staff show clear enjoyment in being with children and create a calm and curious learning environment.

Areas to develop

  • 1support staff further to build their knowledge of specific agreed teaching strategies as part of the curriculum to continue to build on children's learning
  • 2expand the support for younger children during group-time activities to fully extend their engagement in learning.
Inspection #10413461 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

All children, including those who have emerging or known special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make solid progress in their learning and development. Staff swiftly identify if any specific support is needed for children and work with parents and other professionals to source further guidance.

Outdoor space

Children benefit from excellent opportunities to develop their physical skills. For example, staff teach children to swim through one-to-one swimming lessons each week. Children learn how to use a range of tools to help develop their small-muscle skills, such as using hammers and nails.

Inspection history

Most recent inspection

14 August 2025

Good

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

View full Ofsted report

Frequently asked about Little Explorers Day Care Kent (HB)

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