1st Friends day nursery and creche Ltd
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.2 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Gillingham for children from birth to 5, open 8am to 6pm. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2023. Open since 2011, with 24 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Government Funded Spaces (9 Months To 4 Years).
Worth knowing. Meals are optional under new government funding rules. Parents may choose not to take our meal package; however, we cannot store or refrigerate packed lunches due to food safety regulations. If you opt out of meals, your child we need to leave the nursery and return afterwards, as we cannot hold or serve food, brought from home.
What childcare usually costs in Medway
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Medway from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
ME8 6BYWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 3 March 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children and babies receive a warm welcome on arrival. Staff provide a calm and nurturing environment, which enables children to feel safe and secure. Children and babies settle quickly and demonstrate their strong bonds with staff. Staff know children extremely well and are attentive to their needs. Children are confident to explore and show a positive attitude to their learning.
Children enjoy their time outside in the garden and have good opportunities to exercise in the fresh air. Staff are highly vigilant and teach children the importance of managing risks. For example, children safely manoeuvre across the balance beams. Children have a can-do attitude and understand their own physical capabilities. Children and babies gain good balance and coordination skills. Babies are effectively challenged to stand, enhancing their core skills and leg muscles ready for walking.
Children and babies are developing a love of reading and enjoy a wide range of books and nursery rhymes. They select books independently and listen as staff enthusiastically read stories. Children join in with familiar words and phrases. They thoroughly enjoy using props to bring stories to life. Babies listen intently as staff sing to them, joining in with the familiar sounds. In addition to this, children and parents borrow books to read together at home, which promotes children's continued learning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- consider the organisation of group activities to ensure staff maximise all learning opportunities n support staff to consistently develop children's listening and turn-taking skills.
- 3 March 2023Good
- 28 July 2017Good
- 4 September 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for 1st Friends day nursery and creche Ltd
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.