Bright Horizons Wilmington Day Nursery and Preschool
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Dartford for children from birth to 5, open 07:30 to 18:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2021. Open since 2005, with 97 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
What childcare usually costs in Kent
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Kent 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
DA2 7EUWhat 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.
- 14 September 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 2 November 2021 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children, including those new to the nursery, settle well. Young children enjoy the closeness of cuddles with staff, which helps to develop strong bonds. Older children confidently talk about their experiences and recall events, such as when they carved pumpkins and named the shapes that they carved, including a triangle and semi-circle. Children thoroughly enjoy their time at nursery and access challenging experiences that enable them to make good progress in their learning. Children have good opportunities to widen their awareness of the wider world and to be ambitious. For example, they explore with staff what they want to be when they grow up, and then review this after their year in pre-school. Their initial ideas of wanting to be 'Superman' evolve into being a fire fighter, after a visit from the fire service.
Children behave well and show great consideration for others, for example helping them to wipe paint off of their hands. Older children enjoy staff giving them responsibility for supporting others. For instance, they are tasked with helping the younger children find and put on their coats. Staff enable children to learn right from wrong and they develop good friendships. For example, they enquire who is going to be at nursery and are excited when their friends' names are mentioned.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to embed the new system for the assessment of children and planning of the curriculum n strengthen systems to ensure that the next steps in learning are consistently known by all staff and that every activity planned to support next steps is fully effective.
- 2 November 2021Good
- 4 March 2014Outstanding
- 30 April 2013Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Bright Horizons Wilmington Day Nursery and Preschool
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- Meals
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? 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.