Dawes Community Childcare Centre
Good★ 3.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Faversham for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2024. Open since 2001, with 36 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
ME13 9JGWhat 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, 5 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in the nurturing environment created by staff. They say goodbye to their parents and eagerly hang their bags up. They are keen to discover what they will be learning. Every day, children and staff sit together to say good morning.
They use sign language to indicate how they are feeling and discuss what is making them feel happy or sad. Children work as a team to gently stretch their muscles while counting both forward and back. They say that they are 'ready to play' and their bodies have 'woken up' after stretching. Children are learning how exercise helps to keep their bodies healthy.
Children are very happy, well mannered and friendly towards each other. Staff role model expected behaviours as they interact and play with the children. Staff have high expectations for children to be confident and independent. This is skilfully built into routines of the day, so children have plenty of practice. For example, children serve themselves a snack using tweezers and spoons. They clear the table after eating then wash and dry up their own plates. Younger children and those new to the setting learn quickly from their peers. Parents feedback that children are keen to use the skills at home that that they have learned at nursery.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the support for children to follow their own interests and explore their own ideas to embed their learning n support staff to use language and interactions that encourage fuller responses from children to further encourage their communication and language skills.
- 5 September 2024Good
- 2 October 2018Good
- 26 April 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Dawes Community Childcare Centre
- 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.