Kiddiecare Kindergarten
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.5 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Gravesend for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 09:00 to 15:30, 7 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2023. Open since 2008, with 30 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
We provide the Government’s 15 Hours and 30 Hours funded childcare offer (plus FF2 funding at Istead Rise) for all eligible children.
Worth knowing. Government funding is not intended to cover the cost of meals, snacks, consumables, suncream, or extracurricular activities. As part of our integrated offering, we apply modest charges for these items to each funded session. 30-hour funding is annualised across the full year, giving approximately 22.35 funded hours per week. Families can use up to 20 funded hours per week over two full days.
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
DA13 9HGWhat 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, 18 July 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this caring and exciting setting. Staff have strong bonds with children and recognise when they need reassurance. They offer lots of support and cuddles. This helps them to feel safe and secure. Children quickly engage in their chosen activities. For example, they draw pictures of sunflowers, and they talk about the 'seeds' and 'petals'. Children start their day with a welcoming registration time. Younger children demonstrate a sense of pride as they talk about the weather. Older children confidently recognise large numbers on the calendar and know that the month is July.
Children demonstrate friendly behaviours as they play cooperatively together. They cheer on their friends as they take turns kicking a football. Staff support children to understand rules throughout the day. They use gentle reminders, such as 'walking feet' and 'quiet voices'. This helps children to understand what is expected of them.
Children benefit from an ambitious curriculum. Staff plan exciting activities that fully motivate children to play and learn. They encourage children to persevere and keep trying at tasks they find difficult. For example, children try hard and concentrate when trying to hook the ducks out of a tray of water.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen the planning of adult-led activities to make more use of opportunities to extend children's learning further n focus professional development opportunities more sharply on supporting individual staff to consistently build on and develop their knowledge and skills.
- 18 July 2023Good
- 17 May 2018Good
- 20 November 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Kiddiecare Kindergarten
- What it costs
- 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
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.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.