Poplar Pre-School (CIO)
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Long established
A pre-school in Maidstone for children from birth to 5, open sessions in term time, often mornings. £21.00 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in December 2023. Open since 2015, with 44 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Our fees currently are £21 per session (as at September 2026).
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Early Learning for 2 Year Olds (previously Free for 2 (FF2) scheme) - Some children aged 2 are currently eligible to a maximum of 15 hours of funded childcare per week which can be split over a maximum of 2 settings. Working Parents - Eligible parents may be able to claim up to a total of 30 hours of funding per week. Universal - All children aged 3 and above are currently entitled to a maximum of.
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
ME16 0DEWhat 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 December 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff support children's learning and development well. They have implemented highly effective settling-in procedures. This helps staff to get to know children and build strong relationships and bonds with them. As a result, children are happy and excited to come into the pre-school and feel safe as they explore the interesting and engaging environment.
Children develop a good range of independence skills during their time at the preschool. For example, staff encourage the children to have a go as they learn how to put on their coats ready to go outside to play. Children demonstrate positive behaviour and are learning how to interact and engage with their friends. For instance, they ask a friend to sit next to them at lunchtime. Staff provide children with a wide range of activities to support them in sharing. For example, children particularly enjoy turn-taking games. They practise their hand-eye coordination as they insert toy swords into the barrel. There is great anticipation as the children wait to see if their sword makes the pirate pop out of the top of the barrel.
Staff offer children a wealth of experiences to develop their fine motor skills. For instance, children explore the dough as they kneed and roll it into different shapes.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- extend the support for younger children so that they are as fully engaged in activities as their older peers - build on the curriculum to help extend the most able children's learning further.
- 5 December 2023Good
- 22 March 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Poplar Pre-School (CIO)
- 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.
- Is £21.00 a session still the rate? 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.