St Mary's Day Nursery
Good★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Rochester for children from birth to 8+, open 8am to 6pm. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2024. Open since 1992, with 40 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 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
ME2 4DGWhat 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, 30 May 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are warmly greeted at this caring and family-oriented setting. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Staff plan activities that meet children's interests, so they show high levels of engagement and enjoy playing together imaginatively. For instance, when playing with foam and water, children use spoons to scoop and pour water from one container to another with precision. Staff are on hand to add resources to extend children's play further. For example, when children want to make their foam into 'soup', staff facilitate this by adding play food.
Children talk about the fruits and vegetables sharing their knowledge of items such as 'pac choi'.
The curriculum is well-planned to meet the needs of the children. It currently has a focus on promoting children's independence, their personal, social and emotional development and developing healthy lifestyles. Staff are ambitious for all children to achieve. They use their secure knowledge of the children to provide an environment that inspires and engages them. This enables them to build on their current skills and knowledge. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), progress well in their learning.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen arrangements for sharing information with parents to help them support and extend children's learning at home.
- 30 May 2024Good
- 26 June 2018Good
- 6 September 2017Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St Mary's Day Nursery
- 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.