St. Michaels Pre School
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Dartford for children from birth to 5, open 08:30 to 14:30, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2024. Open since 2000, with 30 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 7EGWhat 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, 28 February 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive happily at this welcoming and friendly setting. Staff plan an interesting and motivating curriculum. Children are eager to explore the stimulating range of activities set up for them. Children enjoy visiting the role-play travel agents to 'purchase' tickets for the aeroplane. They develop their communication and social skills as they talk to staff and friends about where they are going, wheeling their suitcases around the room. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported by staff. Children who are non-verbal when they begin at the setting make good progress with their speech. They excitedly join in with a small-group activity designed by staff to support children's developing language skills. They blow bubbles and encourage repetition of 'pop, pop, pop' to enable children's sound formation.
Staff promote children's positive attitudes to learning well. They praise and encourage them frequently. Younger children particularly delight in choosing stickers for helping at snack time. Staff develop children's interest in mathematics by providing a regular 'number hunt'. Children proudly share how many numbers they have found and begin to recognise numbers in their written form. Children enjoy a wide range of activities to spark their imaginations and curiosity. For example, older children enjoy exploring paints, and staff provide real daffodils to encourage their interest. Younger children enjoy making models with play dough.
Staff encourage children's good behaviour and help them to develop control and patience. For example, they encourage the use of timers to help children understand when it is their turn.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance staff's skills to recognise when they can support children further in their learning to help extend and embed their knowledge and skills.
- 28 February 2024Good
- 18 April 2018Good
- 7 July 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for St. Michaels Pre School
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.