Stepping Stones
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Sittingbourne for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £8.40 an hour for under 3s, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 2019, with 28 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year, minimum 3 days a week.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3sbirth to 3y | £8.40Under 3s | |
| Over 3s3y to 5y | £8.00Over 3s |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £0.70 a day Morning snackoptional in connection with funded hours
- £2.85 a day Breakfastoptional in connection with funded hours
- £2.85 a day Teaoptional in connection with funded hours
- £3.50 a day Lunchoptional in connection with funded hours
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Funded early education and childcare places for eligible children aged from 9 months to 4 years; up to 30 hours for eligible working parents of 9 months to 2 years, up to 15 hours for eligible 2-year-olds, universal 15 hours and up to 30 hours for eligible 3- and 4-year-olds, for up to 38 weeks of the year.
Worth knowing. No top-up fee charged for funded hours; funded entitlement does not include additional private hours, meals, consumables or optional activities, which are optional and not a condition of accessing a funded place; minimum attendance requirement is 3 days per week (applies to the overall nursery place, not a requirement to purchase additional hours); normal notice period for changes to sessions is 6 weeks.
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
ME10 3BHWhat Ofsted said
Last inspected on 17 March 2022.
Good
Ofsted's expected standard. Most settings in England are rated Good.
Still missing for Stepping Stones
- 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Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date.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 £8.40 an hour 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.
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.