The Windmill Nursery Dartford
GoodBirth to 8+Long established
A pre-school in Dartford for children from birth to 8+, open 09:00 to 16:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in November 2024. Open since 2016, with 26 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 6BAWhat 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, 8 November 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are happy and enjoy attending this nursery. Staff focus on building strong relationships with children when they start, which helps children settle incredibly quickly at the nursery. Children understand the daily routine. For instance, children independently wash their hands and self-register for snack. Snack times are calm and enjoyable experiences that are filled with opportunities to learn. Children enjoy sitting together in a small group. This helps children to develop good social skills.
Children play cooperatively and staff remind them to share resources and take turns.
Staff support children's physical development well. They provide children with knives to cut their fruit and support them to do this safely. Staff teach children about size as they introduce concepts, such as halves and quarters.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- support staff to help children understand how their behaviour impacts others so that they begin to resolve conflicts independently n strengthen the arrangements to monitor staff practice to target training and raise the quality of teaching to an even higher level.
- 8 November 2024Good
- 12 December 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Windmill Nursery Dartford
- 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.