Open 51 weeks a year
Opening times 08:00am - 6:00pm
Fully funded places
FREE childcare in December
Choochoos day Nursery Dover is pleased to offer both private and fully-funded places for eligible families with no charges for food, consumables or enhancements. Year-round partly-funded places are also available as well as a flexible approach to sessions to provide as many families as possible with a nursery place for your child’s development. Please contact the nursery team at Dover to understand the options available to you.
Located in River, in the outskirts of Dover off the A256, we are surrounded by beautiful countryside, inspiring our free-flow indoor to outdoor environment. We were formerly a doctor’s surgery and have two open-plan ground floor rooms with plenty of space.
Our garden has a large area to explore too. We use the natural environment to enhance our children’s experiences of the natural world whether it is letting off steam in the grassed area, building in the sandpit or riding bikes and using balance beams in the flat rubber tarmac area.
We pride ourselves on providing exceptional childcare for families in Dover so you can rest assured and feel confident that your children are in a caring, safe, stimulating and fun environment.
View Ofsted report
The Brighter Learning Approach (BLA) is unique to The Old Station Nursery group and is our advanced approach to the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum and core pedagogy. It differs from traditional nursery teaching methods by providing real-life opportunities to enhance children’s natural curiosity, with emphasis on hands-on experiences, child-led learning, and whole development.
The six core areas promote active engagement and critical thinking whilst encouraging exploration, creativity, and collaboration. Each child learns at their own pace and is challenged and extended at appropriate times.
The best place to see the BLA in action is via our local nursery Facebook page, where each post explains which part of the curriculum the children are working on. Our parents also receive updates on the Parent App too.
Championing children's holistic health and laying the foundations for a happy, healthy and successful life.
Helping the future generation of global citizens to understand the world they live in and to believe they can make a difference.
Enabling early experiences in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM). Nurturing our next generation of investigators, inventors and innovators.
Enticing children to develop a life-long love of books and reading through engaging and interactive storytelling experiences. Building strong literacy skills while sparking imagination and creativity.
Engaging children in meaningful mathematical learning. Developing knowledge, building skills and exploring concepts, through purposeful play and plenty of practice.
Developing confident communicators by engaging in quality conversations with children every day, in a language rich and communication friendly environment.
We are lucky to have such a large outdoor space at our nursery in Dover where we spend lots of time being active. We hold numerous extra clubs that enhance our Brighter Learning Approach, our bespoke version of the Early Years Statutory Framework.
Little-Kickers early years professionals come to our Dover nursery to show the children the enjoyment of ball skills and activities that they will enjoy in P.E class at primary school, and perhaps inspire the next world-class football players!
Messy Mornings is a firm favourite for the children and our parents tell us they would rather have the mess on our nursery floor rather than on the home carpet! These activities can include anything from paint to flour to leaves, playdoh, lentils, shredded paper and glue to name a few.
In essence, Messy Mornings uses items that the children love to get their hands on, bringing their creative development and fine motor skills to the fore. Our nursery environments are designed to support messy play and we can easily tidy up, spik and span in time for lunch.
Our children love nothing more than when the team calls time for meal preparation or works with the children to produce a teatime dessert or baking morning. The children learn so much in these activities including measuring, counting skills and following instructions.
Come rain or shine, we tend our vegetable plots, teaching the children about the different stages of growth cycles and exploring the different tastes and textures of the produce.
As Budding gardeners, children learn about the environment and gain lifelong sustainable growing skills and enjoyment, which they will carry with them throughout their lives.
Children learn so much during their early years and take great joy in exploring the world around them. At our nursery they’re immersed into the world of Science through age appropriate hands-on experiments and activities designed to spark their curiosity.
Budding musicians can explore different instruments at our Dover nursery, as well as enjoying rhythmic games, and participating in interactive sing-along sessions. They’ll discover the joy of creating melodies, understanding beats, and expressing themselves through music. Each activity is carefully crafted to inspire a love for music and develop their auditory skills in a fun and engaging environment.
Our nursery group is passionate about the link between home and nursery; the nursery experience is as much about the parent as it is for the child.
Choochoos Day Nursery Dover commits to verbally updating you about your child’s day at pick-up time and via digital updates on the parent App.
We are here at any time should you wish to call us or want to discuss any area of your child’s care. We aim to look after our parents as well as our children so you can carry on with your day, work and career with a sense of peace.
First and foremost, you and we need to know that your child is safe. Before we can deliver the excellent curriculum that makes our nurseries so special, robust policies and procedures are followed to meet the exacting standards of Ofsted, building and fire regulations, food safety standards and staff DBS background checks and references.
Our staff are trained in numerous areas and we offer further training opportunities for staff who have an interest in a particular area.
For example, some of our nurseries have attained Millie’s Mark, an accreditation gained by having 100% of staff on site trained in paediatric first aid.
We have an onsite cook that prepares and cooks fresh meals every day to dietary requests and requirements. Good nutrition is essential during childhood as it is a time of rapid growth, development and activity.
Our chefs are trained using the Eatwell NHS guidelines to ensure mealtimes are delicious, packed with good things that enjoyable for children to eat.
Every child has a nursery key person who knows them best and who will be the child and parent’s main contact. Your key person at our nursery will update you about your child’s day and is there to answer your questions.
When your child moves to the next age group room, we hold several settling sessions with a new nursery key person. We encourage our parents to view the new room too, and we will work with you to discuss the new routines, just like we did when you first started nursery.
It is wonderful to nurture and see our children graduate to primary school. Part of the unique offering of Choochoos Day Nursery Dover is our focus on the next stage of your child’s learning journey.
We prepare the children through school activities, teacher meet and greets and graduation ceremonies. Our commitment is to support our parents too by providing child learning journey updates, parents evenings or one-to-ones and home link learning kits to enhance the link between nursery and home.
All our nurseries follow the Brighter Learning Approach, our bespoke version of the Early Years Statutory Framework. Within this, each nursery chooses extra clubs, activities, and enhancements suitable for their space.
Our Dover nursery enjoys being a part of the local community and welcomes Little Kickers football club for a weekly class to help develop our skills.
We hold open days where parents and carers are encouraged to come along and meet other parents to build their own personal friendships and networks ahead of primary school.
Choochoos Day Nursery Dover commits to providing a simple fee structure so you can manage your nursery costs.
Our nursery in Dover has the benefit of full day, half day and short-day sessions as well as a small number of term time only sessions. To support our community, we do not charge for additions such as food, enhancements or consumables and some fully funded and part-funded sessions are also available for eligible families.
Please contact us for the nursery fee that is correct for your individual circumstances.
Full of vibrant and sensual play, the design of Babychoos has been carefully created to stimulate and engage children. The opened planned spaces are based on one level with access to a carefully constructed garden equipped especially for children under two.
The Caterpillar room encourages free-flow play inside and out, where children can explore many activities. As children make the transition from Babychoos to Caterpillar room, the room is oozing with a wealth of resources, which aim to inject fun into every child’s day and encourage a zest for learning. The room is spacious and inviting with opportunities for learning wherever you turn.
In Pre-school our children’s personalities shine with confidence. The children will prepare for their big move to school in this room through enrichments and spontaneous learning opportunities.
Being ready for school includes meeting their Primary school teachers, looking at the uniform, dressing for PE, holding a pencil and learning to read.
We’re excited to extend our ‘Free December’ offer to new families who register and start at our nursery by the 30th of September 2024. If you secure your child’s place before the 30th of September 2024, you’ll enjoy December 2024 free of charge—a perfect holiday gift for your family. Don’t miss out on this limited-time opportunity. View terms and conditions.
“At Choochoos Dover, we like to ensure we offer a home from home experience. Building up a positive and secure relationship with the parents, children and key person is vital to create a safe and secure environment. When children feel secure, natural learning is established. Children will naturally grow, learn and develop if they feel happy.”
Hayley Simpson (Dover Nursery Manager)
Working parents of children from nine months old can now access 15 hours a week of free childcare...
Please note that this is not a confirmation of your tour. One of our nursery team will endeavour to get back to you ASAP to confirm your date and time. Thank you.
If you are looking to arrange a tour within the next 48 hours, we recommend calling the nursery directly.