URN 2812969 · Inspected 2026-08-19 · Published 2026-09-17 · Inspector: Collette Bradshaw
Marina Montessori Day Nursery & Pre School Unique reference number (URN): 2812969 Address: Leviathan Way, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4LL Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 04/10/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Sea Shells Nursery (Dockside) Limited Inspection report: 19 August 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Safeguarding standards met The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe. How we evaluate safeguarding When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes: Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met. Strong standard Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard Leaders establish a harmonious and respectful culture. Staff set high, age-appropriate expectations and explain these consistently. Children respond positively to gentle guidance and understand that their actions affect others and the environment. For example, they learn that plants need careful handling to grow. Trusting relationships help children feel secure and manage their emotions. Children use words and visual prompts to express feelings. They show kindness by offering friends a chair, praising achievements and helping during routines. Children play cooperatively and respond to praise. Well-planned adaptations enable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to understand expectations, regulate their behaviour and participate fully. Children know the routines of the day well and develop greater independence. They instinctively wash their hands before eating and help one another at the self-care station. Mealtimes are calm and sociable. Children serve themselves, ensure their friends have what they need and enjoy conversations about their experiences. Effective key-person and buddy arrangements help children form secure attachments and settle smoothly. Staff work with parents to establish consistent routines and provide reassurance during transitions. Leaders monitor attendance and punctuality and work with families to address barriers. Consequently, children attend regularly, feel that they belong and display highly positive attitudes towards learning. Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard Leaders consistently prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing. Children are calm, settled and secure. Relationships are extremely strong. Children greet familiar adults, seek comfort when upset and quickly return to their play because they feel understood and reassured. Effective key-person and buddy arrangements ensure that care reflects children's individual needs. Familiar adults support children when they move rooms, helping them manage transitions. Sleeping and feeding routines are individualised. Babies are gently settled before being placed safely in cots, in line with safer-sleeping procedures. Children who are disadvantaged or have inclusion needs receive sensitive encouragement and appropriate adaptations. Children develop a strong understanding of healthy lifestyles. They enjoy nutritious meals and snacks prepared on site, serve themselves and access drinking water throughout the day. Food is adapted safely for babies and dietary requirements are followed closely. Children learn about healthy foods, practise toothbrushing and increasingly manage their hygiene. Safer-eating practices are embedded and mealtimes are supervised carefully. Close partnerships with parents are highly effective. Parents receive daily information about their children's wellbeing and speak highly of the support they receive. Staff work with Expected standard families on settling, toilet training, dietary requirements and allergies. This consistent approach between home and nursery helps children thrive physically and emotionally. Leadership and governance Strong standard Leaders demonstrate passion and have a clear, ambitious vision for the nursery's future. The nursery's successful first year reflects their drive, high expectations and commitment to providing high-quality care and education. Leaders understand the nursery's strengths and priorities for improvement. They evaluate practice regularly, considering what works well and what needs to change. Leaders meet regularly to promote consistency across the organisation. Their highly ambitious plans for future development build on the nursery's early success and aim to broaden opportunities for children and families. A culture of reflection and continuous improvement is embedded. Staff receive regular supervision, constructive feedback and professional development targets. Training reflects individual and setting priorities and includes safeguarding, safer sleeping and the Prevent duty. Staff progress in their qualifications and use professional advice to strengthen practice. They report feeling valued, listened to and well supported. Leaders understand statutory requirements. Policies are reviewed annually, and staff discuss and confirm their understanding. Robust recruitment includes interviews, suitability checks, references and regular checks of the Disclosure and Barring Service Update Service information. Staff are deployed effectively to maintain children's safety. Children's individual needs inform leaders' decisions. Staff receive time, training and support to coordinate provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and work with parents and professionals. Parents praise the leadership team. Consequently, staff make a strong contribution to the nursery's caring and ambitious culture. Achievement Expected standard Children make steady progress from their starting points across all seven areas of learning. Babies enjoy songs and repetition. They copy sounds and use words to communicate. Older children listen, speak and use growing vocabulary in stories and play. Babies show curiosity and sustained concentration as they explore spaghetti and fruit in a floor-level tuff tray. They investigate textures using their hands, feet and mouths and remain engaged. Children of different ages and stages participate confidently. They listen to a story linked to the activity, connecting language with sensory exploration. They show enjoyment, make choices and investigate unfamiliar materials. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language and those facing disadvantage, participate and progress from their starting points. Older children develop the communication, independence and skills needed for school. However, children who engage more readily outdoors have fewer opportunities to deepen and demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders design an ambitious curriculum across all seven areas of learning. Room supervisors oversee the curriculum, while key workers complete concise planning that reflects children's ages, development, interests and next steps. Staff establish what children know and can do using information from parents, previous settings and baseline assessments. Regular discussions help staff identify gaps and provide appropriate support. Children benefit from a language-rich curriculum. Staff introduce vocabulary through stories, songs, rhymes and imaginative play. They read expressively, model words clearly and encourage children to discuss and act out stories. Home-learning bags and the lending library help families share books at home. Staff teach mathematics explicitly. For example, children confidently count cubes and use comparative language as they predict and measure vegetables. However, when the activity moves between measuring and sensory exploration, staff do not maintain a clear focus on the intended learning. Consequently, opportunities to build securely on children's mathematical knowledge are sometimes missed. Children enjoy the newly established, well-risk-assessed outdoor area. However, the breadth and ambition of the indoor curriculum are not yet fully reflected outdoors. This limits opportunities for children who engage more readily and sustain their learning outside. Leaders recognise this and plan to develop the provision. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders understand their community and the differing circumstances of the families who use the nursery. They promptly identify barriers that may affect children's participation, learning or wellbeing, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, social disadvantage and those who speak English as an additional language. Flexible settling arrangements and close communication with parents help staff understand and respond to each child's needs. Leaders and staff follow a graduated approach to supporting children. They work closely with parents and seek advice from visiting teachers, physiotherapists, local authority teams and other professionals. Staff use individual education and care plans, which they review regularly with parents. Staff use individualised visual and communication strategies to help children express their needs, understand routines and participate successfully. Leaders use additional funding effectively and supplement this with the nursery's own resources when required. This provides children with targeted interventions, appropriate equipment and individual supervision. Staff monitor the impact of support and adapt their strategies as children's needs and circumstances change. Parents speak positively about the individualised support their children receive. Consequently, barriers are reduced and children are included successfully in nursery life. Leaders recognise that some children engage more readily outdoors. They identify that further development of the outdoor provision would help to reduce barriers and enable these children to participate more consistently. What it's like to be a child at this setting Children thrive in this warm, nurturing and inclusive setting. They are happy, confident and remarkably independent. Young babies make choices, explore their surroundings and develop their emerging independence. Children eagerly investigate the thoughtfully planned environment, showing high levels of curiosity and remaining deeply engaged in their play for sustained periods. Staff are consistently warm and responsive to children's emotional and developmental needs. Children form secure bonds with staff, who quickly offer reassurance and a comforting cuddle when needed. The highly effective key-person approach gives children a strong sense of belonging. Children, including those who have recently joined, settle quickly and confidently approach familiar adults for comfort, reassurance and help. Consequently, children feel safe, secure and valued. Staff establish extremely strong and trusting relationships with parents. They communicate closely with families and use the detailed information parents share about their children's routines, interests and individual needs. This continuity between home and the setting helps children settle securely and ensures that their care and learning reflect their individual needs. The carefully considered curriculum enables children to make progress in their learning. Staff provide meaningful experiences that reflect children's ages, stages of development and interests. They know the children well and use their interests effectively to engage them and extend their learning through play. Staff encourage children to persevere, helping them develop confidence and resilience when they encounter challenges. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and consistently model polite and respectful interactions. Children understand the nursery's routines and respond positively to gentle guidance. Visual signs and pictures help children understand what is expected of them. Children show respect for their environment and one another. For example, at lunchtime, they share, take turns and wait patiently to serve themselves before passing the spoon to their friends. Inspector: Collette Bradshaw About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2812969 Address: Leviathan Way Chatham Maritime Chatham Kent ME4 4LL Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 04/10/2024 Registered person: Sea Shells Nursery (Dockside) Limited Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:30 Local authority: Medway Next steps Staff should strengthen the planning and delivery of group activities so that they maintain a clear focus on the intended learning and help all children build securely on what they know and can do. Leaders should develop the outdoor provision so that children who engage more readily outside can access the full breadth and ambition of the curriculum. About this inspection The inspectors spoke with children, the leaders, designated safeguarding lead, special educational needs coordinator, staff and parents during the inspection. We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage. Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 19 August 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 75 Our grades explained Exceptional Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it. Strong standard The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them. Expected standard The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them. Needs attention The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements. Urgent improvement The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. 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