For over twenty –years now, D-Dee’s Day Nursery has provided individualised and quality care for children aged newborns to five-year-olds. Open from 08:00 until 18:00, 51 weeks of the year, the Nursery has cared for hundreds of children during their 21-year tenure.
Proprietor and Manager Debbie Gunn spoke about the journey she had been on with the business over the last two decades: “I opened the original nursery for two to five-year-olds from a refurbished meal on wheels hall purchased at auction when I was 23 years old. Since this time, I have added a purpose-built baby room (2002) to enable us to cater for children under two. In January 2017, we added a new kitchen and bathroom.”
The saying “find a job you love and you’ll never work again” fits perfectly with Debbie’s approach to her business. More than just a “job” to her, she is passionate about this vocation and applies that drive to providing exceptional care for the children she looks after. She discussed her approach: “D-Dee’s is more than my business it is almost my third child, I am passionate about getting it right for young children, and being able to support our families with a high-quality setting is paramount. My vision has always been to create a home from home for our children and families while providing the highest quality early years education and care that we can.”
D-Dee’s Day Nursery now has a team of 13 staff members working to provide care for children from all walks of life. Their setting on the edge of Faversham is an ideal location as it means they are able to provide care for children from Swale, Canterbury and Whitstable. Demand for services has only increased since the Nursery was awarded an “Outstanding” rating by Ofsted, as well as being named ‘Runner Up, Nursery of the Year 2017 - Southern’ by the National Day Nurseries Association. In fact, demand is so high that some places are booked until 2021!
When asked why she felt that her business deserved to be recognised as Swale Business of the Year, Debbie replied: “It is difficult to say that we are better than other businesses, but I do feel that we are doing an incredibly important job and are being recognised for this by industry experts. Our children have always been Outstanding but it seems that Ofsted believe we are too. We provide a combination of an amazing environment; intuitive and experienced staff and an owner who really gets it from learning the business basics on the job all of those years ago. Together we are making a difference for the next generation of business owners, teachers, doctors, refuse collectors, lifeguards, carpenters, waitresses, fire fighters and the hundreds of other opportunities our children have in front of them.”
D-Dee’s Day Nursery
The Ridgeway
Boughton under Blean
Faversham
Kent
ME13 9BB
01227 751971
www.ddeesdaynursery.co.uk