Bright Horizons Springfield Lodge Dartford Day Nursery and Preschool

My daughter has been attending Springfield Lodge for eighteen months. She made the transition from another Bright Horizons branch to this one, when we moved house. The team made it very easy for us, as parents to change her over but also made my daughter feel incredibly welcome, to the point she barely needed a settling-in period, she was so happy to go in. Recently, my daughter has qualified for the thirty hours of funding and the nursery supported us with the required paperwork and were able to offer us an extra day too. As I am a key worker myself, my daughter has continued going to nursery in this most recent lockdown and the nursery have facilitated a day change in order to ensure my daughter is in childcare on my busiest days at work. This was hassle-free and easy to arrange with the manager. Making it so easy at such a difficult time, has been greatly appreciated. My daughter is very happy at nursery and jumps out of the car every day with a smile and waves me off.

My daughter has been attending Springfield Lodge since February. She found leaving me hard at first but every single staff member has been so kind, warm and welcoming to her. They really make her feel at home and encourage her. You can tell they really care about the children and do everything they can to ensure they have a good day. They are always able to tell me all about what my daughter has been up to, eaten, toilet trips, who she plays with etc. I drive away feeling content that my daughter is in the best hands.

Our son spent 1 year in this nursery and overall we were not very happy with the care he received. There is a massive staff turnover and we didn’t know who was actually taking care of him. A high staff turnover is a reflection of poor management. When he moved rooms, we weren’t informed who the new key person was; nor we ever had any updates on his progress. It was not until I overheard another parent enquiring that I asked for an update. When we left, it turned out he had a progress book we’ve never seen before.
He had some ‘unexplained’ accidents with staff sweeping the floor and not knowing there are babies around. He was not given enough to drink which we noticed at pickup since he was begging for water. In his last few weeks, he started crying in the car when we turned to enter the nursery.
On some occasions, they couldn’t take our son at opening time due to staff shortage but management was nowhere to be seen.
The way he was dressed at pick-up showed lack of care.

My daughter has been going to this nursery since 2018, just before she turned one. I have always had great connections and communication from her key worker and she has always enjoyed her time there. She is now due to go to school and will miss all of her friends and adults that she has met. I have always felt that any concern I may have had has been taken on board, whether it had been about her toilet training, not eating well, or not speaking as early as her brother did and the staff has always been available to help out. The staff are well trained and friendly and always greeted us with a smile.

I’ve had a great experience with this nursery. My daughter is 10 months and has just started here, they offered settling in sessions for her and she really enjoyed them, the staff have made her feel comfortable and safe she has been getting more and more used to being at the nursery for longer days. She loves the food and having a kitchen on site was a huge draw when we were picking a nursery for her. They have a huge open space for the children, and a smaller space for the babies but it’s still more than big enough for them and they can use the wider space when the bigger children aren’t running around too much. My daughter has had an opportunity to mix with lots of different babies and children which will help her development and will get her used to being around lots of children and other adults in the run up to going to school. They offer so much more for her than I could ever provide at home and she really enjoys herself when she’s there. I’d highly recommend this nursery to anyone.

My daughter is attending the nursery since she was 1 year and 3 months old. We started in the middle of the pandemic when we did not have the luxury of getting inside the nursery with our daughter, but the staff was amazing, brilliant communications and feedback at the end of the session (full/half day) and always trying to present how she was managing, inside. The app is also very nicely designed, you can follow up on your child, through the app. The staff always open to my enquiries, always understanding, trying to accommodate my child’s needs. My daughter slowly got more attached and accepted the idea of nursery and I think that was because of the amazing staff the nursery has. The higher management again, always addressing my worries and answering the same day, my texts. Amazing! Many thanks!

I have been using Bright Horizons, Springfield Lodge since 2018!
Couldn’t ask for a better nursery!
Experienced, friendly and knowledgeable staff!
Great app keeping parents/carers up to date with their little one’s day and any updates.
Large range of activities for all ages and the garden is a great bonus!
Feel I can approach them with any queries child or payment and the query is always dealt with.
Feel part of the family.
Well done to the manager and team!

Highly recommend this wonderful setting. I have been using the nursery for 15 years and Bright Horizons Springfield Lodge have looked after all 5 of my children (two attend currently). The staff have always been friendly, caring and make the whole day fun for your child. All members of staff make the effort to get to know the children’s names and we are always greeted with a smile. There is a wide range of activities, including forest school and children are encouraged to spend time outside. The rooms are welcoming, well-equipped and cosy. We wouldn’t use anywhere else. The kids love nursery; they look forward to going in and have lots to talk about when they come home. Keep up the great work!

Absolutely fantastic nursery, cannot fault anything. My son adores it here and everyone is so friendly. His development since attending nursery has improved so much. All the staff make so much effort, which makes the nursery so welcoming to staff and parents.

The manager and her team at Bright Horizons, Springfield Lodge Dartford, in my humble opinion and experience, are simply amazing. My little one’s development has gone from strength to strength since joining. They come home reporting all activities that they have done throughout the day, telling me they have had fun. I know all their meals are freshly prepared on-site and are nutritionally balanced. Their social skills have also improved and I feel safe that they are happy, safe and cared for while I am at work. The team are really giving my little one the best start and preparation for their next steps in their education/school journey. I can’t recommend them enough.