Play-A-Way Day Care Centre

The Play-a-Way nursery at Vicarage Road is the first of our settings to open to local community in 1995. It is located closer to Gillingham town centre, Medway Hospital, Gillingham train station, Mid Kent College and Medway camps.

Our homely Vicarage Road setting provides a safe and fun environment for children aged 2 to 5 year olds. Our nursery practitioners are caring and professional and do their best to create a home away from home for your children. Activities are chosen carefully by their Keyperson depending on the age and development level of each child.

This nursery is open 47 weeks of the year. We are closed for a week for Easter, May half term, last two weeks in August summer holidays and during Christmas period. We also do not open for bank holidays.

Free funded places for 3 to 5 year olds as well as limited spaces for 2 year olds are available.

All major childcare vouchers are accepted.

Toddlers and Pre-school: 2 years to 5 years

Our day care nursery in Vicarage road aims to provide a homely experience that will ensure little one is always comfortable and happy.

We pride ourselves on our small group sizes, which means your child will have the chance to bond with their peers and develop friendships while under the care of our considerate and dedicated staff.

All our staff are long running carers at Play a-Way, which means your child will see the same face each day. This helps to develop trust and positivity.

Wraparound care and holiday clubs for School aged children

We offer wrap around care which is designed keeping busy parents in mind.

Our Breakfast club runs from 7:30 AM until 8:30AM every weekday. You can drop your child off to us before school or nursery, knowing that they’ll be fed a nutritional meal and start their day in the company of friends, where they’ll play and develop. School aged children attending our breakfast club will be dropped off to their school by us.

Our After-school club is open from 3:30pm to 6pm, in conjunction with our after-school pick-up service. When your child arrives at after-school club, they’ll have a range of activities to choose from, including crafts, games and play. We also encourage school children to make a start on any homework they might have during this time, which our staff are more than happy to help with.

Children will be provided with a nutritional hot meal.

We offer drop off and pick up services from the following schools;

  • Napier School
  • Oasis Academy

For school aged children in addition to breakfast club or After school clubs we offer holiday club during school holidays.

Would you like to schedule a tour? We would love to show you around.

Play A Way Day Care Centre Team

Tasha Cave

Nursery Manager

I have been employed by Play-a-Way Nurseries since leaving school. I started my career at Play-a-Way,  Christmas Street setting and in that 11 years I worked my way up to become the Pre-school Room Leader and the After-School Club Lead. However, after leaving attempting many different career routes I missed my time working with the children. I realised that educating children and encouraging them to develop into their best selves through play and learning, expanding on their knowledge, interests, and skills was what I enjoyed and what I wanted to do. I returned to Play-a-Way and became the Deputy Manager at the newly acquired Stuart Road setting before I was promoted to Manager at our Play-a-Way Vicarage Road setting. I recently gained my B.A. (Hons) in Early Childcare and Education and I am confident that the skills I developed in all three settings will be useful in my new position and will benefit the facility and the families and children who attend it.

Zoe Gedling

Deputy Manager and Preschool Room Lead

I have been employed at Play-a-Way since September 2023 as Deputy Manager and Preschool Room Lead. I have a Teaching Degree in Primary Education, specialising in Early Years. I started my career managing a nursery and then I moved onto primary education. I love to explore every individual child’s interest and always want to make learning as fun as can be. I am passionate about allowing children to develop independence, creativity and their lifelong skills through play. I look forward to meeting the Play-a-Way families and getting to know all the wonderful children.