Two women who have spent more than a decade working in childcare are creating a new nursery.

Puddles Playgroup is set to open this September at Broad Street, Sheerness –pending approval from education watchdog Ofsted.

The daycare centre, which will cater for tots as young as two, is being set up by Minster mums Jo-Ann Arrowsmith and Kerry Welman.

With hopes to make the business another chapter in their long-term career, the pair have identified the 8th Sheppey Scout Group as the site for the proposed playgroup.

Kerry says she hopes to have 20 children on its books each day once it opens.

The 33-year-old said: "We have been told places are needed at playgroups in Sheerness.

"After looking around different places, this then became available and we loved what we saw, especially the size of the garden.”

The mum-of-one explained there will be morning sessions from 8.30am until 11.30am, with lunch straight after for an hour.

There will then be an afternoon session from 12.30pm until 3.30pm.

She continued: "If parents only want to send their child there for one of those sessions then they can of course do that too, or if they don't want them in five days then that's also fine – obviously if they choose to stay for lunch, then they will need to bring that with them.

"The site is one room and a huge garden, so everyone will be combined and we will be following the Development Matters curriculum guide.

"Things like storytime and singing will also be part of the playing, and there will be books at Puddles for them to read whenever they want to.”

Kerry added that although there won't be things like times tables math lessons, there will be some counting exercises.

Fruit snacks will also be available in the sessions.

She said: "So we are hoping to be up and running by this September - we have done as much as we can up to this point so are just waiting for approval from Ofsted as nothing has been questioned.”

Targeted for youngsters aged between two and five, the playgroup will run an identical term schedule to Kent County Council (KCC) schools, meaning they will be in operation from Monday to Friday and closed during half-term.

With two, three-hour sessions each day, parents wishing to send their child all week will see their child receive 15 hours of care.

All three and four-year-olds in England are entitled to 570 free hours of childcare per year – something usually taken as 15 hours a week for 38 weeks and paid for by the local authority.

Some three to four-year-olds are also eligible for 30 hours of free childcare a week depending on the income of their carer.

Tots as young as two can also receive free childcare provided they receive certain benefits, including income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Miss Welman added: “There will be a mixture in terms of who pays what.

"We don't know how many children are going to sign up yet, so of course, if we get quite a few then we would need to have some more staff involved.

"We are going to charge £5.75 per hour for those who are required to pay, and if they don't need to pay then the pre-school will be funded by KCC in terms of those children.

"At the moment, parents with two-year-olds will have to pay to come to Puddles, unless they receive certain forms of benefits.”

The playgroup hopes to host two open days next month on August 12 and 26 from 10am until 12pm at the Scout Hut.