Beaulieu Park Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.7 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Chelmsford for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2023. Open since 2016, with 147 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
The Nursery offer funding sessions for eligible 2, 3 and 4 year olds.
Worth knowing. The Fully Funded Plan requires a minimum of two sessions per week and use of the Child's full applicable stretched funding entitlement in accordance with the Nursery's funded-session structure. One-day-per-week Fully Funded Plan places are not offered.
What childcare usually costs in Essex
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Essex from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
CM1 6AHWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
- 22 December 2021 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 3 February 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children leave their parents and carers at the front door and enter the nursery happily with the welcoming staff. Children show that they feel safe and secure, and move about the rooms with confidence. Staff provide children with a calm and positive environment. They talk to children in gentle tones and show all children respect. Staff seek children's consent before supporting their day-to-day care needs, such as changing nappies.
Children of all ages develop their physical skills and take appropriate risks as they play and explore. Children have opportunities to experiment with different textures.
Two-year-old children giggle as they investigate foamy soap with their hands, and babies are keen to explore natural resources, such as rice, oats and straw, on floor trays. Outdoors, older children walk along and jump off crates. Staff are close by to provide reassurance and support children to learn about emotions. Older children begin to talk about how they feel during activities.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen partnership working with parents and carers to help to provide all children with more-consistent support between home and nursery.
- 3 February 2023Good
- 2 March 2022Needs improvement
- 18 November 2021Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Beaulieu Park Day Nursery
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.