Buttsbury Pre-school
Good★ 4.5 on GoogleBirth to 5Long established
A day nursery in Billericay for children from birth to 5, open 08:30 to 15:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2025. Open since 2012, with 34 places.
What you might pay
This setting does not publish its fees, and no national dataset holds them. This is what childcare costs across the council, as a starting point for the call.
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
CM12 0NXWhat 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.
Ofsted inspector, 5 June 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive at the pre-school happy and excited to learn. They are warmly greeted at the door by friendly staff who know them and their families well.
Children are very familiar with the routines. They confidently recognise their own name when they hang their coats up and find their name card to register themselves.
Children have strong attachments with staff in the pre-school. They are happy and confident, and they generally behave well. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. Children play together cooperatively, and staff support this positive behaviour. For example, staff gently encourage children to resolve problems for themselves. Children enjoy fresh air and exercise in the garden. They mix and dig in the sand, count dots on wooden slices and grow fruit and vegetables. Children use their imagination to pretend they are building a race car with toy tools and large construction blocks.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- help staff to recognise when children need more support to regulate their behaviour n support staff to develop a more consistent approach to extend and build on all children's language skills.
- 5 June 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 28 November 2019Outstanding
- 17 May 2016Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Buttsbury Pre-school
- What it costs
- Funded hours
- Youngest age taken
- 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
None of this is in any national dataset and this setting has not published it, which is exactly why it is worth asking.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- Can I use my funded hours here? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Is there a place for my child's age? 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.