Celtic Rose Center
GoodBirth to 5Long established
A pre-school in Colchester for children from birth to 5, open 08:00 to 17:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2017, with 30 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
CO1 2RBWhat 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, 31 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The dedicated and enthusiastic management team, along with the team of staff, work hard to provide children with quality care and education. Happy, caring staff warmly welcome children to the nursery. They invest time in getting to know the children and the whole family before they attend. The ambitious curriculum is planned around children's interest and builds on what they already know. The nursery ethos of 'grow, explore and discover' underpins the education programme and children are provided with a fun play environment. Young children enjoy developing physical skills as they negotiate the climbing frame, carefully supported by staff. Children who are active and need to move around are skilfully directed and supported in spontaneous group games. They follow the leader and listen intently to instruction of where to jump and which way to turn.
Children are very familiar with the daily routines. They have their own pegs and storage space which creates a sense of belonging. They are settled, confident and have established strong bonds with the staff and their behaviour is very good.
Through routines and activities they learn the importance of staying safe and healthy. They know to wash hands before snack and sit chatting to one another as they eat humus and breadsticks. Children eagerly participate in the daily 'dough disco' activity. They stand as they mould dough into different shapes and listen to the familiar songs as they manipulate the dough into shapes, strengthening their hand muscles and learning skills they need to be effective writers for future successful learning and in preparation for the transition to school.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- provide babies and young children with quiet cosy spaces so that they can engage in sensory play activities and sleep peacefully n provide support and training opportunities for staff to ensure that they can effectively support children's understanding of numbers and mathematical vocabulary.
- 31 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 5 March 2019Good
- 17 October 2018Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Celtic Rose Center
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.