Charlies House Childminding and Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.6 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open a few years
A day nursery in Braintree for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 07:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2023. Open since 2021, with 42 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
We offer stretched funding, whether it is 15 or 30 hours you can stretch it to cover the whole year or just term time. We accept funding from 9 months old.
Worth knowing. We offer stretched funding, whether it is 15 or 30 hours you can stretch it to cover the whole year or just term time.
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
CM7 9EHWhat 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.
- 25 September 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 19 October 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff warmly welcome children and families as they arrive. This gives children the confidence to separate from their parents or carers with ease. Children are pleased to see their peers and settle quickly with familiar adults. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour. Pre-school children show that they are able to independently regulate their own and others' behaviour. For example, they explain to their friends that if they share their toys with them, they are expected to share too.
Staff provide a stimulating curriculum with activities both indoors and outdoors for all children. As a result, children demonstrate high levels of engagement. Toddlers
'perform' songs on the outdoor stage and show much perseverance and resilience as they get straight back on their balance bicycle after falling off into a muddy puddle. Babies negotiate 'toddling' in the ball pit and curiously watch the sensory light show. Pre-school children are articulate and confidently recall events important to them with others. They show a growing independence and readiness for school as the 'special helper' sets the table and ensures everyone has the right cutlery for their lunch.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: - extend the range of information sought from parents when children start at the setting to enhance the provision, support and learning for children at the very earliest opportunity.
- 19 October 2023Good
- 31 May 2023Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Charlies House Childminding and 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.