Clacton Montessori Day Nursery & Preschool
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Clacton-On-Sea for children from birth to 8+, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £10.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 2013, with 50 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Extra hour: £10
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
30 hours or 15 hours free funded spaces.
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
CO15 6DDWhat 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 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
The manager and her team have a good knowledge of the children attending. They have a comprehensive understanding of what the children can do, and understand what they need to achieve next. The staff provide children with a range of learning opportunities within the curriculum. Activities cover all areas of learning and deliver the principles of Montessori teaching while following the children's interests. Staff provide children with interesting, fun environments, both indoors and outdoors, in which to learn. Children make good progress.
Staff are gentle in their approach to the children. Children are spoken to with respect and staff are genuinely kind and reassuring. They teach children the skills they need for successful future learning and transition to school. The Montessori principle of providing an enabling environment where children have autonomy, and encouraging them to make decisions for themselves, is embedded in daily practice.
For example, play is not interrupted. Children can select quality resources to support their play from low shelving, displayed to inspire them to investigate. They learn the skills they need to become independent learners. Staff support children to regulate their emotions and are sensitive towards their feelings. They guide children to make the right choices. Children understand the high expectations and their behaviour is good.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- plan more opportunities within the curriculum to challenge children's thinking, to consistently build on what they already know and can do n consistently use effective questioning techniques to extend children's language, help them think critically and solve problems independently.
- 5 January 2024Good
- 12 April 2018Good
- 23 August 2017Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Clacton Montessori Day Nursery & Preschool
- Youngest age taken
- 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.
- Is £10.00 an hour still the rate? 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.
- 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.