Collingwood Under Fives Pre-school
GoodBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Chelmsford for children from birth to 5, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2025. Open since 1999, with 22 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
CM3 5YJWhat 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, 18 September 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff greet children with a warm welcome as they arrive. Children show a strong sense of belonging. They hang their coats on pegs and look for their favourite activities. Staff are reassuring and supportive to new children, helping them settle in. Children confidently express their preferences and independently choose what they would like to play with. Staff support and guide children's learning by asking them questions during activities. Children talk about filling moulds with sand and what it looks like when it is tipped out. Staff ask children what they see. They reply
'it has bones', when they fill a dinosaur-shaped mould, for instance.
Staff encourage children to keep trying when things do not go as planned. Children show immense pride in their successes and achievements. Children enjoy playing together and are very respectful towards each other. They work together, making marks with brushes and water in the garden. They say, 'I am making a circle', and
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- plan routine times of the day, such as mealtimes, to support children's learning and development more effectively.
- 18 September 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 5 December 2019Good
- 21 September 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Collingwood Under Fives 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.