Doddinghurst Community Pre-school
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Brentwood for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £7.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2023. Open since 1996, with 42 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Our current rates are set at £7 an hour from September 2025.
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Funded hours
Free Early Education Entitlement for 2 year-olds - 15 hours per week, Free Early Education Entitlement for 3 to 4 -year-olds – 15 hours per week, 30 hours funding/Extended Entitlement for working parents of 3 to 4 year olds.
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
CM15 0NJWhat 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, 22 February 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
There is a buzz of excitement as children confidently enter the pre-school. They give their parents and carers a cheerful smile and a hug, then quickly begin their busy day of learning. Kind, caring, smiling staff greet the children and help them to decide what they want to do. Children immediately find their friends and begin playing and exploring. They construct buildings and models in the construction area, making use of the wide range of exciting resources provided for them. They explore textures of different papers and materials at a craft table, speaking to each other and staff about how different the textures are. They problem solve as they contemplate the different ways they can think of to stick the materials on to their paper.
Children are very respectful of each other. They consider their friends' needs and share the resources well. Children are extremely independent. They have opportunities to cut fruit and pour their own drinks at snack time, as well as wash up their plates and cups when they have finished. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported. Those needing additional help are given one-to-one attention to enable them to fully benefit from the exciting learning environment.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance the provision for children to learn outdoors daily.
- 22 February 2023Good
- 7 September 2022Inadequate
- 13 October 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Doddinghurst Community Pre-school
- 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.
- Is £7.00 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.
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.