Dragonfly Day Nursery Ltd
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Open a few years
A day nursery in Colchester for babies from 3 months up to 5 year olds, open 08:00 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 2023, with 68 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 hours per week Universal Entitlement for 3+ and 4+ year olds; 30 hours per week Extended Entitlement (if eligible) for 9+ months, 2+, 3+ and 4+ year olds; 15 hours per week funded places for 2 year olds meeting a certain criteria.
Worth knowing. Families will not be charged for: The funded hours themselves; Any mandatory top-up fee; Registration or administration fees linked to accessing funded hours only; Core learning materials and equipment for delivering the EYFS curriculum; Business overheads (utilities, staffing, rent) related to funded hours only. There will be no financial barriers at the point of delivery of the funded hours only, nor will they be conditional on purchasing any additional services.
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 1DZWhat 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
Children enjoy their nursery day. They say goodbye to their parents and carers at the main door, where they are greeted by friendly and welcoming staff. Children quickly become engaged in play in one of the well-organised and exciting nursery rooms. Staff are inventive in their presentation of activities, which helps to capture the children's interests. Children form small friendship groups and enjoy the company of their peers. Staff know the children well and chat to them about their home life, siblings or pets to help them to settle when they arrive.
Staff help children to link their behaviour to the nursery's 'golden rules'. This helps children to understand their feelings and to be kind and caring towards each other.
Children show the impact of this as they are often seen offering and giving each other hugs. Staff use clear, polite and positive language around children and when speaking to each other. Children mimic the staff's positive role modelling. This helps to create a culture of respect. Children are provided with good opportunities to learn about each other's cultures and beliefs through discussion and planned activities. Parents are encouraged to visit the nursery at specific times to share stories and celebrations from their home culture.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- build on the provision for outdoor play and experiences to provide more learning opportunities for those children who prefer to learn outdoors n strengthen procedures for obtaining information about children when they first start at the nursery, especially for children who previously attended another early years provision.
- 5 January 2024Good
- 7 August 2023Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 1 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for Dragonfly Day Nursery Ltd
- What it costs
- 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.