First Class Day Nursery Ltd
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Benfleet for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 07:00 to 19:00, 5 days a week. £79.00 a day for 2-3yrs, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2022. Open since 2007, with 100 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
52 weeks a year, minimum 2 days a week, price list dated 2026.
| Age | Full day | Hourly | Weekly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-2yrsbirth to 2y | £65.50Short Day £80.00 | £13.00 | £344.00Full Week | |
| 2-3yrs2y to 3y | £65.00Short Day £79.00 | £13.00 | £342.00Full Week | |
| Pre-School 3-4yrs3y to 4y | £64.50Short Day £78.00 | £13.00 | £340.00Full Week |
Before you start
One-off charges to take a place.
- £150.00 Registration Fee/Admin Charge
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Funded Sessions for 9 months (term after there 9 months) to 4 years.
Worth knowing. Funded day 8.30-3.30pm or 8-6pm This does not include food, consumables ot extra activities.
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
SS7 5LNWhat 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, 2 February 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children and parents are greeted very warmly by affectionate staff. The provider is rightly proud of the family feeling throughout the setting. Relationships between children and key persons are secure and nurturing. Staff gather valuable information about babies' care routines. They use this information well to ensure that babies settle quickly and feel safe to begin to explore their environment. All children confidently settle and engage with the wide range of stimulating activities on offer. They are well supported by interested and attentive staff.
Staff model high levels of care and compassion. Children learn to be polite and interested, confidently greeting visitors with a cheery 'good morning'. Children take it in turns to be 'safety detectives', helping identify risks in the classroom and in the garden. They learn how to follow simple rules and begin to learn how to keep themselves safe. Children learn to be compassionate citizens. The setting raises money to pay for guide dogs and to provide treats for the NHS staff during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Children learn how to express their feelings and emotions in age-appropriate ways. They make good progress and thrive because staff have high expectations of children and themselves.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- fully utilise the information gathered about children's cultures to support children to have richer experiences and a deeper understanding of their own and each other's cultural backgrounds n refine the extensive monitoring and support for staff, to be able to fully identify areas for development that will improve the consistency of the delivery of the intended curriculum.
- 2 February 2022Good
- 29 May 2015Outstanding
- 22 December 2014Inadequate
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for First Class Day Nursery Ltd
- 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 £79.00 a day 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.