Great Tey Pre-School
OutstandingBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Colchester for children from birth to 8+, open 09:00 to 14:45, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in January 2024. Open since 1993, with 30 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
CO6 1JQWhat 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.
- 3 November 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 23 January 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive at the pre-school full of enthusiasm to learn. Staff ensure that children are taught the skills they need to be able to complete tasks and have autonomy over their own learning. As a result, children are extremely independent.
What children know and can do is carefully built on to support them to make progress and develop their skills and knowledge. Staff value children's voices and give them numerous opportunities to express their thoughts and make choices. For example, children use a voting system to choose which book they would like to listen to at story time. They spend time discussing the options and use a token to select the book that interests them.
Staff skilfully support children to recognise, communicate and regulate their emotions. They teach children the skills needed to self-regulate and express their feelings. Staff have high expectations of children's behaviour, and as a result, children behave impeccably.
- 23 January 2024Outstanding
- 7 March 2018Good
- 13 January 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Great Tey 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.