Helping Hands Day Nursery
Good★ 3.2 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Tilbury for children from birth to 8+, open 07:00 to 18:00, 7 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2024. Open since 2011, with 25 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 Thurrock
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Thurrock 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
RM18 8LAWhat 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.
- 21 September 2026 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 25 April 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enjoy their day at nursery. They are greeted by caring staff, who know them well and take time to speak to their parents to find out how the children have been at home. Children quickly gravitate to their small friendship groups. They engage in a range of freely chosen, as well as some adult-led, focused activities.
Children are keen learners and listen attentively to staff when they read stories and participate in conversations. Children are caring and respectful of each other. They understand the nursery rules and confidently talk about how they need to clear toys away when they have finished playing with them.
Staff embrace younger children's interests and engage in fun activities based on these. For example, they dress up in an adult shark costume to join the children singing and acting out their favourite song about a family of sharks. Older children are helped to overcome any concern about visiting a dentist, as staff introduce and enable them to explore tools and equipment that might be associated with a trip to the dentist. They carefully lie back in a recliner chair while their friends look at their teeth. Staff support this learning well, ensuring that they use clear, positive language when modelling this experience.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- guide staff to make better use of the outdoor environment to support the continuing good progress of children who prefer to play and learn outside.
- 25 April 2024Good
- 17 May 2023Needs improvement
- 13 December 2022Inadequate
- 20 December 2021Needs improvement
- 26 January 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 5 graded inspections.
Still missing for Helping Hands Day Nursery
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.