Lexden Lodge Kindergarten
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.7 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Colchester for babies from 9 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £12.88 an hour for under 3yrs, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2022. Open since 2005, with 125 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year.
| Age | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3yrsbirth to 3y | £12.88third day | |
| Over 3yrs3y to 5y | £11.79third day |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £2.50 Snacksvoluntary consumable charge
- £3.00 Breakfastvoluntary consumable charge
- £6.00 Lunchvoluntary consumable charge
- £6.00 Teavoluntary consumable charge
- £20.00 a day All day meal chargevoluntary consumable charge
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Government funding for children aged 9 months, 2, 3 and 4 years, provided through Essex CC.
Worth knowing. Stretched funding offer across the year; voluntary consumable charges for meals; additional hours charged at £12.88 per hour for under 3yrs and £11.79 for over 3yrs.
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
CO3 3QDWhat 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.
- 7 September 2022 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 17 October 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children enter the kindergarten confidently and wave a cheery goodbye to their parents and carers. They are greeted by smiling staff, who take time to find out what they have been doing at home and how they are feeling. Children are very familiar with the kindergarten and know where to place their coats and other belongings. Older children climb the stairs to their base rooms with ease, making sure they follow the staff's clear directions to hold onto the banister and stop at the various waiting points on each landing. Children are keen and excited learners.
They are encouraged to develop their independence from a very early age. For example, children from babies upwards are encouraged to guide their own play through self-choice. They help to serve meals and clear away when they have finished eating.
Children are kind and caring towards each other. They are praised and rewarded for good behaviour. Staff use consistently positive language to help to develop children's confidence and self-esteem. Babies form close bonds with their key persons. They approach the adults for cuddles and know that they can have their comforters when they need them.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- monitor and further develop interactions between staff and children to raise the quality of teaching and learning to a consistently high level n review the provision for children to freely express themselves, for example, through creative play, to promote and spark their imagination.
- 17 October 2022Good
- 28 April 2022Inadequate
- 25 August 2017Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Lexden Lodge Kindergarten
- 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 £12.88 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.