Little Footprints Day Nursery
OutstandingTakes funded hours★ 4.8 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Benfleet for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:00 to 19:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in July 2025. Open since 2012, with 70 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
FEEE1W up to 30 hours a week over 38 weeks of the year (for eligible children the term after they turn 9 months), FEEE2W up to 30 hours a week for 38 weeks a year (for eligible children the term after the children turn two) and EFE universal and extended entitlement. Universal entitlement up to 15 hours a week for all 3 & 4 year olds the term after the child turns three, and the extended entitleme.
Worth knowing. If your child attends for more than your entitled government funded hours, you will be charged per hour at our hourly rate, or per day at our daily rate. If you require our lunches you will be charged £3.50 a meal and £1.20 a snack.
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 3PTWhat 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, 29 July 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children thrive in this highly engaging family-focused nursery that prioritises children's language development and emotional well-being. The well-planned curriculum is broad, ambitious and consistently implemented across all age groups.
Staff interactions are warm and responsive and help children to feel emotionally secure. There is a firm commitment to helping children recognise feelings and emotions. Staff use emotional language consistently when speaking to children.
This helps children to be able to effectively express how they feel in a range of situations.
- 29 July 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 7 November 2019Outstanding
- 11 April 2013Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Footprints Day Nursery
- 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.