Our Lady of Ransom Preschool
GoodBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Rayleigh for children from birth to 8+, open sessions in term time, often mornings. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in April 2023. Open since 1993, with 40 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
SS6 9DTWhat 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, 24 April 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are extremely keen and active learners. They cheerfully enter the preschool, where they are greeted by caring staff who help them to place their belongings on their peg. Once in the main pre-school hall, children choose activities from the exciting, well-presented and resourceful environment, which staff set out each morning. Some children head straight for the craft table where they express themselves creatively and imaginatively. They freely access the superb selection of ribbons, boxes, glue, paper, stickers and a wide range of other materials. Staff are on hand to expertly guide and support their learning. For example, they help children to find just the right junk-modelling item to use for legs on their wellconsidered dinosaur model. Children become engrossed in role play and make excellent use of the interesting clothes, hats and bags available to help them to use their imagination and express themselves.
Children enjoy learning outdoors in the exciting garden. They make very good use of resources to help to build on their physical skills, such as bicycles, tricycles and balancing resources. Children explore nature as they use a selection of bug-hunting equipment to seek out spiders, ants and worms. Staff help them to find and name the insects they find, using reference books and the internet to enhance the children's learning. Children freely access an exciting selection of books within the pre-school as well as borrowing their book of choice from the setting to share with their family at home. They have fun acting out their favourite stories.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance opportunities for children to further develop their independence n review the arrangements for leaders to monitor all aspects of the pre-school to help to raise the quality of teaching and managerial procedures to the highest level.
- 24 April 2023Good
- 21 June 2022Needs improvement
- 12 July 2017Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Our Lady of Ransom Preschool
- 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.