Rainbow Pre-school (Stansted)
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Stansted for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £9.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2022. Open since 2011, with 52 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Session costs are currently £9 per hour.
One published rate. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
Early Learning for 2-year-olds Entitlement (FEEE2 15 hours), Universal Entitlement for all 3- & 4-year-olds (FEEE3&4 15 hours), Eligible Working Parent Entitlement for 2 years olds (FEEE2W 30 hours), Eligible Working Parent Entitlement for 3- & 4-year-olds (FEEE3&4 EFE 15 hours).
Worth knowing. Rainbow Pre-School asks for a voluntary contribution to snacks, consumables and additional services, however this is not mandatory nor is it a condition of accessing a place.
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
CM24 8JPWhat 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, 1 March 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children receive a warm welcome from staff when they arrive at the pre-school and quickly settle into play. They explore the many learning areas that entice children to be creative and develop their imaginations. Older children enjoy pretending to be doctors. They use phones and keypads to make appointments and use their early writing skills to write notes about their patients. Young children spend time building pens to keep the toy dinosaurs secure. They talk about size and pair the dinosaurs up, showing their developing mathematical understanding.
Children behave well. They play cooperatively, take turns and share resources.
Children thoroughly enjoy being outside. They are highly active as they join in exercise sessions and ride tricycles and scooters around the newly painted road track. Children negotiate space well and know how to keep themselves and others safe as they play. They have many opportunities to do things for themselves.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- ensure all staff understand the procedures for passing on concerns relating to children's development at the earliest possible opportunity n support staff to develop their understanding of the learning intent of play and planned activities for the younger children.
- 1 March 2022Good
- 12 February 2016Outstanding
- 12 January 2012Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Rainbow Pre-school (Stansted)
- 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 £9.00 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.