Rainbow Pre-school Wickford
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Wickford for from 2 years 6 months up to 5 year olds, open 09:00 to 15:00, 5 days a week. £23.00 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2024. Open since 1999, with 32 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
As of September 2026: £23 per session, plus a £10 voluntary contribution monthly for snack and consumables i.e., nappies, wipes, gloves, handwash, paper towels etc
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
FEEE 3&4 Year Funding, 30 Hours Extended Funding, FEEE 2 Year Funding, 30 Hours Funding for 2 Year Olds of Working Parents.
Worth knowing. If your child attends more than 15 hours per week, either with us or shared with another setting, you will be asked to pay for those sessions for which we are unable to obtain funding at Rainbow’s current sessional rate.
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
SS11 8JEWhat 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, 26 September 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive with an abundance of confidence due to the warm welcome they receive from staff as they enter the setting. They choose their favourite activities or areas to play, which are facilitated by staff who know their interests well. Children enjoy the freedom of running in the large garden. They visit the local park where they discuss leaves changing, from green to red, in autumn. They seek out local wildlife and talk to staff about spiders having 'eight legs' and butterflies having 'two colourful wings'.
Staff consistently promote children's language development. As a result, children have good communication and listening skills. Children read the 'Three little pigs'
story where they say, 'Blow the house down' and 'Here comes the wolf.' They relive the story in the garden by building a house with cardboard boxes, sticks and toy bricks. Children become proud builders in the construction area where staff praise their achievements.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- allow children to be more independent in their play to encourage independence and build friendships with other children.
- 26 September 2024Good
- 20 November 2018Good
- 12 March 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Rainbow Pre-school Wickford
- Meals
- Nappies
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 £23.00 a session 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.