Sandcastles Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 3.9 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Benfleet for children from birth to 8+, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. £78.80 a day for 2 – 3 Years, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in February 2022. Open since 2000, with 99 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
| Age | Full day | Hourly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 2 Yearsbirth to 2y | £85.00 | £15.30 | |
| 2 – 3 Years2y to 3y | £78.80 | £15.30 | |
| 3 – 5 Years3y to 5y | £76.80 | £15.30 |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £4.50 a session Early Start
- £35.00 Late collection (after 6pm)
- £1.00 Morning Snackonly charged on days you are in receipt of funding
- £1.00 Afternoon Snackonly charged on days you are in receipt of funding
- £1.50 Breakfastonly charged on days you are in receipt of funding
- £2.00 Teaonly charged on days you are in receipt of funding
- £3.00 Hot Lunch and Dessertonly charged on days you are in receipt of funding
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £1.00 Non Food Consumablesonly charged on days you are in receipt of funding
Funded hours
30 free hours per week available to all who are eligible 9 months +.
Worth knowing. At Sandcastles, a maximum of six hours funding can be used against a school day and 10 hours against a full day.
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 2QLWhat 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, 18 February 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children become deeply involved in activities that interest them. For example, they choose when they want to play in the extensive garden, benefitting those who prefer to learn outdoors. Older children creatively build an obstacle course with beams and crates. They are encouraged to share their ideas and work collaboratively, gaining ownership of their construction. They show great delight when jumping off a box, challenging themselves and taking managed risks.
Younger children also have many opportunities to develop their physical skills indoors and outdoors. They ride on trikes and confidently navigate a wooden climbing structure.
Older children are becoming confident communicators. They eagerly speak to visitors, telling them what they enjoy doing at nursery. Babies are beginning to engage in back-and-forth conversations. They look through books with an adult and make recognisable sounds when they see familiar pictures. Babies respond with a smile when adults use descriptive words, such as 'scrunch' to describe the noise that foil makes. Older children are introduced to more-complex words. When they identify a lizard in a book, they are told it is a 'chameleon'. They excitedly point to it, repeating the word. They find out that the chameleon changes colour to match its environment, building on their existing knowledge and understanding.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- review how routines are managed so that staff consistently allow children to continue their play and learning uninterrupted n support staff to recognise how they can build on their already good interactions to further encourage children's independence and self-help skills.
- 18 February 2022Good
- 9 September 2013Outstanding
- 17 January 2011Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Sandcastles Nursery
- Youngest age taken
- 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 £78.80 a day 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.
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.