Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited
Good★ 4.4 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Colchester for children from birth to 8+, open 07:00 to 19:00, 5 days a week. They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in October 2023. Open since 2018, with 69 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
CO3 4RGWhat 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, 12 October 2023 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are central to everything the nursery staff do. Leaders organise the curriculum, childcare space and staff arrangements with children's need for consistency in mind. They carefully consider how they arrange staffing to increase children's ability to spend quality time with those they are most familiar with, including their key person. This helps children to feel safe, secure and at home when they are at nursery.
Babies and toddlers thrive. They show confidence to explore. This is because welltrained staff, who get to know the children's individual personalities, support them very well. Staff tailor their interactions to the individual needs of each child.
Consequently, new children settle very quickly and show that they feel safe and secure. They begin to explore their calm environments, knowing that they have people they can trust to help and guide them.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen planned learning experiences so that staff can purposefully deliver key information to further strengthen children's knowledge.
- 12 October 2023Good
- 7 November 2019Good
- 18 March 2019Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.