Second Steps Day Nursery
Outstanding★ 4.3 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Basildon 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 They do not publish prices, so that is the first thing to ask.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 Outstanding by Ofsted in February 2025. Open since 2005, with 106 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
SS15 6PHWhat 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.
- 29 October 2025 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
- 3 July 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 5 February 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
From the moment children enter this nursery, they are immersed in an environment that is exciting and enriching, where their imagination can run wild. As a result, children are extremely keen and active learners, who thrive and flourish. Staff expertly promote babies' and children's speech and language from an early age.
This helps them to articulate their feelings and communicate with such advancement that staff are able to hold two-way communications with the older babies. Children are fiercely independent. Throughout their nursery life, they are taught how to manage many of their self-care tasks. For example, children from babies upwards help to serve their own meals, pour drinks and dress themselves.
Staff are always on hand but rarely need to intervene, as children are confident in their own skills and abilities.
- 5 February 2025Outstanding Safeguarding: Yes
- 22 February 2019Good
- 8 December 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Second Steps Day Nursery
- 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.