St. Margaret's Pre School
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Long established
A pre-school in Brentwood for from 2 years up to school age, open 09:15 to 15:15, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2024. Open since 2016, with 30 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
3 to 4 year Early Educational Entitlement funding is available to all children. However, some children are eligible for 2 year funding.
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
CM15 0QHWhat 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 July 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children skip confidently into the pre-school, greeted by the incredibly warm and nurturing staff, who they build strong attachments with. Children feel safe and a sense of belonging as they immediately hang up their bag, before finding their name card and self-registering. The indoor and outdoor environments are extremely inviting, and staff consider children's interests and next stages of learning when planning daily activities. For example, they encourage children transitioning to school to develop their independence, such as learning to get dressed for physical education and staff provide imaginative resources for them to practice with. Children are motivated and curious learners. They confidently identify an 'angler fish' in an underwater themed activity.
Children display excellent manners and play cooperatively with their peers. Funloving staff are regularly invited into children's play. Staff use these welcoming opportunities to sensitively reinforce the high expectations they have for children's behaviour. During a game of chase, some children decide they do not want to play anymore. When children continue chasing, staff calmly go down to their level and explain that their peers no longer want to play this game. Staff's gentle role modelling is effective as children listen and respond positively, by going on an exploration with their binoculars and magnifying glasses instead.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance the already good teaching and support staff to provide further opportunities for children to learn through trial and error and develop their problem-solving skills.
- 18 July 2024Good
- 19 October 2018Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 2 graded inspections.
Still missing for St. Margaret's Pre School
- What it costs
- 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
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.
- What does it cost, all in? 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.