Stock Pre-School
OutstandingTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A pre-school in Ingatestone for children from birth to 8+, open 08:30 to 15:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in October 2022. Open since 2009, with 26 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
3 and 4-year-old funding and 2 years olds eligible for funding.
Worth knowing. Morning sessions 8.45am to 11.45am (available as funded); Afternoon sessions 12.15pm to 3.15pm (available as funded); All day is 8.45am to 3.15 pm (funding available 8.45am-2.45pm).
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
CM4 9TBWhat 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, 14 October 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children attend this setting with great joy and enthusiasm. They have a positive and excellent approach to learning. The children have fantastic socialcommunication skills, expressed with ease and confidence. Staff offer children an exciting and inspiring environment, to build on their skills, knowledge, and emotional resilience. For example, as soon as children arrive at the setting, they proudly find their wooden name tag and post it in a box placed by the entrance, showing fantastic reading skills.
Children form warm and strong attachments with their key person. Staff continuously challenge children's learning and support collaborative play. They encourage the children to choose between exploring a stimulating indoors provision, which is filled with interesting books and exciting activities, or accessing the garden set up with real-life resources and activities. For example, while out in the garden, children are fascinated to look for bugs, using tools with great control to dig in mud. They work very well together as a team, engage in meaningful conversations with their peers and learn new words, such as 'millipede'. Children's sense of discovery and exploration is highly supported. Furthermore, they acquire problem-solving skills, which in turn contributes to building their confidence and self-esteem.
Children learn so much about the world around them, particularly about different herbs. They have access to a herb allotment, where they get actively involved in picking the herbs. They touch and smell them, and use them in pretend play, extended to sensory exploration activities. In addition, they get to look after guinea pigs from time to time, and this learning is extended so that children know how to look after pets and show care and affection towards all living things.
- 14 October 2022Outstanding
- 11 November 2016Outstanding
- 24 November 2015Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Stock Pre-School
- What it costs
- Youngest age taken
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.