The Little Acorns Preschool (Chelmsford)
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A pre-school in Chelmsford for children from birth to 5, open 08:15 to 16:45, 5 days a week. £6.00 an hour, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in March 2024. Open since 2011, with 42 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
As of January 2025, our fees are £6 per hour.
One published rate, dated January 2025. What you pay depends on the days you need and the funded hours you can claim.
Funded hours
2 year economic/non-economic 15 hour funding is available for those children who qualify, this can be used the term after they turn 2. 2 year working parent 30 hour funding can be claimed if both parents work and quality. 3-4 year universal 15 hour funding is claimed via the preschool for the term after they turn 3. Funded hours are 9.15-12.15 (everyday) or 9.15-3.15 (Mon and Fri). 30 hour funding.
Worth knowing. There is a 50p snacks/consumables charge per child per session (this is voluntary for a funded child - conditions apply). Funded hours are 9.15-12.15 (everyday) or 9.15-3.15 (Mon and Fri).
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
CM2 9DTWhat 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 March 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff are kind, caring and responsive to children's individual needs. Children arrive happy and demonstrate that they feel safe. They play cooperatively with their peers. For example, children delight in purchasing items from the role-play café
with pretend money, chatting to their friends as they play. This helps to develop their communication and mathematical skills effectively. Children behave well. Staff introduce initiatives, such as the 'emotion buckets', to help children talk about how they feel and begin to learn to regulate their own behaviour.
Children are developing good levels of independence. They prepare their own snacks, pour their own drinks and attempt to put on their coats. Staff teach children to follow good hygiene routines, such as handwashing, and explain why these are important. Children learn about the things that contribute to a healthy lifestyle, such as exercise, eating a balanced diet and looking after their teeth.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- help children to learn to take more responsibility for their toys and the environment.
- 18 March 2024Good
- 28 March 2018Good
- 13 November 2014Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Little Acorns Preschool (Chelmsford)
- Youngest age taken
- 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.
- Is £6.00 an hour 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.
Pre-schools within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.