The Nursery Rooms
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Harlow for babies from 3 months up to 5 year olds, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in May 2024. Open since 2003, with 76 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Free Early Education Entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds; 15 hours a week over 38 weeks; additional 15 hours for qualifying parents.
Worth knowing. Meals for children attending funded only sessions; £3.50 for dinner and £2.50 for tea.
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
CM18 7NFWhat 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, 10 May 2024 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Babies and children are happy and safe as they snuggle into the arms of the caring staff. Staff are nurturing and kind and children behave well. Staff teach children how to respect each other and the resources they use. Managers and staff know the children well. They design a curriculum that is based on children's needs and interests. Children find their learning exciting as staff support them to practise their skills, for example learning to use scissors as they cut cabbage leaves into tiny pieces.
Staff support children who speak English as an additional language. There is a strong focus on developing children's communication and language skills throughout the nursery. Staff speak to children in clear and simple language and read captivating stories to promote and develop their vocabulary. Children grow in confidence as they move through the nursery. Staff form close relationships with their key children and help them to settle quickly as they transition to a new room.
All children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress in their learning. Staff observe and assess children's development. They complete children's progress check at age two with parents to help them plan for the next steps in children's learning. Staff are swift to identify any gaps in learning. For example, they identified that some children needed more support with mathematics. Staff altered their curriculum and purchased resources to promote this area of learning, and children have responded well.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- build on the already good practice, seeking further ways to enhance staff's professional development that focus on deepening their knowledge of teaching and learning.
- 10 May 2024Good
- 9 August 2018Good
- 29 October 2015Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for The Nursery Rooms
- What it costs
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.