Three Butterflies Nursery
GoodTakes funded hours★ 4.7 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Waltham Abbey for babies from 3 months up to school age, 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 They do not publish prices, so ask.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 July 2025. Open since 2019, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Universal Funding: All 2, 3 and 4 year olds are eligible for 15 or 30 hours of funded childcare the term after their birthday. This can be taken 15 hours a week over 38 weeks (term time only). 30 hour (extended) funding for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds. Free Early Education for Two Year Olds (FEET) is offered for eligible two year olds.
Worth knowing. The nursery will invoice for any additional hours attended and meals monthly for all children claiming 2years, 3 and 4-year-old funding. The nursery will charge for Lunches: £3.50 and £3 for tea for all children claiming 15hours or 30 hours free childcare.
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
EN9 1JYWhat 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.
- 21 February 2023 — Concern: actions taken what Ofsted published
Ofsted inspector, 25 July 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are welcomed by happy staff, who are genuinely pleased to see them.
They run into the nursery and give staff a big hug on arrival. They confidently leave their parents and demonstrate an eagerness to explore the activities staff provide.
The effective key-person approach ensures that children form secure attachments with adults and settle well. Time is taken to get to know the child and their family and all staff speak knowledgeably of all the children attending. Management has implemented a curriculum that offers a range of opportunities that cover all areas of learning. Staff plan in the moment and carefully consider children's interests.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- improve opportunities in the curriculum to challenge children's thinking to consistently build on what they already know and can do n improve the organisation of transition times to ensure that all children are fully engaged and supported at these times n include more focused activities within the curriculum to support children's understanding of emotions and develop their vocabulary further, to enable them to express how they feel.
- 25 July 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 31 October 2024Needs improvement
- 18 August 2021Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Three Butterflies Nursery
- 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.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.