Centre Place Nursery
Centre Place Nursery is a day nursery in Southend-On-Sea for children aged 1 to 4, with 50 registered places. Ofsted report card, 12 March 2026: Strong standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.
Centre Place, 15 Prospect Close, Southend-On-Sea, SS1 2JD
Key facts
- Type
- Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Ages
- 1 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered places
- 50 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 1 April 2021 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 17:00
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 12 March 2026
Who runs it
Centre Place Nursery is run by Pre-School Learning Alliance (Ofsted register).
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
- Achievement: Strong standard
- Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
- Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
- Leadership and governance: Strong standard
- Safeguarding standards met
Source: Ofsted, inspection on 12 March 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Leaders and staff are passionate about the care they provide for all children. They warmly welcome and greet children and families as they arrive. Children arrive happily and settle quickly at the nursery. They are ready and keen to explore. Leaders and staff are deeply attentive to children, showing them the utmost respect. This helps children, including the very youngest, to feel safe and secure in the nursery's nurturing environment.
Leaders and staff prioritise children's communication and language. Children become curious learners as they talk about how to grow seeds. They listen to staff's instructions and describe in detail how to plant them. From a young age, children demonstrate excellent hygiene skills. They show increasing confidence in their abilities, having a positive impact on their health and wellbeing. Leaders and staff are positive role models for children. They encourage children to make positive friendships and have manners. This helps children to develop positive attitudes to learning with their peers.
Staff use Makaton and visual aids throughout the nursery. They build on children's communication skills and engage in meaningful conversations. Staff prepare children well to make smooth transitions in their routines. For example, children get their coats to get ready and play outdoors. Children learn to take safe risks and explore their physical skills in a wide range of ways. They confidently climb equipment, such as stairs to go down the slide. Staff support children when needed and give them praise for their achievements. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging and valued.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Strong standard
Leaders and staff are highly skilled at identifying children's individual needs and implementing early support. They know children and families well and work sensitively with parents, establishing excellent partnerships. Parents give praise to the progress their children have made since starting the nursery.
Leaders use additional funding children may receive effectively to reduce barriers to their learning and development. For example, children experience drama classes following support from local professionals to meet their individual needs. Leaders and staff consistently work with other professionals to offer children early help strategies. Staff support children with small-group sessions to develop their attention skills. Children take part in 'what's in the box' activities that help to extend their communication and language skills. This helps children to become confident communicators.
Leaders and staff offer children a very inclusive play environment. They expertly make adaptations for children to access activities and resources. They help children to feel included and have positive learning experiences. Leaders and staff prioritise sharing information with parents, regularly monitoring support. This helps children to make excellent progress from their starting points, especially those who may face barriers to their learning.
Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
Leaders and staff implement a well-sequenced curriculum for all children. They regularly review children's progress and identify where support can be made to deliver high-quality learning. Staff engage children's learning through meaningful interactions, ensuring their unique individual needs are met. For instance, staff directly join in children's play and extend their interests through questions. They spark children's imaginations. This helps to build children's vocabulary and self-esteem.
Staff consistently support children's communication and language through effective role modelling. They introduce mathematical concepts as children explore water play with containers. For example, staff talk to children about how 'full' and 'empty' their containers are with water. Children have time to think and respond appropriately. Staff extend children's ideas as they use tweezers to 'pinch' coloured balls and transport them into containers. This helps children to develop fine motor skills and become confident in their own abilities.
Staff teach children about sustainable living. For example, children grow their own seeds and use spades to 'scoop' soil and 'pat' down soil into planting pots. Staff encourage children's achievement with praise. This helps to recognise children's abilities and develop a secure sense of belonging.
Achievement: Strong standard
Children are very well prepared for each stage of their learning. Young children learn to become independent and confident in their self-care abilities. They make rapid progress from their starting points, including those who face barriers to their learning.
Children settle well and explore activities with confidence. They show a love for playing outdoors and safely take turns on equipment. For example, children share turns as they create obstacles for water to travel through different-sized tubes. They gain increasing control and coordination as they climb steps to the slide and use play equipment. This helps children to build their physical skills and problem-solve with their peers.
Children become confident communicators and show imagination in their play. They retell stories and remember words to songs and rhymes. They manage their emotions well, and this supports them as they prepare to transition to school. They take part in 'talking transitions' and have opportunities to meet with teachers from their new school. This helps children to become familiar with the school environment and expectations.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
Leaders and staff create an environment that positively supports children's learning and development. They have high expectations for children's behaviour. Leaders and staff support children to understand their feelings and emotions through targeted activities. For example, they teach the importance of kindness and being considerate towards others in puppet play. Children carefully listen in group activities and demonstrate concentration for periods of time. This helps them to self-regulate and gain positive attitudes to learning.
Leaders and staff help children to understand and follow key routines with confidence. This helps children to gain confidence in the setting and to form a sense of belonging. Staff teach children according to their individual ages and stages. They build meaningful relationships with children that help them to understand what is expected of them. Staff act as positive role models for children, demonstrating respect and kindness towards all.
Leaders and staff help parents to understand the importance of children's regular attendance from the very beginning. Leaders and staff ensure they follow stringent procedures to ensure children's attendance is punctual and any absences are swiftly followed up. This ensures that all children, including those who face barriers to their learning, access their entitlement.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
Leaders and staff support children to consistently make healthy choices and embed high-quality practices. For example, children from a young age demonstrate hygiene skills confidently and choose their own snacks. Children follow staff's instructions about how to wash their hands and talk about why it is important. Children benefit from consistent routines and know what is coming next. This contributes to children developing a secure sense of belonging, and this supports their wellbeing. Staff sensitively help children to manage their care needs independently.
Leaders and staff develop secure attachments with children. They tailor settling-in sessions and are flexible to meet the individual needs of children and families. When children become ready to move on in their learning, staff create tailored plans. This helps children to make progress and smooth transitions across the nursery.
Leaders and staff monitor children closely when they rest and sleep. They follow stringent safe sleeping arrangements and regularly review procedures and practice to safely meet individual needs. Staff are responsive to children when they ask for help and support. They have created warm relationships with children where they can go for reassurance and enjoy cuddles when they need comfort.
Leadership and governance: Strong standard
Leaders are passionate and enthusiastic to drive excellence at the nursery. Staff morale is high, and they engage in regular supervision sessions to share their interests and seek professional training opportunities. Staff report they feel well respected and valued in their roles.
Leaders support staff to nurture their strengths and identify professional support opportunities to enhance teaching further. They prioritise children's learning and make effective decisions that have children's best interests at heart. Leaders and staff regularly reflect on their practice and have high expectations of the nursery. The ongoing coaching and support provided helps staff to become highly skilled in their roles and give children the best possible care.
Parents describe the nursery as nurturing and supportive. They speak highly of their experiences and praise leaders and staff's knowledge in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They comment on leaders and staff's keen commitment to ensure their children's needs are met. Leaders and staff are proactive to ensure children receive the support they deserve and make progress in their learning. They work effectively with other professionals and value the partnerships they have to swiftly identify early support. Leaders follow robust procedures to prioritise children's safety and wellbeing. This helps children to feel safe in a positive and nurturing environment and make excellent progress in their learning.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 12 March 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)
Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.
The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.
Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.
Source: Ofsted reports
Funded childcare hours in England
All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.
Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.
Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.
The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.
Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)
Other nurseries nearby
- Cockleshell Nursery - Day nursery, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2UP, ages 0 to 4, 72 places, 0.3 milesOfsted, 14 March 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Stepping Stones Day Nursery & Preschool - Day nursery, Southend-On-Sea SS1 2RE, ages 0 to 4, 39 places, 0.4 milesOfsted, 6 April 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Little Flores Day Nursery - Day nursery, Southend-on-Sea SS1 2RF, 51 places, 0.4 miles
- Rocking Horse Childcare - Day nursery, Southend-On-Sea SS1 2AS, ages 0 to 5, 42 places, 0.5 milesOfsted, 7 May 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Southchurch Park Pre-School - Pre-school, Southend-On-Sea SS1 2PT, 87 places, 0.5 miles
Schools nearby
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School - Primary, 0.4 miles
- Porters Grange Primary School and Nursery - Primary, 0.5 miles
- Greenways Primary School - Primary, 0.6 miles
- 1Up Collective CIC - Special, 0.8 miles
- South Essex College of Further and Higher Education - Post-16, 0.9 miles