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Headstart PreSchool 1

Headstart PreSchool 1 is a pre-school in South Ockendon for children aged 2 to 4, with 24 registered places. Ofsted report card, 23 April 2026: Strong standard in 3 areas, Expected standard in 3 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Head Start Preschool 1, Afton Drive, South Ockendon, RM15 5PA

Key facts

Type
Pre-school (Sessional day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
2 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
24 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
19 January 2024 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:30 - 15:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 23 April 2026

Who runs it

Headstart PreSchool 1 is run by Headstart PreSchool 1 Partnership (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Expected standard
  • Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
  • Achievement: Strong standard
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
  • Leadership and governance: Expected standard
  • Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 23 April 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children are happy, settled and engaged in a rich range of experiences that support their learning and development. They enjoy exploring the well-resourced environment, particularly outdoors, where they dig, build, count and investigate with curiosity and sustained focus. Children develop their communication and language skills as they talk about their play, recall shared experiences such as visits to the beach and respond to adults' questions with growing confidence. They make positive progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning, as staff adapt experiences and interactions to support their individual needs. Children develop independence through daily routines, such as managing snack time and making choices in their play, preparing them well for their next stage of learning.

Children play alongside their peers and are included in all aspects of the provision. They take part in shared experiences at a level appropriate to their development, supported by staff who adapt their interactions to ensure all children can participate meaningfully. Children form warm relationships with practitioners, seeking reassurance when needed and responding positively to encouragement. They also build positive relationships with each other, cooperating during games such as hide and seek and working together in shared play. Parents report that children are happy to attend and feel welcomed, reflecting the inclusive and supportive ethos of the setting.

Children behave well and show consideration for others. They follow routines, help to tidy away resources and respond to gentle reminders from staff. Children feel safe and demonstrate confidence in their environment, including when managing risks during play. Attendance is promoted effectively, and children attend regularly, supporting their continuity of learning and wellbeing.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders establish an inclusive culture rooted in a clear understanding of their community, where many children attend with special educational needs and/or disabilities, English as an additional language or experience disadvantage. Children's needs are identified early through assessment, home visits and ongoing observation. Leaders monitor children's progress and review support, while staff, supported by the special educational needs coordinator, demonstrate a secure understanding of children's starting points and adapt their interactions accordingly, enabling children to feel settled and access the provision.

Children access shared experiences at a level that reflects their development. In outdoor play, children participate in games such as hide and seek, with some counting confidently and waiting for others, while others engage at their own pace with staff support. Across the provision, children engage in the same activities in different ways, including using tools, pouring and transporting. Staff adapt their language and support so all children participate meaningfully. As a result, children sustain engagement, play alongside others and make clear progress over time.

Leaders reduce barriers through targeted use of funding, including sensory resources and enrichment opportunities such as sports sessions and music activities. Staff work closely with families and external professionals, including for children known to children's social care. In a small number of instances, however, specific aspects of children's individual support are not yet clearly agreed with parents or consistently understood across staff, which means children do not always experience a fully consistent approach to their individual support.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear and highly effective understanding of the curriculum and teaching. They have made thoughtful improvements, including the development of a natural outdoor environment that provides a rich and highly stimulating range of experiences. The curriculum is well designed and securely embedded across the early years foundation stage, with practitioners adapting provision with precision to meet children's developmental stages in a blended age group.

Practitioners support children's communication and language with clarity and purpose. Interactions are highly effective and well matched, and questioning is used thoughtfully to extend children's vocabulary and deepen their thinking. Mathematical understanding is woven seamlessly through daily experiences, as children count during games, explore number through outdoor mark making and develop their understanding of quantity through water play. Children apply these skills independently, demonstrating secure and increasingly confident understanding.

Leaders place a clear priority on children's physical, personal, social and emotional development. Children are highly engaged and motivated, showing sustained focus and positive attitudes to learning. Practitioners use assessment effectively to understand what children know and can do and adapt teaching accordingly. This results in a highly productive and enriching learning environment, where staff tailor support for disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring all children access an inclusive, well-resourced and stimulating provision.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children make highly effective progress from their starting points, particularly in communication and language. They use an increasing range of vocabulary during play, describing their actions in the garden, recalling shared experiences such as visits to the beach and responding to questions with growing confidence. Children listen attentively, respond thoughtfully and engage in sustained, meaningful interactions with adults and peers.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing barriers to learning make clear and measurable progress. Children who previously showed limited engagement now interact purposefully with resources, sustain their involvement and increasingly seek out adult interaction. They play alongside their peers and engage in chosen activities for extended periods, demonstrating growing involvement and confidence.

Children develop the skills needed for their next stage of learning. They show increasing independence, managing routines such as snack time and outdoor play with confidence, and demonstrate highly positive attitudes to learning. Children are well prepared for transition, including to school, as they become confident, communicative and able to engage positively with others.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders establish a positive and nurturing environment where expectations for behaviour are clear, consistent and embedded in daily practice. Practitioners lead by example, modelling respect, care and consideration in all interactions. Gentle reminders support children to manage their own behaviour safely, and children respond with growing awareness of others. Relationships across the setting are warm and respectful, with practitioners responding sensitively and offering reassurance that helps children feel valued and confident.

Children demonstrate cooperative and considerate behaviour in their play. At the outdoor chalkboard, children work alongside one another, using water and brushes to create marks and patterns, sharing space and resources with ease. They take turns, communicate their ideas and show awareness of each other's actions. Similarly, in the digging area, children engage in shared play scenarios, using tools safely and adjusting their movements to avoid others. Children also take responsibility for routines, helping to tidy resources and working together during play.

Leaders place clear importance on attendance and follow up on absences. Parents report that children are happy, settled and eager to attend. This reflects the calm, purposeful atmosphere across the setting, where children feel secure, engage positively with others and respond well to consistent expectations.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children's individual needs are met effectively through caring and responsive practice. Practitioners demonstrate a well-developed understanding of children's needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those facing disadvantage and those known to children's social care, and generally use this to inform their support. Children receive appropriate care and access routines and experiences alongside their peers. Warm and responsive relationships are evident, with children forming close attachments to key persons, seeking reassurance when needed and feeling safe and valued.

Leaders support practitioners to promote children's health, safety and emotional wellbeing through established routines and daily experiences. Children develop an understanding of health, safety and physical development through these experiences. Children climb with confidence while being supported to assess risks, and they independently manage tasks such as pouring their own drinks, peeling fruit and clearing away after snack time. Children benefit from nutritious meals prepared on site, supporting healthy habits. Established routines, including sleep arrangements, meet children's individual needs. Practitioners respond promptly to children's emotional needs, providing calm reassurance and modelling language to support children to recognise, express and manage their feelings.

At times, agreed approaches to specific care routines, including aspects of feeding and comfort, are not fully established or consistently applied. This means that care is not always fully aligned with the most up-to-date understanding of children's individual needs, so children do not always experience a fully consistent and clearly understood approach to these aspects of their care.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and the needs of the community they serve. They have established an inclusive provision that supports children who are disadvantaged, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known to children's social care. Leaders make considered decisions, such as providing meals on site and adapting provision, to reflect children's experiences, to broaden opportunities and to support children's wellbeing. They work closely with families, offering guidance and practical support, including help with accessing services and completing forms. Parents describe the setting as supportive and welcoming and report that they feel well informed and able to approach staff, reflecting positive relationships between leaders, staff and families.

Leaders support staff effectively through regular supervision, access to training and a clear focus on wellbeing. Staff report that their wellbeing is valued and that they can access support when needed. Professional development is purposeful and informs improvements to practice. Leaders monitor children's progress and provision and demonstrate awareness of areas for development.

Leaders maintain oversight of how agreed information about children's care is shared across the staff team. However, they do not ensure this is applied with full consistency. In a small number of cases, this leads to some lack of clarity around specific aspects of children's care, resulting in minor variation in how these are put into practice.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should strengthen their monitoring to identify and address any minor inconsistencies in staff's understanding of children's care needs.
  • Leaders should ensure that key persons establish a complete understanding of children's individual needs with parents from the outset, so support reflects all aspects of children's care and development.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 23 April 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

  • Surestart - Where Kids Come First - Day nursery, South Ockendon RM15 5PA, ages 1 to 11, 33 places, under 0.1 miles
    Ofsted, 25 June 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Headstart Day and Afterschool Care LTD - Day nursery, South Ockendon RM15 5PA, ages 0 to 10, 78 places, under 0.1 miles
    Ofsted, 21 November 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Headstart Pre school - Pre-school, South Ockendon RM15 5LY, ages 2 to 4, 13 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 10 November 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Headstart Nursery - Day nursery, South Ockendon RM15 5LY, ages 0 to 4, 55 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 9 November 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Quince Tree Day Nursery LTD - Day nursery, South Ockendon RM15 6NL, ages 0 to 4, 30 places, 0.7 miles
    Ofsted, 30 January 2024: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

Headstart PreSchool 1 on the Ofsted website