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Nurseries in Wickford

There are 14 nurseries and pre-schools on the Ofsted register in Wickford, and 4 other childcare settings such as out-of-school clubs.

Inspection grades in Wickford

  • Ofsted grades before November 2025: 10 settings (1 Outstanding, 9 Good)

Grades are shown only where the inspectorate has published the report.

Nurseries and pre-schools

  • Canopy St Luke's Chapel - Day nursery, Wickford SS11 7JJ, 76 places
  • Growing Minds Wickford - Day nursery, Wickford SS11 8QS
  • Just Imagine...Day Nursery & Out Of School Club - Day nursery, Wickford SS11 7AS, ages 0 to 11, 82 places
    Ofsted, 14 March 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Just Imagine Day Nursery - Wickford Ltd - Day nursery, Wickford SS12 0AN, ages 0 to 5, 86 places
    Ofsted, 25 October 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Little Tots Nursery - Day nursery, Wickford SS12 9NR, ages 1 to 4, 31 places
    Ofsted, 5 August 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • One Step Ahead (Essex) Limited - Pre-school, Wickford SS12 0QG, 30 places
  • Peter Pan Preschool - Day nursery, Wickford SS12 0AG, ages 2 to 4, 26 places
    Ofsted, 21 November 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Playdays - Day nursery, Wickford SS12 9GP, ages 0 to 4, 50 places
    Ofsted, 24 October 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Rainbow Pre-school Wickford - Pre-school, Wickford SS11 8JE, ages 2 to 5, 32 places
    Ofsted, 26 September 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Runwell Village Preschool - Pre-school, Wickford SS11 7JE, ages 2 to 4, 30 places
    Ofsted, 3 November 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Salcott Crescent Day Nursery School - Day nursery, Wickford SS12 9NR, ages 0 to 4, 71 places
    Ofsted, 2 August 2022: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Stagecoach Wickford - Pre-school, Wickford SS11 8LY
  • The Treehouse Forestry Nursery And Out Of School Club - Day nursery, Wickford SS11 8UD, ages 0 to 4, 72 places
    Ofsted, 20 January 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Zebedee Pre-School - Pre-school, Wickford SS11 8QZ, ages 2 to 4, 34 places
    Ofsted, 4 June 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Out-of-school clubs and other childcare

  • Crafty Katie Ltd - Out-of-school club, Wickford SS12 9GJ, 60 places
  • KellyCare Childcare Services Before and After School Club - Out-of-school club, Wickford SS12 9GJ, 60 places
  • Kids Company Out Of School Club - Out-of-school club, Wickford SS11 7BJ, 32 places
  • Premier - Wickford Hub - Out-of-school club, Wickford SS12 9PW, 24 places

Nursery groups with settings here

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

Ofsted grades before November 2025 (England)

Inspections before November 2025 gave one overall grade on a four-point scale: Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement, Inadequate. Ofsted also graded the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, and said whether safeguarding was effective.

Settings keep their last grade until Ofsted visits again, so many nurseries still show a grade from this older scale.

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)

Council area

Schools in Wickford

Sources: Ofsted, registers as at 30 June 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.