Creative Kids Nursery Brentwood

A nursery library, a wheeled-toy track and imaginative play with shells give Creative Kids Nursery Brentwood a recognisable character. In March 2024, children borrowed books to enjoy at home, practised balancing outdoors and created a pretend beach indoors. These are useful details for families who want reading, movement and exploration to share the day.

At its 13 March 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The setting accepts children aged 3 to 59 months and has 116 places in total. That whole-setting figure is a measure of size, rather than the number of children sharing any particular room.

Shenfield Station is nearby, making the location relevant to families travelling into London. The combination of an early opening, an evening closing time and a station connection gives parents practical reasons to consider it alongside its care and learning.

Rooms and Ages

Room names have been part of the nursery's identity from its early years. In April 2022, Lilac Room, Blue Room, Green Room and Rainbow Room North were open. Those names describe that stage of the nursery's development; they should not be read as an age-by-age guide for a child joining today.

In March 2024, babies investigated shredded paper, toddlers experimented with shaving foam and older children arranged shells with toy sea animals in imaginative play. The activities differed by developmental stage. For a parent, the useful distinction is between babies discovering textures and older children using objects to create their own ideas and stories.

Learning and Activities

The nursery follows the early years foundation stage, the framework for children's learning, development and care. In everyday terms, this connects play and exploration with developing language, movement and social skills. It is the baseline for early years provision, rather than an extra programme.

Current toddler activities include puzzles, interactive stories and pretend play, with numbers, colours and shapes introduced through play. Drawing, building and sensory activities give children opportunities to practise handling materials. These experiences make learning tangible: children can try something, change it and talk about what they are doing.

In March 2024, dough play involved pulling, rolling and patting, while older children used magnetic pens to move metal beads into designs. These were concrete opportunities to practise hand control before writing. Singing and shared stories also featured, and children selected a book from the nursery library each week to take home. Reading therefore extended beyond the nursery day into something families could share.

Outdoor and Community Life

During March 2024, outdoor play happened daily. Large equipment supported climbing and balance, and the track gave children space to use wheeled toys; football added practice in passing between children. These experiences brought different kinds of movement into the day, rather than relying on one form of active play.

Older children also travelled by bus to local shops during that period. Such outings gave them experience of the surrounding community beyond the nursery premises. Current toddler provision includes equipment for climbing and space for running and coordination, alongside quieter activities that exercise smaller hand movements.

Relationships and Communication

In March 2024, babies received physical comfort and individual attention, and children formed close relationships with staff. Practitioners gathered information about children's interests from parents and used it when organising activities. That connection between home interests and nursery play helped make the day's experiences familiar to children.

Communication remains part of the current toddler offer: families receive updates about daily experiences and development, and parental insights inform care. For parents, this provides a way to connect what happens at nursery with changes they notice at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In March 2024, staff used individual words with babies and talked through children's actions and the objects they handled. For families using another language at home, practitioners learnt useful words and translated daily messages. These were practical adaptations to communication, rather than expecting every family to use English for every exchange.

The nursery chef prepared meals and snacks in March 2024, and children practised using cutlery and washing their hands before eating. Care routines therefore also provided opportunities to develop independence.

Preparation for starting preschool includes guidance for parents on consistent routines, dressing, handwashing and tidying. The emphasis is on small, familiar tasks that children can practise before adjusting to a nursery timetable.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6.30pm, throughout the year, with bank holidays excluded. This opening window is useful for parents whose working day begins early or finishes later, while the holiday closure needs to fit their childcare arrangements.

Enquiries can be made through the Shenfield Brentwood contact route, and there is a branch application route. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with funding and fee information requested through its funding and fees form.

Getting There

The address is 1 Mount Avenue, Shenfield, Brentwood, CM13 2NS. The nursery is within a 2 minute walk to Shenfield Station, with a direct connection to London's Liverpool Street Station; the A12 and M25 are also accessible.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. The branch's funding guidance covers 15-hour support for eligible two-year-olds, 15 hours for children aged three and four starting the term after their third birthday, and 30 hours for eligible working families with children aged three and four. Eligibility conditions matter: the working-family entitlement should not be treated as applying to every household.

• Teaching and lunchtime routines. At the March 2024 inspection, Ofsted asked for stronger staff supervision, clearer planning of each child's next learning steps and shorter waits for lunch. On a visit, ask how coaching, individual planning and the organisation of lunch have changed since then.
• The cost of your attendance pattern. Funding guidance covers both 15 and 30 hours, while the nursery opens throughout the year. Ask for one written quotation showing your attendance pattern, how funded hours are allocated, and the treatment of meals and consumables.
• Moving into preschool. Preparation guidance emphasises routines and independence. Discuss how the first days will build on your child's existing habits, including the help they need with dressing and separation.

Creative Kids Nursery Brentwood suits families seeking play-based toddler learning and a nursery day that can fit around travel through Shenfield Station. The March 2024 picture included books taken home, active outdoor play and attentive relationships with staff. Those concrete experiences carry more decision value than broad promises about development.

The balance is clear: there are useful learning and care details, alongside specific improvement requests about teaching support and lunchtime organisation. Families choosing this nursery should give those everyday routines as much weight as its location and opening hours.