Full-day nursery in Rettendon and Runwell, Essex
Little Darwins Nursery
Rettendon School, Main Road, Rettendon Common, CHELMSFORD, CM3 8DW · Getting there
Is it good?
Read the Ofsted reportOfsted inspection, before November 2025
Outstanding
- Quality of educationOutstanding
- Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
- Personal developmentOutstanding
- Leadership and managementOutstanding
- SafeguardingEffective
What does this mean?
This grade is from before November 2025, when Ofsted replaced single grades with report cards. The nursery's next inspection will give a report card, with a separate grade for each area instead of one overall grade.
Official records
- Ofsted registrationRegistered since February 2011Reference EY416623Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Inspections on record1 inspectionlatest 27 July 2023Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Registered places85 placesthe most children it may care for at onceOfsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Food hygiene rating5 (Very good)inspected 9 December 2025Food Standards Agency · checked 13 November 2026
Fees
Fees, hours and ages: not published yet
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Hours and ages
Opening hours and ages: not published yet.
Getting there
Rettendon School, Main Road, Rettendon Common, CHELMSFORD, CM3 8DW · More nurseries in CM3
Stations
- Battlesbridge24 min walk · 1.0 miles
Buses
2 bus stops within 400 m, including School.
NaPTAN, Department for Transport, checked 13 November 2026. Walking times are rough, from straight-line distance.
Places and next steps
Spaces: not published yet. Nurseries often fill months ahead, so ask early.
In Essex there are about 2.9 children under 5 for every registered nursery place. Places are how many children nurseries may care for, not free spaces, so this is a guide to demand. Source: ONS Census 2021.
What parents say
Reviews on Toddly
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Write a reviewAbout Little Darwins Nursery
Little Darwins Nursery is a full-day nursery at Rettendon School, Main Road, Rettendon Common, CHELMSFORD, CM3 8DW, in Rettendon and Runwell, Essex. It is registered for 85 children. Ofsted rated it Outstanding at its inspection in July 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025. It has a Google rating of 5.0 from 1 review (November 2026).
Compare nurseries nearby
| Nursery | Ofsted | Full day from | Hours | Ages | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Darwins NurseryThis nursery | Outstanding | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | This nursery |
| Safari Childcare Runwell LimitedFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.7 miles |
| Canopy St Luke's ChapelFull-day nursery | Not yet inspected | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.8 miles |
| Bishop's Forest Pre SchoolSessional pre-school | Not yet inspected | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.4 miles |
| Runwell Village PreschoolSessional pre-school | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.6 miles |
| Rainbow Pre-school WickfordSessional pre-school | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.7 miles |
| The Day NurseryFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.9 miles |
A dash means the nursery hasn't published it yet. Distances are in a straight line.
Nearby areas
Schools nearby
- Rettendon Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Goodinspected April 2023 under 0.1 miles
- St Luke's Park Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Good; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Goodinspected May 2025 0.7 miles
- Hilltop Junior School Primaryages 7–11Ofsted: Report cardinspected June 2026 1.7 miles
- Hilltop Infant School Primaryages 2–7has a nursery classOfsted: Quality of education: Outstanding; Behaviour and attitudes: Outstanding; Personal development: Outstanding; Leadership and management: Outstandinginspected November 2024 1.7 miles
- Runwell Community Primary School Primaryages 2–11has a nursery classOfsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Requires improvement; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Goodinspected December 2024 1.8 miles
- Beauchamps High School Secondaryages 11–18Ofsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Good; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Goodinspected January 2025 1.8 miles
Straight-line distances. Places depend on each school's admissions rules. From the Department for Education and Ofsted.
Questions parents ask
Got a question? Ask and get an answer straight away.
What is Little Darwins Nursery's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Little Darwins Nursery Outstanding at its inspection on 27 July 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025.
How many children can Little Darwins Nursery take?
Little Darwins Nursery is registered with Ofsted for up to 85 children at any one time.
What is the nearest station to Little Darwins Nursery?
Battlesbridge is the nearest station we know of, 1.0 miles away in a straight line.
How do I contact Little Darwins Nursery?
You can call 01268 769599 and visit www.littledarwins.co.uk.
Tools for parents in Essex
- Childcare cost calculatorMonthly cost with funded hours
- Funded hours checkerWhich schemes you qualify for
- Funded hours start dateWhen your child's hours begin
- Tax-Free Childcare calculatorThe 20% top-up on your bill
- Visit checklist for this nurseryPrintable questions, pre-filled
- Cost of nursery in EssexFees by age in Essex
About this information
- Registration and inspections: Ofsted · 30 June 2026
- Rating and review themes: Google · 4 November 2026
- Schools: DfE Get Information about Schools · 4 November 2026
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Department for Education data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains Ofsted data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right; contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.
- Contains Department for Transport NaPTAN data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Food hygiene rating from the Food Standards Agency, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Read reviews on Google
Last checked 4 November 2026 · Ofsted URN EY416623 · Plain-text version · Report a mistake
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