Full-day nursery in Shrub End, Essex
Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited
179 Shrub End Road, Colchester, CO3 4RG · Getting there
Is it good?
Read the Ofsted reportOfsted inspection, before November 2025
Good
- Quality of educationGood
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Leadership and managementGood
- 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 May 2018Reference EY555918Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Inspections on record1 inspectionlatest 12 October 2023Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Registered places69 placesthe most children it may care for at onceOfsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Food hygiene rating5 (Very good)inspected 21 August 2026Food Standards Agency · checked 13 November 2026
Fees
Fees, hours and ages: not published yet
Thanks. We count every request and show the nursery how many parents are asking.
Estimate a monthly cost with the council area's typical day rate
Hours and ages
Opening hours and ages: not published yet.
Getting there
179 Shrub End Road, Colchester, CO3 4RG · More nurseries in CO3
Buses
16 bus stops within 400 m, including The Huntsman, Wilkin Court and Leather Bottle.
Parks and playgrounds
- Westlands Country Park7 min walk
- Cheshunt Field11 min walk
- Baden Powell Drive Playground5 min walk
- Playground9 min walk
- Playground10 min walk
- Playground12 min walk
NaPTAN, Department for Transport, checked 13 November 2026 · © OpenStreetMap contributors, 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
Be the first parent to review Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited
Reviews come from parents who sign in, and a person reads each one before it goes live. How reviews work
Write a reviewAbout Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited
Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited is a full-day nursery at 179 Shrub End Road, Colchester, CO3 4RG, in Shrub End, Essex. It is registered for 69 children. Ofsted rated it Good at its inspection in October 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025. It has a Google rating of 4.4 from 7 reviews (November 2026). It is run by Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited.
Run by Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited (company), which runs 2 nurseries.
Compare nurseries nearby
| Nursery | Ofsted | Full day from | Hours | Ages | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) LimitedThis nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | This nursery |
| Plume Avenue NurseryFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.2 miles |
| Holly Corner KindergartenFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.3 miles |
| Centre Preschool (Colchester) CIOSessional pre-school | Not yet inspected | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.3 miles |
| Christchurch PreschoolSessional pre-school | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.0 miles |
| Stanway Pre-schoolSessional pre-school | Not yet inspected | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.0 miles |
| Butterfly Blue Day NurseryFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 1.1 miles |
A dash means the nursery hasn't published it yet. Distances are in a straight line.
Nearby areas
Schools nearby
- Gosbecks Primary School Primaryages 5–11Ofsted: School remains Goodinspected February 2024 0.2 miles
- Prettygate Junior School Primaryages 7–11Ofsted: School remains Good (Improving)inspected February 2024 0.3 miles
- Prettygate Infant School Primaryages 5–7Ofsted: Goodinspected October 2022 0.3 miles
- King's Ford Infant School and Nursery Primaryages 2–7has a nursery classOfsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Good; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Goodinspected October 2024 0.5 miles
- Kings Ford Academy Primaryages 7–11Ofsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Requires improvement; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Goodinspected June 2025 0.5 miles
- St Teresa's Catholic Primary School, Colchester Primaryages 2–11has a nursery classOfsted: Quality of education: Outstanding; Behaviour and attitudes: Outstanding; Personal development: Outstanding; Leadership and management: Outstandinginspected January 2025 0.8 miles
- St Michael's Primary School and Nursery, Colchester Primaryages 3–11has a nursery classOfsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Good; Personal development: Outstanding; Leadership and management: Goodinspected January 2025 0.9 miles
- Home Farm Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Report cardinspected January 2026 0.9 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 Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited Good at its inspection on 12 October 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025.
How many children can Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited take?
Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited is registered with Ofsted for up to 69 children at any one time.
Who runs Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited?
Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited is run by Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited, which runs 2 nurseries.
How do I contact Second Steps Day Nursery (Colchester) Limited?
You can call 01206 545671 and visit www.secondsteps.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.
- © OpenStreetMap contributors
- 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 EY555918 · Plain-text version · Report a mistake
Is this your nursery? Claim it free to correct details, add photos and answer parents' questions.
Claim it free