Full-day nursery in Braintree, Essex
Step Start Nurseries Braintree
John Ray House, Bocking End, Braintree, CM7 9RW · 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 September 2020Reference 2598104Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Inspections on record1 inspectionlatest 12 January 2023Ofsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Registered places75 placesthe most children it may care for at onceOfsted · checked 30 June 2026
- Food hygiene rating5 (Very good)inspected 15 November 2024Food 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
John Ray House, Bocking End, Braintree, CM7 9RW · More nurseries in CM7
Stations
- Braintree11 min walk · 0.4 miles
Buses
9 bus stops within 400 m, including Blyth's Meadow, Panfield Lane and Mount Road.
Parks and playgrounds
- Weavers Field1 min walk
- Braintree & Bocking Public Gardens2 min walk
- Braintree & Bocking Recreation Ground6 min walk
- Bradford Meadows8 min walk
- Meadowside Park11 min walk
- Playground3 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
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Write a reviewAbout Step Start Nurseries Braintree
Step Start Nurseries Braintree is a full-day nursery at John Ray House, Bocking End, Braintree, CM7 9RW, in Braintree, Essex. It is registered for 75 children. Ofsted rated it Good at its inspection in January 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025. It has a Google rating of 2.8 from 10 reviews (November 2026).
Compare nurseries nearby
| Nursery | Ofsted | Full day from | Hours | Ages | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Step Start Nurseries BraintreeThis nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | This nursery |
| Yumbo DaycareFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | under 0.1 miles |
| Kidorable Pre School And Childcare ServicesFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.2 miles |
| Little Me Preschool BraintreeFull-day nursery | Not yet inspected | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.3 miles |
| Christ Church Pre School NurserySessional pre-school | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.4 miles |
| Spring - SeesawFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.5 miles |
| Spring - CarouselFull-day nursery | Good | not shared yet | not shared yet | not shared yet | 0.7 miles |
A dash means the nursery hasn't published it yet. Distances are in a straight line.
Nearby areas
Schools nearby
- St Francis Catholic Primary School, Braintree Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Goodinspected June 2024 0.2 miles
- John Bunyan Primary School and Nursery Primaryages 3–11has a nursery classOfsted: School remains Goodinspected February 2024 0.4 miles
- St Michael's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primaryages 4–11Ofsted: Quality of education: Good; Behaviour and attitudes: Good; Personal development: Good; Leadership and management: Requires improvementinspected April 2025 0.6 miles
- Great Bradfords Junior School Primaryages 7–11Ofsted: Standards maintainedinspected March 2025 0.7 miles
- Great Bradfords Infant and Nursery School Primaryages 3–7has a nursery classOfsted: School remains Goodinspected May 2022 0.7 miles
- The Edith Borthwick School ages 3–19has a nursery classOfsted: Report cardinspected January 2026 0.8 miles
- John Ray Junior School Primaryages 7–11Ofsted: Standards maintainedinspected March 2025 1.0 miles
- John Ray Infant School Primaryages 2–7has a nursery classOfsted: School remains Goodinspected November 2019 1.0 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 Step Start Nurseries Braintree's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Step Start Nurseries Braintree Good at its inspection on 12 January 2023, before report cards replaced single grades in November 2025.
How many children can Step Start Nurseries Braintree take?
Step Start Nurseries Braintree is registered with Ofsted for up to 75 children at any one time.
What is the nearest station to Step Start Nurseries Braintree?
Braintree is the nearest station we know of, 0.4 miles away in a straight line.
How do I contact Step Start Nurseries Braintree?
You can call 01376 402001 and visit www.stepstart.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 2598104 · Plain-text version · Report a mistake
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