St Nicholas Church Preschool

"This playgroup is amazing. Two of my three children have gone here and i wish my first child had too. The staff are so friendly and smiley. The place is managed very efficiently. It doesnt have a "business" feel when you communicate with staff, like some other nurseries ie. it doesnt seem like theyre trying to extract money from you at all times. They are so affectionate with the children. All staff know all childrens names (this is a big deal as ive had a nursery call my son by two different names in one school report!) My daughter is SO happy to go here that she is upset if she isnt in nursery on a given day. She has had no accidents as she feels so confident. They encourage a healthy snack. My daughter has learnt her animal noises and is singing xmas songs at the top of her lungs all day now. Thank you to Jess and her team. You are doing a fantastic job!"

"I love this playgroup. My child loves going to playgroup, so much so that I hardly get a goodbye in the morning as he is so eager to get in there. All the staff are very friendly and very approachable and if you need to talk to them about your child they always make time for you. I have never had a problem with different clothes etc. If your child gets dirty then they will get changed into spare clothing and will give you your child's clothes and return the playgroups clothes which is not a problem at all. My son is a lot more talkative since going to playschool and is learning alot thank you to the wonderful staff. They have a playgroup site so you can see pictures of your own children while at playschool which is great. I cannot fault this playgroup at all and I am very glad I chose st Nicholas playgroup."

"After reading one of the reviews on here I'm a little shocked and upset on how this school has been perceived. When my child joined he was a very shy child and had problems interacting with other children. The first couple of sessions he cried as this was the first time I left him without myself present. He settled quickly as the staff were very professional and fantastic at their job, this is such a big relief for a parent for leaving their child with other adults and children. I was still potty training my 3 year old as I struggle at home for sometime so I ask I staff for help and advice as I was worried I was doing something wrong. Within a week my child was dry. I can not thanks the staff enough for all their effort they put into this. I never clothed my child in expensive clothes as like all children, they love to play together in different activities and can get their clothes dirty from sand, water and paint (a sign a child is having fun and filling their day up with lots of different activities) my child was also a little behind in speech, this was picked up straight away with the pre school due their knowledge and years of experience arranged for speech therapy. The staff were great with the children and the parents too. We was always kept informed on any concerns and the day to day activities. The year my child was there at preschool I saw a dramatic change of my child confidence. I know 100% as I know my own child that the preschool have help with this. If it wasn't for them I don't think my child would have walked into the first day of reception without a single tear and settle so quickly. Thankyou so much to Dawn and the team. I truly don't think you get enough credit for all your hard work. I rate this school more then 5 stars. Thankyou"

"The pre-school is just a church hall. It is not equipped like a school should be. The children are allowed out in all weathers. There is no encouragement to learn or even any food supplied. The children have to bring their own food. The children are never asked about going to the toilet. A stark difference from other excellent pre-schools in Hornchurch/Brentwood. On many occasions our then 3 year old would come home wearing some other child's underwear, call me old fashioned but this is not acceptable. I had put clean underwear in her bag but they were too lazy to get it out of her bag - I asked them quite a few times to ensure she was asked if she needed to use the toilet but unfortunately their inexperience shined through. I even told them how to do a toilet train as they do in the more experienced pre-schools but to no avail. Many times our little girl would come home wearing what I could only call tramp worn out clothes. Some of her lovely expensive clothes that were taken off of her were never returned. On one occasion they had the nerve to say her underwear was too small! They should have taken a look around at some of the clothes worn by the other children. The underwear in question is what they were putting on her. My rating for this awful place is one Star although I would say a minus no Star to be more correct. If you want the best for your child find an alternative pre-school with more experienced staff not just a group of not very good childminders."