Oaklea Montessori

About this day nursery

Oaklea Montessori in Colchester provides a nurturing and stimulating environment for children aged 0-5 years, operating as an accredited Community Interest Company where any surplus is reinvested into the community. The nursery focuses on a homely atmosphere with an open-door policy, emphasising strong partnerships with families to support children's learning journeys.

They are deeply committed to the Montessori approach, allowing children to learn at their own pace through individual or small group activities. The indoor spaces are designed to be calming with natural materials, complemented by outdoor areas for rich learning experiences.

They also implement vertical age grouping, which helps older children build confidence by assisting younger ones, and allows younger children to learn from their older peers. Nutritional needs are met with morning and afternoon snacks, daily hot meals, and optional breakfast and tea, with all dietary requirements catered for.

Parents receive regular feedback on their child’s development through Celebration Evenings and the ParentZone app, and the nursery encourages community experiences.

Our ethos

Oaklea Montessori CIC is committed to the Montessori approach, enabling children aged 0-5 to learn at their own pace through individual or small group activities. They foster a homely atmosphere with an open-door policy and strong family partnerships, utilising natural materials indoors and outdoors. Vertical age grouping is employed to promote peer learning and confidence-building. As a Community Interest Company, surplus is reinvested into the community.

What it's like

Children are warmly welcomed by happy staff who have a good knowledge of them and what they need to achieve. Staff provide a broad range of learning opportunities within an ambitious curriculum, covering all areas of learning and delivering the principles of Montessori teaching. Children are keen and eager learners, making good progress from their starting points and demonstrating good behaviour due to the high expectations and supportive role models provided by staff.

Pricing & funding

This nursery charges hourly rates tiered across four different age groups, from babies up to school-aged children. Meals are billed separately as daily add-ons. There are also voluntary consumables and snack charges applied to funded core sessions.