Small Friends Day Nursery

15 Rectory Grove, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 2HA
Review Us
9.9 64 Reviews
  • Small Friends Day Nursery, Leigh-on-Sea
Conveniently located in Leigh-on-Sea, Small Friends Day Nursery provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere designed to support your child’s growth, learning, and play. The nursery offers exceptional care, enriched by unique learning opportunities for your child. One such experience is child-friendly cooking classes, helping to equip children with valuable skills and deeper knowledge of the cooking process.

The ethos at Small Friends is around the child’s happiness and wellbeing. The four large nursery rooms are complemented by a nursery garden and a beach house, which is dedicated to investigation and creativity through small parts play.

The home from home setting means that relationships play an important role at Small Friends; between the team and the children as well as between the children and their friends. They have four large playrooms, a garden and a beach house for the children to play and explore.

The children often visit the Old Leigh Beach, to further enrich their learning experiences. These outings offer the children a unique opportunity for exploration, sensory play, and fostering a love for the outdoors. It also gives the children the chance to further their social skills, build confidence, and encourage curiosity as they discover the natural world.
Show Small Friends Day Nursery on the Map

Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Julie Rayner (Nursery Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 15

Total Places for Children

  • 60

Age Range

  • from 2 years 0 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Funding & Fees

  • Full Day Session £90.30

  • A £100 non-refundable registration fee is required to secure a place. Exact days of attendance should be confirmed no later than 6 weeks prior to the child’s start date. Any changes are subject to availability.

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:30
    Tuesday 07:30-18:30
    Wednesday 07:30-18:30
    Thursday 07:30-18:30
    Friday 07:30-18:30

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays & Christmas

Parking

  • Local car parks near as well as off street parking available.

Small Friends Day Nursery Reviews (64)

9.9

Small Friends Day Nursery has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.872) out of 10, based on 15 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Small Friends Day Nursery has 64 reviews.

Overall Experience
  • 60
  • 4
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Date Published
  • 64
  • 4
  • 7
  • 15
  • 49
Reviewer Connection to Small Friends Day Nursery
  • 59
  • 5
Total of 64, showing 61-64
Review from Liz T (Mother of Child) published on 24 February 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Lovely, caring nursery.
Super clean and new facilities.
Nice space with outdoor facilities and lots of rooms to engage the children.
All the carers are great with the children.
Every day they do activities.
Online updates daily.
My two have been very happy there!
Highly recommend.
  • Facilities / Outside Space
  • Learning
  • Resources / Equipment / ICT
  • Care
  • Activities
  • Staff
  • Food / Nutrition
  • Management
  • Cleanliness
  • Safeguarding
  • Value for Money
Review from Gemma D (Mother of Child) published on 23 February 2021 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Small Friends staff have been exceptional.
We can always rely on personal feedback for our child and have seen an extremely positive change within him.
Small Friends staff go above and beyond to ensure your child has the attention they need. They work closely to ensure they’re developing and growing
at their best abilities.
I feel very confident leaving my child for the day, and I know I will be picking up a very happy, content child at the end of each nursery day.
  • Facilities / Outside Space
  • Learning
  • Resources / Equipment / ICT
  • Care
  • Activities
  • Staff
  • Food / Nutrition
  • Management
  • Cleanliness
  • Safeguarding
  • Value for Money
Review from Lauren F (Mother of Child) published on 30 September 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Small Friends is a fantastic nursery. The children are happy, engaged and catered for their individual developmental needs. They form strong bonds with their key workers and other staff members, and friendships with the other children. My twins have made giant steps developmentally at Small Friends,
and I feel 100% confident they are safe and happy there at all times. Communication with the staff is excellent and every staff member is friendly, caring and attentive to both the children's and parents' needs.
  • Facilities / Outside Space
  • Learning
  • Resources / Equipment / ICT
  • Care
  • Activities
  • Staff
  • Food / Nutrition
  • Management
  • Cleanliness
  • Safeguarding
  • Value for Money
Review from Jenna P (Mother of Child) published on 4 August 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son joined the nursery approximately a year ago when he turned two, and choosing Small Friends was one of the best decisions we could have made for both his happiness and development. The nursery itself is bright, airy, and clean. It is welcoming, colourful, and treated with care and respect. The
staff are just incredible. Even when it is busy, they are more than willing to stop and chat about the day and what he has been getting up to. The fact that my son is almost begging to go to nursery each day is a testament to how well he is looked after and how much fun he has. Parents talk about the 'terrible twos' and it's fair to say that I am experiencing it first hand. The staff have always been willing to give me guidance, give me tips to try at home, and keep me well informed of what he needs to work on. He is turning into a clever and conscientious child, who loves to sing, and I really do owe it all to Small Friends. I couldn't recommend them more highly.
  • Facilities / Outside Space
  • Learning
  • Resources / Equipment / ICT
  • Care
  • Activities
  • Staff
  • Food / Nutrition
  • Management
  • Cleanliness
  • Safeguarding
  • Value for Money
Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.872)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.872) out of 10 for Small Friends Day Nursery is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 15 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 15 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.872 for Small Friends Day Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (159 Excellents x 5) + (17 Goods x 4) + (3 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 179 Ratings = 4.872
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Small Friends Day Nursery is based on 15 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 60 number of registered child places is 12, which has been reached with 15 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

Loading

Loading Loading

Loading

Loading

Awards / Recognitions (5)

Meet the Team (1)

Julie

Julie Rayner

Job Title: Nursery Manager Joined: 2018

Hello! I'm Julie and I'm the Nursery Manager here at Small Friends Day Nursery.


Small Friends is a wonderful nursery in the heart of Leigh-on-Sea with a highly qualified, dedicated, and caring staff.


Our friendly team will support and encourage your child to learn, develop and flourish whilst in our care


We look forward to welcoming you to our nursery!

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Small Friends Day Nursery to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Small Friends Day Nursery has an Enhanced Service - more info.