Ofsted report card

The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd

West Mersea, COLCHESTER · CO5 8JB

Inspected by Ofsted on 4 February 2026 under the report card framework.

Curriculum and teaching Strong Standard
Achievement Strong Standard
Behaviour and routines Strong Standard
Welfare and wellbeing Strong Standard
Inclusion Strong Standard
Leadership and governance Strong Standard

What each grade means

Each area is judged separately. Expected standard is the bar every provider has to clear — meeting it is the pass, not a mediocre result.

Curriculum and teaching

Strong Standard

Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.

Achievement

Strong Standard

Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.

Behaviour and routines

Strong Standard

Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.

Welfare and wellbeing

Strong Standard

Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.

Inclusion

Strong Standard

Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.

Leadership and governance

Strong Standard

Clearly better than the expected standard in this area, though not exceptional.

Registration

Ofsted URN
EY479688
Provider type
Childcare on Non-Domestic Premises, Full day care
Ages
0 to 4
Registered places
30
Registered since
30 July 2014
Local authority
Essex

On the Early Years Register and the Compulsory Childcare Register and the Voluntary Childcare Register.

Where it is

West Mersea, COLCHESTER · CO5 8JB. Location from the Ofsted register.

Inspection history

Inspections before November 2025 gave one overall rating rather than grading each area.

  1. 3 March 2020 inspection Outstanding
  2. 12 July 2016 inspection Outstanding

Common questions

When was The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd last inspected by Ofsted? +

The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd in West Mersea, COLCHESTER was last inspected on 4 February 2026. That inspection used Ofsted's report card framework, which replaced single-word overall ratings for early years settings in November 2025.

What did Ofsted say about The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd? +

Ofsted graded 6 areas: curriculum and teaching — Strong Standard; achievement — Strong Standard; behaviour and routines — Strong Standard; welfare and wellbeing — Strong Standard; inclusion — Strong Standard; leadership and governance — Strong Standard. Each area is judged separately, so a setting can be stronger in one than another.

Is "expected standard" a good grade? +

Yes. Expected standard is the bar every provider has to clear, so meeting it is the pass rather than a mediocre result. Strong standard and exceptional sit above it; needs attention and urgent improvement sit below.

What ages does The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd take? +

The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd is registered for children aged 0 to 4.

How many children can The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd take? +

The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd is registered for up to 30 children at any one time. That is a registration limit, not the number currently attending.

How long has The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd been registered? +

The Mulberry Bush Montessori Nursery Ltd has been registered with Ofsted since 30 July 2014. Its unique reference number (URN) is EY479688.

Nearby settings

Inspection and registration information is published by Ofsted and reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Little Bees is not affiliated with Ofsted. The grade descriptions are our plain-English summaries of where each grade sits against the standard, not Ofsted's own criteria.

Run this setting and think something here is wrong or out of date? Tell us — we will correct it, or remove the page.