Rocking Horse Childcare
Enquire for spaces at Shoebury
Hello, and welcome to Rocking Horse Childcare. We're delighted that you're interested in our nursery. We are a small, family-run nursery that is invested in our families, children and local community. Please feel free to look over our website, social media or, better still, come and see our lovely setting in action.
As an accredited Healthy Early Years Setting, we take pride in our safe and nurturing rooms, outdoor learning experiences such as beach schools and engaging activities including qualified yoga and dance sessions. Our commercial kitchen features an in-house chef preparing delicious home-cooked meals. Wondering if we're the right fit for your family?
What Our Families Say
Don't just take our word for it — see what our wonderful families have to say about their experience with us:
“The top 2 reasons for me choosing ROCKING horse childcare were how on point the safeguarding is and the delicious home-cooked meals they receive. Knowing my son is safe, well-fed, and cared for gives me enormous peace of mind. The dance, yoga sessions, and other activities are also a much-welcomed bonus.”
Ant
Parent / Guardian
“We are very lucky to have found Rocking Horse to look after our baby. They are professional, knowledgeable, and the level of passion they show for building a nurturing environment for children is impressive. It's obvious to us that the management as well as the practitioners, truly care about childcare. Children also benefit from cooked-from-scratch nutritious meals, which we get updated about every day via the app.”
Ant
Parent / Guardian
“Nurturing curiosity, confidence, and creativity through nature and play.”
Beach Schools • Healthy Eating • Froebelian PrinciplesOur Vision & Aims
Our vision is to provide a safe, stimulating, and nurturing environment through high quality care where all children thrive. Our setting works closely with our community, local agencies, and families to ensure children are supported, cared for, and grow into happy, confident, and successful individuals.
We follow a child-centred approach with a curriculum closely linked to Froebelian principles, where we instil a lifelong love of learning and creativity, whilst ensuring that each child's well-being remains central to everything we do.
Our Guiding Aims
Equal Opportunities for All
Providing equal opportunities for all, allowing every single child in our care the opportunity to thrive and excel.
Safe & Supported Families
Working closely with families, staff, and community so children feel safe and supported both in nursery and at home.
Valued, Highly-Trained Staff
Ensuring all staff feel valued with regular continual professional development to maintain the highest quality care.
Nurturing Positive Relationships
Prioritising and nurturing positive, trusting relationships between children, educators, and families.
Essential Life Skills
Supporting children in developing independent thinking, communication, imagination, creativity, and self-regulation.
Multi-Agency Collaboration
Establishing strong multi-agency links, active networking, and sharing exemplary childcare practices.
Adaptive & Child-Centred
Adapting flexibly to the evolving needs of children based on community dynamics and government initiatives.
Eco-Friendly Planet Ethos
Building a solid understanding of environmental challenges and adopting eco-friendly habits to protect our children's future.
Froebelian Play Ethos
Valuing the profound importance of play with an ethos of interaction rather than interference, fostering deep engagement.
Enabling Environments
Ensuring our indoor and outdoor environments are always enabling, facilitating curiosity, exploration, and adventure.
Our Values
Our WE ROCK core values are at the heart of everything we do:
We feel safe, happy, and comfortable in every setting.
We are engaged in activities and have fun while learning.
A culture of tolerance, understanding, and equality.
Rich experiences to explore, discover, and grow.
Tools to express, share, and receive information openly.
Caring for ourselves, our peers, and the environment.
“Every child deserves the best possible start in life and support to fulfil their potential.”
Outdoor Play • Passionate Educators • Stimulating EnvironmentsAbout Us
Rocking Horse Childcare is a family-run day nursery in the heart of Southend. We are a mother and daughter team, from childminding and teaching backgrounds, with over 40 years of experience in Early Years, between us. We are passionate, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable about children’s care, learning, and development. Having gained years of experience individually, we attended University together and both gained our BA (Hons) in Early Years Education. Since then, Lisa (Owner and Mother) went on to open a childminding business that becomes the start of the Rocking Horse Childcare nursery journey. Whilst Aimée (Manager and Daughter), continued in education, completing a QTS and PGCE, gaining valuable experience teaching children in Primary School.
Our staff strive to ensure that environments are enabling for all children that attend. They do this through carefully planning and arranging the space to meet the needs of the children. By following the key-person approach, staff build positive relationships with their key-children and families to better support learning and development and provide consistency. We recognise that every child is unique, and our dedicated team of staff works closely with our SENDCo (Special Educational Needs and Development Coordinator), ENCo (Equality Needs Coordinator), Family Liaison Coordinator and local agencies, including the setting health visitor, to ensure the children and families receive the best possible support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have questions about our nursery, sessions, or daily routines? Find answers to our most common questions below: