Jelly Beans Montessori is a family of three award-winning nursery and preschool settings in Hockley, Essex — each with its own character, all sharing the same Montessori values.
Outstanding early years education across three unique settings in the heart of Hockley.
Every setting follows genuine Montessori principles — child-led learning, prepared environments and highly trained educators.
From our cosy baby room to woodland adventures, choose the setting that best fits your child and family.
Our Nursery and Open Air settings are open 50 weeks, giving working families the flexibility and consistency they need.
Over 20 years of serving families in Hockley. All settings rated OFSTED Good, with Open Air Collaborative Montessori Accredited.
Sarah Drummond founded Jelly Beans in 2004 with a simple but powerful vision: to give every child in Hockley access to authentic Montessori education in a warm, nurturing environment.
Over 20 years later, that vision has grown into three thriving settings — our Nursery, Open Air Pre School and Pre School — each with its own character but all sharing the same Jelly Beans values of respect, independence and joy in learning.
Meet the TeamEach setting is unique. All are Jelly Beans.
Our baby and toddler setting for children aged 0–3, housed in the Catholic Church building on Southend Road. Baby room and Toddler room with a focus on attachment, sensory exploration and language development.
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Outdoor Montessori learning in all weathers at our beautiful wooded setting at Hockley Primary. Forest adventures, mud kitchen, den building and adventure play all year round.
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Our cosy, homely preschool at Plumberow Primary Academy — the smallest and quietest of our settings. Free flow indoor-outdoor learning, wendy house, bikes and a wonderful transition to primary school.
Learn more →Maria Montessori's philosophy, brought to life across three unique settings in Hockley.
Real-world activities like pouring, sweeping, dressing and food preparation build concentration, coordination, independence and a sense of order.
Carefully designed sensory materials help children classify and understand the world — refining sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell.
Rich storytelling, songs, conversation and phonics-based materials build vocabulary, comprehension and early literacy in a natural, joyful way.
Concrete, hands-on materials make abstract mathematical concepts tangible — children literally hold and feel numbers, quantities and relationships.
Geography, science, history, art and music broaden children's understanding of the world and their place in it — fostering wonder and respect.
Hear from the families who trust us with their most precious people.
Jelly Beans Nursery is simply wonderful. The team are so warm and attentive, our daughter absolutely loves it there.
Parent, Jelly Beans Nursery
The Open Air setting is unlike anything I've seen. My son comes home muddy and absolutely beaming every single day.
Parent, Open Air Pre School
Such a friendly, caring preschool. The Montessori approach really works — our daughter is so independent and confident now.
Parent, Jelly Beans Pre School