Your experiences/recommen dations for preschools, nurseries near Upminster, Brentwood, Chelmsford please

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Does anyone have recommendations for preschools in or near Brentwood or Upminster

DD is 2 yr 3 mnths and has just started in a local montessori for 3 hrs a day.

However, we are looking to move to either Upminster or Brentwood soon on a more permanent basis and wanted to factor in school in the process. And considering some places in Kent too.

DD is our first child and moreover, I didn't do my schooling in UK. So, the whole spectrum of school admissions here is new to me.

My initial inclination is for private schools, if not for anything else, for the teacher-student ratio. Having said that, I also wonder how much a 3 yr old actually stands to gain from a private school as opposed to a state school.

I want to stay clear of hot-housing too.

If some of you can please share your thoughts and recommendations, I'd be very grateful.