Little Teddies Nursery

Two fields for outdoor exploration and a Tiny Room for the youngest babies give Little Teddies Nursery its character. This Basildon setting combines individual baby routines with a dark sensory room for toddlers and visiting sports coaches for older children.

At its 12 June 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. There were also clear priorities: greater consistency in teaching and a better arrangement of furniture and facilities around lunch and handwashing. Those findings deserve attention alongside the strengths.

Little Teddies accepts children from three months to five years and has capacity for 50 children in total. Its address is 12 Bowlers Croft, Basildon, SS14 3EG. Full-day and half-day bookings give families different attendance options, while funded hours operate during term time.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room covers three months to two years, combining an individual named cupboard, a home corner and sensory or messy activities with an emphasis on communication, physical development and emotional relationships. Within the baby provision, the Tiny Room serves children aged 3–12 months: gentle lighting, music and sensory resources support quieter exploration, and the space also serves as a sleep room. The baby staffing ratio is one adult to three babies, the statutory minimum.

For children aged two to three, the open-plan Toddler Room combines freely accessible resources and a dark sensory room with early number work, language, friendships and independence. The Pre-School Room, described for ages three to four, uses name-writing cards, number flashcards and child-led play to develop early learning and self-care. Its practical tasks include clearing plates and managing coats or shoes, so preparation for school extends beyond table activities.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the common early-years framework, guides learning through play, communication, movement and social development. Reggio Emilia inspiration adds natural materials and resources children can use in different ways, with activities shaped by their interests.

Babies have daily sand and water play. Toddler messy play is daily too, with weekly themes including Winter, People Who Help Us and Under the Sea giving activities a shared subject.

External coaches deliver weekly football and basketball sessions for toddlers. Preschool children receive weekly visits for football or basketball, alongside daily group time about the calendar, weather, celebrations and events. Physical activity therefore has a regular place alongside stories, imaginative play and early writing. The nursery's toddler curriculum gives a useful picture of how themes, outdoor resources and early skills fit together.

Outdoor and Community Life

Toddlers use both fields, with tuff trays, tyres and slides, while preschool children explore nature and hunt for bugs. Babies have garden time and frequent buggy-bus trips across the fields and to the local park, extending their exploration beyond the baby rooms.

In June 2023, children compared container capacities while transferring water, built models and made pretend food in the mud kitchen. Outdoor play gave them practical ways to test ideas.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, selected through the relationship that develops between practitioner and child. For babies, staff follow individual routines and welcome familiar comforts from home. This gives settling a practical starting point: the child's existing habits and relationships shape the transition.

Two settling sessions are free: two hours with a parent for paperwork and key-person introductions, then one hour when a settled child can stay in the room while their parent remains in reception. Further sessions, if needed, are charged.

Famly, the communication app, shares photos, observations, messages and daily information alongside staff's end-of-day updates. Preschool families have regular meetings and termly progress updates; Learning Journey observations and next steps help parents follow development.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged SEND provision very good, describing collaboration with families and professionals, help with funding applications and additional resources chosen for individual children. Current preschool arrangements include a SEN Inclusion Manager working with the council, health professionals and specialists. That is a defined support mechanism, with the child's particular needs as the starting point.

In June 2023, the manager and deputy monitored practice alongside staff, with further team development a priority. Staff backgrounds include degree-level early childhood study and vocational childcare training.

Sleep and hygiene have practical arrangements. Bedding is supplied, and babies use the Tiny Room for rest; prescribed medication requires a completed consent form, with the first dose given at home. After sickness or diarrhoea, children must remain away until 48 hours have passed since the final episode. These terms affect both the nursery routine and parents' contingency planning.

Sessions and Attendance

Open 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, Little Teddies sells full days of 7am–7pm and half days of 7am–1pm, 9am–3pm or 1pm–7pm. Families can choose morning, daytime or afternoon attendance.

Funded attendance can use 9am–3pm, 7am–1pm, 1pm–7pm, 9am–2pm or 7am–5pm; the last pattern allows a maximum of 10 funded hours. Funded hours are term-time only, and care outside term time requires agreement with management and payment. The nursery operates across the year, closing at weekends, on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year.

Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 01268 524 413. A show-around forms part of the joining process, followed by registration paperwork and settling sessions. Changes to booked days or times need advance notice by phone or email so staffing can be arranged.

Getting There

A nursery car park serves collection and drop-off at Bowlers Croft. Its rules require children to remain supervised, drivers to watch their speed and cars to be kept away from the buildings.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15-hour funding for eligible two-year-olds, 15-hour funding for three-year-olds, and 30 hours for eligible children aged nine months to four years. Additional private hours are charged separately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Meals are cooked on site, with a weekly menu displayed and provision for vegetarian and other dietary needs; parents providing food must follow the nursery's policy excluding nuts from food brought in. Meals are included for privately paid full days, whereas funded children can bring a packed lunch or choose separately charged hot lunch and tea.

Parents supply nappies, wipes, cream, sun cream and milk for babies who receive formula or breast milk; the nursery supplies bedding. A non-refundable registration charge, also described in the terms as a deposit, applies to privately paying families and is waived for families receiving government funding. Ending the agreement requires one month's paid written notice, and fees remain payable during bank-holiday and Christmas closures and for sessions missed through illness.

• Routine organisation and teaching. In June 2023, lunch became crowded and unsettled, and younger children passing through the preschool space to wash their hands interrupted activities; greater teaching consistency was also a priority. On a visit, ask how these routines and staff development are organised now.
• Term-time funding and the wider bill. Funded hours operate only in term time, with separately charged meal choices and additional private hours. A written quotation should distinguish those items, closure-period charges and the registration-charge exemption for funded families.
• Baby rest and settling. The Tiny Room combines sensory use with sleep, and additional settling sessions after the two free sessions carry a charge. Ask how its different uses fit your baby's sleep routine and how extra settling time would be planned.
• Dietary arrangements. Food is prepared on site and food brought from home must exclude nuts. Families managing allergies should confirm the current preparation and serving arrangements for their child's specific needs.

Little Teddies suits families seeking full days or half-day patterns, including term-time funded attendance. Fields, buggy-bus outings and sensory spaces give the day variety; key persons and Famly support communication.

Balance its June 2023 Good judgement against the priorities for teaching consistency and everyday routines. Individual baby routines, visiting coaches and older children's self-care are useful reasons to consider it.