Little Earthworms

Vegetable growing, resident chickens and regular Forest School sessions give Little Earthworms a clear outdoor identity. Nature is part of the learning here: children handle natural materials, care for plants and explore outdoor spaces through the seasons. For parents who want early education built around practical experiences, those details carry more weight than a broad promise of learning through play.

At its July 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated Little Earthworms Good and found safeguarding effective, with effective SEND support through individual plans and collaboration with families and professionals. The nursery has capacity for 45 children, from birth to five, at 387 Ditchling Road in Brighton. Its offer spans baby care, toddler play and preparation for school, with an additional smaller-group learning space for older children.

Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings sit alongside specific term-time funded patterns. The important choice is between those attendance arrangements, rather than opening hours alone.

Rooms and Ages

Butterfly Room is designed for babies, combining sensory play and early movement and communication with attention to each child's feeding and sleep routines. The emphasis is on a day shaped around the youngest children, rather than expecting babies to follow the same timetable as older children.

Stars Room supports toddlers through creative play, language activities and physical coordination as they begin sharing resources and building friendships. These are practical steps towards independence: communicating a need and managing play alongside another child matter as much as completing an activity.

Rainbow Room brings together early number work, literacy, problem-solving and outdoor learning through both child-chosen and organised activities. Sunshine Room, an additional space within Rainbow Room, uses smaller groups for listening, taking turns, early writing and recognising numbers. That extra space gives school preparation a concrete form beyond a general promise of readiness.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and development, covering children's communication, physical development, relationships and early understanding of subjects such as literacy and mathematics. In everyday terms, play, conversation and practical activity are ways to learn, with staff observing what a child can do and planning what comes next.

Forest School adds regular sessions in woodland and other outdoor spaces, with exploration continuing in different weather conditions. Vegetable patches bring a separate practical strand: children plant and learn about food's origins. Caring for living things, reusing materials and handling natural resources connect the nursery's environmental approach to things children can actually do.

In July 2024, stories and singing featured throughout the day. Babies explored textured books with staff, while older children returned to a book of the month and used unfamiliar vocabulary in their play. Staff also joined children's pretend games and developed ideas drawn from experiences such as going to the doctor. The value was in conversation around the activity, rather than the activity alone.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden play offered room for children's own ideas in July 2024: staff helped them assemble equipment, compost and water to make mud cakes. This was a useful example of adults extending an interest that children had initiated.

The annual events include Spring Farm Visit, Summer Fair and Children in Need Fundraising. Environmental walks also take place locally when possible. Together, these give children experiences beyond their room, while preserving the difference between a recurring event and an outing that depends on circumstances.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who follows their development and wellbeing. Two settling-in periods are offered, with flexibility to change the arrangement around the child's needs. Families also receive pictures of the relevant staff and room before their child starts, making the new setting more familiar before attendance begins.

Communication has several routes. Parents can use a daily diary, speak with the key person or approach a room leader, the SENCO or management; email and telephone contact are also options. That gives families a way to raise a concern between more formal discussions, rather than saving everything for a meeting.

Weekly observations feed into the Development Matters tracker every four months. This is a tool for following development and informing the next steps in learning; completed trackers can be shared with parents. When observations indicate a difficulty, the key person involves the SENCO and the family in discussing assessment and support. Parents have a role in planning, rather than simply receiving an update afterwards.

In July 2024, staff adjusted routines when children needed something different, including bringing lunch forward for a tired child. They also supplied individual activity packs for use at home and helped children manage strong feelings through calm guidance. These examples show what responsive care looked like at that visit.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Support can include a Targeted Plan, with specific developmental aims agreed with parents. Referrals to outside agencies and requests for guidance from a local inclusion teacher require parental consent. The nursery can work with health visitors, speech and language services and other therapy teams, so the support plan can draw on expertise beyond the room team.

THRIVE is among the possible support routes, addressing emotional wellbeing and social skills. In July 2024, staff used picture prompts and simple signs to help children express choices and join activities. These are concrete adaptations to participation, rather than a general statement that every child receives the same experience.

Accessibility needs careful attention. One entrance is wheelchair accessible, and the ground floor has adapted changing and toilet facilities for children using wheelchairs or walkers. The upper floor cannot be reached independently by wheelchair, while the outdoor area is accessible and can be adjusted through equipment and resources. A family's room allocation therefore matters as much as access through the entrance.

School transition includes sharing a child profile with parental permission, practitioner meetings with schools and invitations for teachers to meet children and their key person. For children with additional needs, learning plans and relevant support documents accompany the move, with further meetings involving the SENCO and other professionals where needed. This is preparation and information sharing, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates for 51 weeks, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. That year-round pattern is different from the term-time attendance attached to the funded opt-out arrangements.

The standard full-day booking runs from 8am to 6pm. Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm, and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. The earlier opening time should therefore be distinguished from the start of the standard full-day session.

For families choosing the funded charge opt-out, the 15-hour pattern consists of five afternoons, Monday to Friday, from 1pm to 4pm. The 30-hour pattern runs across five days from 10am to 4pm. Both operate for 38 weeks during term time. These are specific attendance patterns attached to the opt-out, rather than interchangeable versions of the usual morning and afternoon bookings.

Four weeks' written notice is requested when leaving or changing sessions. For children outside EYFE funded places, a refundable deposit is returned within a month of starting, and a non-refundable enrolment charge covers administration; neither charge applies to children taking an EYFE funded place. Enquiries can be made by telephone or through the contact form.

Getting There

The address is 387 Ditchling Road, Brighton, BN1 6NF, near Fiveways, with road connections via the A27 and A23. Preston Park train station is a short walk away.

Funding and Paid Extras

Early years free entitlement places are offered for eligible children. Funded hours can be booked as standalone sessions or combined with longer attendance, with additional hours paid for privately. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

For funded sessions with the consumable charge, food and non-food supplies are charged separately from the entitlement: the food provision follows a three-week menu covering breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks, and the supplies include nappies, wipes and sun cream. Families choosing the charge opt-out provide their child's meals, drinks and snacks under the packed-lunch policy, along with daily supplies of nappies, wipes and sun cream.

The opt-out also excludes the enhanced activities and resources covered by that charge. Its cost structure and attendance restrictions need to be considered together: removing the charge changes both what families supply and the hours their child attends. The funding information sets out these arrangements.

• Group learning and individual next steps. In July 2024, some organised activities involved groups too large for every child to see or receive sufficient help, and staff did not consistently connect activities with each child's next learning steps. During a visit, ask how group size and individual planning work now, including in Sunshine Room.
• Funded opt-out timetable. The charge-free option uses five-day, term-time patterns, with parents supplying food and consumables and foregoing the enhanced provision covered by the charge. Compare that arrangement with the usual morning, afternoon and full-day bookings before choosing it.
• Access to the right room. Adapted facilities are on the ground floor, while the upper floor is inaccessible to wheelchair users except through carrying by staff. Families with mobility requirements should discuss room allocation and movement around the building during a visit.

Little Earthworms suits families drawn to outdoor learning with tangible daily content: planting vegetables, exploring natural materials and regular Forest School sessions. Baby routines and toddler development have their own room emphasis, while Sunshine Room gives older children a separate space for smaller-group school preparation.

It serves families seeking full-day attendance as well as those wanting morning or afternoon sessions, with a further choice of tightly defined term-time funded opt-out patterns. The main decisions are how that timetable fits family life, whether the food and supply arrangements suit, and how individual learning and group participation are managed following the July 2024 improvement points.