Little Lambs Kindergarten

A pond, a sheltered outdoor Barn and a Secret Garden give Little Lambs Kindergarten its character. Children can follow planting from seed to harvest, investigate pond life and use outdoor spaces for making, movement and imaginative play. Nature is part of the daily offer here, rather than an occasional change of scene.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall, found safeguarding effective and identified effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). That judgement sits alongside specific improvements required for younger children: more purposeful mealtime routines and interactions that take their learning further. Both matter when choosing care for a toddler.

The Hove setting has 40 places in total. Its nursery booking arrangements cover children under five, alongside out-of-school and holiday care for older children up to 11. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings provide different ways to use the setting; the practical detail sits below.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the foundation: play supports development across the areas of learning. Children's interests shape activities and their setting, with outdoors used throughout the day.

Alongside that framework, the Curiosity Approach inspires the curriculum. Children choose how to explore open-ended natural materials; practitioners extend their ideas through conversation and shared thinking, beyond predetermined tasks.

Adult-led workshops add another kind of experience. Woodwork introduces tools and consideration of risk; creative exploration in the atelier gives children opportunities to express ideas through materials and different media. Music and movement also feature. These activities sit alongside planning that responds to children's interests, rather than replacing it.

In February 2023, practical exploration included observing frog spawn, building with tools and collaborating over buckets moved using pulleys. Younger children used sticks and string for imaginative garden play, while sandcastle building introduced words about size and quantity. Those examples show how an ordinary material can support several kinds of learning: language, coordination, problem solving and cooperation.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest kindergarten combines outdoor exploration with practical activities and consideration of risk. The Secret Garden hosts many of these sessions, with activities assessed for the participating children, the weather and the task. The offer runs across the seasons, so outdoor learning is not restricted to fine weather.

The Vegetable Patch makes growing tangible. Children take part in the process from planting to picking fruit and vegetables, giving them a direct connection between care, change and the eventual crop. The Pond offers a different sort of investigation, with newts, frogs and tadpoles among the creatures children can discover during spring, summer and autumn.

The Barn brings shelter to outdoor woodcraft, planting, examining pond-dipping discoveries and creative activity, extending play beyond the uncovered garden.

Free-flow gardens extend indoor provision year round. A water wall, sandpits, mud kitchens, treehouse with slide and trike and scooter area combine close investigation with physical play, giving outdoors-minded families plenty to consider.

Relationships and Communication

Settling visits with a parent and an optional home visit extend the introduction beyond one appointment. Familiar surroundings can help staff understand a child's routines and interests.

In February 2023, babies received help from adults who knew them well. Staff encouraged independent eating, offered gentle assistance and responded to early words by repeating and developing what babies said. These were small, everyday interactions, with care and communication happening together.

Communication uses Famly, the nursery's app, including permissions and photographs connected with children's development. In February 2023, parents also received spoken updates alongside online information. For families, that combination offers both a conversation about the day and a way to keep track of information afterwards.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that the manager and SENCo coordinated with outside professionals and used inclusion funding to target support, including staff assistance in the sensory room and attention to speech and language. The important detail is the mechanism: support involved identified adults, external expertise and resources matched to children's needs.

The enrolment process gathers information about medical needs and professionals already involved with a child. Parents are asked for permission for the keyworker, SEND manager or nursery managers to communicate with those professionals, with families kept informed. This provides a route for sharing an existing support plan rather than expecting a parent to explain it afresh in every conversation.

Hot lunch and teatime meals are optional, separately charged extras; families can bring food instead. The packed-lunch policy excludes nuts and nut-containing products, and lunches from home are not reheated. Parents supply nappies, wipes and sealed formula where needed, as well as labelled sun cream and nappy cream, so these items remain part of the family's preparation for nursery.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 131a Stapley Road, Hove, BN3 7FG. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the Famly enquiry form.

For nursery children, the morning session runs from 9am to noon and the afternoon from noon to 3pm. A teatime block covers 3pm to 6pm, while the full-day booking runs from 7.30am to 6pm. Earlier options include a breakfast block from 7.30am to 9am and Early Doors from 8.45am to 9am. Hourly bookings and combinations of blocks give families another way to build their attendance pattern.

Term-time attendance covers 38 weeks, alongside 50-week bookings and a 47.5-week stretched option. Families can match school terms or spread funded hours through holidays.

School-age arrangements include care before and after school and holiday bookings. Holiday club excludes the Christmas closure, bank holidays and staff training days. The contract requires advance booking and payment for extra hours, normally at least 24 hours beforehand, so occasional extensions need planning.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible families can use funded hours either during term time or stretched across the year. The funding arrangements cover two-year-old early learning, universal provision for three- and four-year-olds, and working-family entitlement. Funding paperwork includes a parental declaration, and eligibility codes must remain valid and be reconfirmed every three months where required.

The funding and fees page allows funded-hours-only attendance without extra charges. Purchased meals and snacks are optional for funded bookings, with the alternative of bringing food; a donation towards the snack bowl is requested. For private bookings, session snacks are included, while hot lunch and teatime meals are separately charged options. Families supply the non-food consumables described above.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. There is a registration charge covering place reservation and a T-shirt, wet-bag and personalised tote bag; if a child starts and the family declines those items on enrolment, the charge is refunded one month after starting. Withdrawal requires one calendar month's written notice, and reducing sessions also requires a month's notice, making these terms relevant when planning a change of attendance.

• Younger children's routines. In February 2023, toddlers spent too long waiting for lunch, and some interactions stopped before extending their learning sufficiently. During a visit, ask how mealtimes and staff support now address those two points.
• Outdoor participation. Forest kindergarten includes activities assessed for weather, individual needs and the task. Discuss how your child would take part in the Secret Garden and practical tool activities, including any adjustments they need.
• Food and allergies. Purchased meals are optional, and food brought from home must follow the nursery's packed-lunch rules. Allergy-affected families should confirm current food handling and the arrangements for their child's diet before booking.
• Settling and visits. An appointment precedes enrolment, followed by settling visits and an optional home visit. Recording devices must be left at home or stored in the office during a visit; use the appointment to discuss the settling sequence that would work for your child.

Little Lambs suits families who want everyday outdoor exploration alongside play shaped by children's interests. The Vegetable Patch, Pond and Barn give that approach substance, while morning and afternoon sessions, full-day bookings and term-time or stretched attendance accommodate different family routines.

The February 2023 judgement provides a positive inspection position, with specific reservations about younger children's teaching interactions and mealtime organisation. Those are useful points to test at a visit. For parents drawn to practical making, seasonal discovery and an introduction that can include home visits, this is a nursery with a clear character and several ways to fit childcare around the week.