Little Explorers, Crawley Day Nursery & Pre-school

Train tracks adapted to children's interests, books chosen by babies and a role-play corner with cooking utensils from different countries give this Worth Road nursery its character in August 2023. These are useful details: they show how familiar play can become an opportunity to explore something new.

Ofsted rated Little Explorers, Crawley Day Nursery & Pre-school Good on 17 August 2023. It has 42 places in total and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. Morning, afternoon and full-day sessions give families different ways to organise attendance.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means education and everyday care belong together: conversation, play and growing independence are part of learning, rather than separate from it.

In August 2023, practitioners built activities around what interested individual children. For younger children who enjoyed trains, they changed track layouts and introduced structures to extend the play. The starting point was something the children already wanted to do. Changing the materials then gave them something fresh to investigate.

Books also featured in the August 2023 day. Babies and younger children selected them independently or shared them with an adult, while children joined in with stories. This gave conversation a concrete starting point and brought listening into an activity children could choose for themselves.

The same visit recorded home-language words and resources representing children's backgrounds. A role-play corner included cooking utensils and dishes from China and India. These physical objects made different cultures part of children's play, rather than leaving them as an abstract topic.

Outdoor and Community Life

In August 2023, children spent time outside and had opportunities for active play. Mealtime conversations included food preferences and healthy eating. Together, those experiences connected movement and food with children's everyday routines.

There were also limits to adult practice at that date. Some conversations moved on before children had enough thinking time, and adults sometimes poured drinks or removed shoes when children could attempt those tasks themselves. The practical distinction matters: an activity can be well planned while still leaving too little room for a child's own response.

At the August 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, children making good progress, and personalised support working well for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those learning English as an additional language. Those are dated judgements, rather than assurances about today's practice.

In August 2023, the key-person arrangements included detailed handovers when responsibility for a child changed. Where possible, a familiar practitioner accompanied children moving to an older age group. For a family, that continuity matters because a room change need not also mean starting again with an unfamiliar adult.

Medical and dietary information was shared across the team in August 2023. Staff with responsibility for SEND worked with external agencies where appropriate, and personalised plans were communicated between practitioners. The useful mechanism here was shared knowledge: support did not depend solely on one adult remembering a child's needs.

Parent communication and preparation for school transitions were also part of the August 2023 arrangements. Parents were encouraged to contribute to the setting's development, and systems covered transitions and the developmental progress check for two-year-olds. These provided opportunities to connect nursery care with the child's next stage.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 102 Worth Road, Crawley, RH10 7DU. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing on bank holidays and between Christmas and New Year.

Morning sessions run from 7.30am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 5.30pm, and full days from 7.30am to 5.30pm. An end-of-day add-on runs from 5.30pm to 6pm. The separate add-on matters when comparing the standard full day with the time a family actually needs covered.

Enquiries can be made by telephone on 01293 384144. A Crawley tour-booking option is also provided.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 Hours Free Entitlement during school terms for three- and four-year-olds, with specified morning or afternoon attendance patterns. It also offers 30 Hours Free Entitlement for working families, organised through specified combinations of sessions. These arrangements make the attendance pattern part of the funding decision, rather than simply a choice of total hours.

For privately paid attendance, meals are included, alongside disposable supplies including nappies, nappy cream, milk and sun cream. Meals during free-entitlement hours attract a separate charge. Families therefore need to distinguish the private-session package from the funded-hours arrangement.

Charges are billed monthly in advance. First-time enrolment carries a one-off registration charge, and a deposit equivalent to a fortnight's fees is requested once the enrolment form has been submitted and the required hours confirmed. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Thinking time and independence. The August 2023 improvement points concerned allowing children longer to answer and letting them attempt everyday tasks themselves. On a visit, ask how practitioners now handle questions, drinks and shoes.
• Funded attendance patterns. Funding is tied to specified session combinations, and funded meals cost extra. Ask for a written breakdown matching your intended days and hours, including the treatment of disposable supplies during funded hours.
• The later finish. The standard full day ends at 5.30pm; care until 6pm is a separate add-on. Include that distinction when comparing the package with your working day.

Little Explorers suits families considering morning sessions, afternoon attendance or full days, with a separate later finish where needed. Its August 2023 account gives substance to interest-led play through trains, books and culturally varied role-play materials. The dated Good judgement supports that picture, while the improvement points make adult patience and children's independence useful priorities for a visit. Funding and private attendance have different meal arrangements, so the right comparison is the complete package for the hours your family needs.