Little Heroes Nurseries

Language, hands-on discovery and learning to manage everyday tasks give Little Heroes Nurseries in East Molesey its character. In April 2025, babies practised exchanging sounds with adults, toddlers built with magnetic shapes, and older children explored measurement with rulers. These are small, concrete steps towards communicating and solving problems.

At its 4 April 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised good progress for children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Two improvements matter alongside that judgement: making outdoor teaching more purposeful and giving children more consistent opportunities to do things for themselves.

The Walton Road setting has 72 places in total. Children attending in April 2025 were aged 0 to 4. Full-day and morning or afternoon half-day bookings provide different ways to organise attendance.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday interaction support communication, physical development and growing independence. The most useful detail here is how those ideas translate into activities children can understand.

In April 2025, language work started with adults responding to babies' sounds. For older children, props used to retell We're Going on a Bear Hunt encouraged participation, repeating familiar phrases and anticipating what might happen next. Sound exchanges and storytelling gave children opportunities to practise communication. That gives children reasons to listen and contribute.

Mathematics also had a practical shape. During April 2025, toddlers assembled structures using magnetic shapes, while older children explored measuring with a ruler. Watching chicks hatch, helping care for them and drawing their features connected observation with looking after living things. These examples make the learning tangible: children handled materials, noticed differences and tried out ideas.

Group-wide additions explicitly extend across both settings. Early Years PE provides Wednesday classes included in standard fees, and yoga sessions cover all age groups with nursery funding. Preschool children across both settings take part in Forest School adventures four days per week. Forest School is an outdoor learning approach; here, the stated offer gives preschool children repeated opportunities to learn outdoors alongside their nursery activities.

Outdoor and Community Life

An outdoor area was part of the nursery day in April 2025, but the teaching there needed sharper direction. Activities sometimes failed to match the participating children's next learning steps: older children received too little challenge, while younger children switched activities quickly. Outdoor access matters, but the purpose of the activity matters too.

The practical question is how adults adapt an outdoor activity for different stages of development. A child exploring something for the first time needs a different prompt from one ready to extend an existing skill. The April 2025 improvement point makes this a useful area to discuss on a visit.

Relationships and Communication

In April 2025, staff knew families well and children developed close relationships with the adults caring for them. Babies and older children separated readily from parents. Adults handled minor disagreements calmly, explaining turn-taking rather than escalating the situation. Matching games gave older children opportunities to practise sharing turns with friends.

At the same April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff identified children needing additional help and worked with families and external agencies to support their progress. For parents considering SEND support, the significant detail is that collaboration involved both home and outside professionals, rather than resting solely with the nursery team.

In April 2025, leaders planned information sessions to help parents support their children's move to school. The aim was to connect nursery learning with support at home. The emphasis was on continuity for the child and practical understanding for the family.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Independence was less consistent. In April 2025, some children poured drinks or served food themselves, while adults completed those tasks for others. Helping too quickly can remove a useful opportunity to practise. Families who value self-help skills should weigh this improvement point alongside the positive account of relationships.

Bottle-feeding arrangements distinguish between formula and breast milk: parents supply sealed formula, while labelled breast milk is refrigerated. Space is also made available for mothers to breastfeed or express milk. These arrangements give feeding a practical place in the nursery's care routines.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 160C Walton Road, East Molesey, KT8 0HP. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with additional time from 7.30am to 8am; bank holidays are closed. Enquiries for East Molesey go to 020 3158 4812.

A full day runs from 8am to 6pm. Half days are offered from 8am to 1pm or from 1pm to 6pm, allowing families to choose a morning or afternoon pattern. Extra hours carry a separate charge and require booking and payment at least 48 hours beforehand. That advance requirement matters for parents whose working hours change at short notice.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered alongside paid childcare. The fee schedule labels both funding columns Working Parents Entitlement: 15 Hours Funding for the 3 / 4 year old band and 30 Hours Funding for the 9 month to 4 year old band. Taking up funded sessions requires a parental declaration each term specifying their use. Eligibility information and the fee documents are linked from the fees and funding page.

Standard fees include meals, snacks and milk other than formula, together with nappies, wipes, sun cream and nappy cream; parents provide sealed formula for bottle-fed babies. The dietary policy provides for working with parents and relevant professionals on diagnosed allergies or dietary needs, and packed lunches from home are not permitted.

A non-refundable registration charge and a deposit form part of joining, with the deposit credited against the final bill. Ending the contract normally requires at least two full calendar months' written notice, with fees payable during that period; reducing sessions requires one month's written notice. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

• Outdoor teaching. April 2025 teaching outdoors did not consistently match children's learning needs. On a visit, ask how activities now challenge older children and hold younger children's interest.
• Everyday independence. Adults sometimes completed mealtime tasks children could practise themselves in April 2025. Ask how staff decide when to help and when to let a child try.
• Feeding and allergies. Parents provide sealed formula, and home-packed lunches are excluded. Families managing allergies should confirm how the dietary policy will work for their child.
• Changing your booking. Extra hours require advance booking, and reductions or departure involve written notice. Consider those terms against likely changes in work and family routines.

Little Heroes suits families choosing between full days and morning or afternoon half days, with an interest in practical learning and preschool outdoor activity. Its April 2025 strengths were communication, relationships and collaborative support. The qualifications are clear too: outdoor teaching needed more precise aims, and children's chances to practise self-help skills were uneven. Those are useful, concrete points against which to assess the nursery's current day.