Little Angels Day Nursery

Real objects for play, separate gardens for younger and older children, and an outdoor classroom give Little Angels Day Nursery its character. This Market Harborough setting makes exploration a practical part of the day: children can handle natural materials indoors, then move outside to climb, investigate and play. The environment matters here.

At its January 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found safeguarding effective, with children developing close relationships with staff and receiving support for transitions, including those with additional needs. The improvement priority was sharper teaching: staff needed to build more consistently on what children already knew and extend their learning.

Little Angels accepts children aged two months to five years. Four rooms organise the journey from babies to preschool, while Full Day and shorter School Day sessions give families two daily attendance patterns. For parents weighing the practical offer, the combination of room-specific spaces, home routines for babies and year-round attendance deserves attention.

Rooms and Ages

Explorers accommodates up to 12 babies, with its room guidance extending to approximately 12 to 18 months, and combines softly lit surroundings with accessible everyday objects and individual interaction. The modest room cap is a useful starting point for families choosing baby care, though it describes the room's maximum rather than how many babies attend on a particular day.

Adventurers, for approximately 12 months to two years, has a maximum of 15 children and pairs sensory and creative play with direct access to the under-twos' garden and a separate sensory room that also serves as a sleep room. A quieter space alongside the main room gives rest and small-group activity a physical home of their own.

Investigators serves approximately two- to three-year-olds, with a maximum of 20 children per session, combining free and organised play, music and messy activities with natural objects and access to a playground containing a rope ladder, climbing frame and slide. Pioneers, the approximately three-to-five stage, brings stories, role play and group discussion together with an interactive whiteboard and an adjoining outdoor classroom that allows activities in smaller groups.

These are different environments for different stages. The youngest rooms put everyday exploration and familiar routines first; the older children's spaces add opportunities to discuss, investigate and work together. The room ages are approximate, so the progression is expressed as stages rather than a rigid birthday timetable.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the framework for learning through play and supporting each child's development. Alongside it, the Curiosity Approach uses real objects and natural materials that children can explore and use in different ways. In Investigators, for example, an object does not arrive with a fixed pretend identity: children work out what it might do and how to include it in their play.

Neutral room colours and authentic resources support that approach across the nursery. The choice of materials gives the approach its practical character, complementing the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff observe children regularly and plan around their individual development; Learning Journals include photographs and next steps, giving parents a way to follow learning beyond the finished picture or craft item.

In January 2022, children selected resources themselves and staff encouraged them to manage everyday tasks independently. Younger children could locate their bedding after lunch, while preschool children dealt with coats and shoes before play. These small routines made independence part of ordinary nursery life, rather than a separate lesson.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play happens daily throughout the year. Two play areas separate the younger and older stages: babies and toddlers have a covered seating area, balancing beams and a sandpit, while nursery and preschool children use the adventure playground. Covered outdoor spaces help keep outside activity part of the routine in changing weather. There is room for organised play and for children to choose their own activity.

The Adventurers garden includes a mud kitchen, flowers and plants. For Pioneers, the adjoining outdoor classroom makes it possible to divide activities between spaces, while community visits include the Willows nursing home, The CofE Academy, the library and museum. Children also have access to the school's forest school and playing field for outdoor experiences, leavers parties and sports days.

Regular outings also take children to local shops, the park and train station. An annual nursery trip may include Twycross Zoo or a local farm park; destinations vary. Written parental permission is sought beforehand. These experiences connect nursery play with places children can recognise beyond the building, rather than keeping every activity within the room.

Relationships and Communication

Baby settling begins before regular attendance. Explorers offers several introductory sessions, with staff and parents exchanging information about the baby's routine so that nursery care can follow familiar patterns. Continuity of staff is a priority in that room. For a family starting childcare with a young baby, the useful detail is this link between settling, routine and the people providing care.

Room Managers and senior staff are attached to rooms, and full-time practitioners are usually assigned to a particular room to support familiarity. Part-time staff are allocated where possible but may move between rooms as needs change. This is a staffing arrangement, rather than a promise that every interaction will be with the same adult.

In January 2022, parents knew their child's key person and received guidance to support their child's progress. Children turned to staff for help when feelings became difficult, and adults encouraged them to think about how their choices affected friends. That dated picture complements the current settling arrangements, while keeping the inspection's observations in their proper period.

Communication also includes Ey log observations and NurseryCam camera access through a secure parent login during the child's attendance. The camera service provides another way to see the nursery day; it sits within the enhanced service package. It should be considered alongside conversations and learning records, rather than treated as a quality judgement in itself.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The staffing structure includes a manager and deputy, room leadership and a part-time cook. Staff receive continuing training, and the team includes early-years SENCO training and study in inclusive practice for SEND. These are concrete elements of staff development; individual support needs still deserve a discussion about how they will be handled in the child's room.

In January 2022, activities for moving between rooms or on to school were planned around individual children, including children with additional needs. This is relevant preparation for change, rather than an admissions advantage. The current Pioneers offer also includes contact with local community settings, giving older children experiences beyond their usual room.

Meals are made from fresh ingredients in the nursery's own kitchen, with a four-week menu rotation. The nursery's dietary policy provides alternatives for requirements including allergies, vegetarian diets and dairy intolerance, while baby food is adapted through the stages of weaning.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day runs from 7.30am to 6pm; School Day runs from 8.30am to 4pm. The shorter pattern reduces the time spent in nursery while retaining a substantial daytime session. Opening is Monday to Friday across the year, rather than term time only.

Bank holidays are closures. Christmas Eve finishes at lunchtime, and the nursery closes between Christmas and New Year. Fees are averaged into monthly payments made in advance; normal bank holidays are not charged, but the Christmas closure week is charged in full, including its bank holidays. Absence, illness and holidays do not attract refunds, credits or replacement days. These terms matter when comparing the total cost of an attendance pattern.

Getting There

The address is 2-4 Angel Row, Angel Street, Market Harborough, LE16 9QG. The nursery is off Fairfield Road, with access from the town centre and nearby parking for collecting and dropping off children.

General enquiries can be made by telephone on 01858 469 708. The location suits families looking for childcare within Market Harborough, with the choice between the two daily session lengths carrying more practical weight than the opening window alone.

Funding and Paid Extras

Little Angels offers the universal 15-hour entitlement for three- and four-year-olds, 15 hours for eligible two-year-olds, and 30 hours for eligible working families with children aged nine months to four years. Funding is stretched across 50 weeks: the weekly maximum is 11.4 hours under the 15-hour scheme or 22.8 hours under the 30-hour scheme. Attendance beyond funded hours is paid for privately.

The daily private fee includes an additional service package covering meals and non-food consumables alongside camera access, Ey log observations, celebrations and enrichment. Parents supply bottle feeds each day. For funded attendance, parents can opt into or decline the enhanced package containing meals and consumables, whose charge is included within the daily rate; the opt-in package is taken as a whole, rather than selecting individual elements. Alternative arrangements can be discussed for families choosing the basic offer, which still meets the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements.

External visits, forest school and activities from outside companies, such as dancing, are among the services in that package. Where trips incur transport or admission costs, parents may also be asked to cover them. The fees page explains the payment structure, and current prices belong in the nursery's written quotation.

An Enrolment Fee secures the booking and is credited back when the child leaves, provided all fees have been paid. Working-parent funding also requires an eligibility code before the relevant termly deadline and reconfirmation every three months. Families complete an annual Parent Declaration Form and provide a birth certificate for funded attendance.

• Extending learning. The January 2022 improvement priority concerned building on children's existing knowledge. During a visit, ask how a child's observations lead to a more demanding next activity, especially in Investigators or Pioneers.
• Baby routines and room progression. Explorers has a maximum of 12 babies, while Adventurers has its own quiet space for sleep. Bring your child's feeding and rest routine to a visit and discuss how settling and the move between these rooms would work.
• Funding package and closure costs. The enhanced funded offer is an opt-in package, and the Christmas closure week remains chargeable. Compare the written quotation for Full Day and School Day with the package choice that fits your family.
• Dietary needs. The food policy includes alternatives for allergies and other dietary requirements. Families affected by allergies should confirm current kitchen practice and the arrangements for their child's meals and parent-supplied bottle feeds.

Little Angels suits families seeking either a Full Day or a shorter School Day, with daily outdoor play, staged rooms and an emphasis on exploring real materials. The youngest rooms' caps, Adventurers' separate resting space and Pioneers' outdoor classroom give substance to that offer.

The January 2022 Good judgement provides a dated assessment of quality, with a clear teaching improvement priority to keep in view. For parents, the strongest reasons to consider Little Angels are the practical design of its rooms and the connection between play, routine and community experiences. The funding package and closure terms deserve equally careful attention when deciding whether the arrangement fits.