Little Squirrels Community Nursery

A garden newt becoming a lesson in caring for living things captures something useful about Little Squirrels Community Nursery: learning can begin with what catches a child's attention. In May 2025, children watched the animal and considered how water and containers could help them make a suitable habitat. It was a concrete example of curiosity turning into discussion and practical thinking.

Little Squirrels serves children from birth to five at Ryde Business Park on Nicholson Road, Ryde. At its 28 May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The practical offer is flexible hours, with weekday opening across the year except Christmas and bank holidays.

Art Exploration, Musical Journey and Active Play give the day recognisable strands: experimenting with materials, making music and developing movement. In May 2025, two matters needed improvement: consistent use of children's SEND strategies and a more consistent response to disagreements between children. Both deserve attention alongside the strengths.

Rooms and Ages

Babies have an environment centred on exploration through play; Toddlers, the two-to-three room, emphasises independence and learning to interact with others; Pre-Schoolers have a curriculum aimed at preparing them for their next educational stage. These are different emphases, rather than one description applied to every age.

The May 2025 examples make those stages tangible. Babies practised using spoons, toddlers learnt to deal with their own tissues, and older children put toys away ahead of the next activity. Ordinary routines became opportunities to practise doing things for themselves. Handwashing before eating also formed part of that learning.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care. Here, play, conversation and everyday routines provide ways to build those skills, with named activities adding specific experiences rather than replacing the framework.

Art Exploration involves drawing, painting and trying different art materials. Musical Journey brings together instruments, dance and singing. Active Play includes outdoor games, yoga and dance, giving children ways to practise balance, movement and coordination. These descriptions give parents something concrete to consider beyond a general promise of learning through play.

Language Development uses conversations, stories and exercises that develop communication. Math Adventures introduces patterns, shapes and numbers through daily activities. Together, these strands put communication and early mathematical ideas into experiences children can take part in, rather than presenting them solely as subjects to be taught.

In May 2025, staff sang to babies during play and extended older children's conversations with new vocabulary. Targeted language activities also supported children needing additional help with communication. Observations of individual children informed the next steps staff planned, linking activities to their interests and needs.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor Adventures uses the outdoor area for nature-based learning, exploration and physical challenges. It gives outdoor play a stated learning purpose as well as a movement element.

The garden example from May 2025 adds useful detail. Staff used an unexpected wildlife discovery to prompt questions, and children considered how to care for the animal. The value was in connecting observation with a practical response: children were thinking about a living thing's needs, rather than simply looking at it.

Settling was a substantial part of the May 2025 nursery experience. Families could use multiple settling visits, allowing staff to learn about the child and family while children developed relationships with key staff. That approach made familiar adults an important part of becoming comfortable with nursery life.

Communication continued beyond settling. In May 2025, parents received updates about children's development that helped them continue learning at home. For families, the useful element was the connection between what happened at nursery and what they could support outside it.

At the May 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND made good progress with support involving parents, professionals and targeted plans, but asked for more consistent use of those strategies and more consistent behaviour support so children understood how their actions affected others. Additional funding was used for resources and activities linked to individual needs.

The behaviour concern was specific. In May 2025, staff encouraged sharing and manners, but during some minor disputes they did not consistently help children recognise another child's feelings. This matters because managing a disagreement involves more than ending it: children also need help understanding its effect on someone else.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Little Squirrels operates across the year, excluding Christmas and bank holidays, and offers flexible hours to fit working needs. The opening window and the flexible booking arrangement are separate facts: the former defines the nursery's day, while the latter describes how attendance can be arranged within its offer.

Getting There

The address is Ryde Business Park, Nicholson Road, Ryde, PO33 1BQ. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by email to info@little-squirrels.co.uk or by telephone on 01983 615648.

Funding and Paid Extras

In May 2025, the nursery received government funding for eligible children. Eligibility remains a condition of that support; it is not a promise that every family's childcare will be funded.

• Consistency of SEND support. The May 2025 improvement action concerned staff applying agreed strategies consistently. On a visit, ask how an individual child's plan is shared and used by everyone caring for them.
• Helping children resolve disagreements. The May 2025 concern was about helping children understand others' feelings during minor conflict. Ask for an example of how staff now guide children through those moments.
• Flexible hours and the family budget. The nursery offers flexible attendance within its weekday opening window. Ask for a written quotation for your intended pattern, covering funded hours, meals and consumables as well as privately paid time.

Little Squirrels suits families seeking flexible weekday attendance across the year, with activities that connect creative work, movement, language and early mathematical ideas. Its named programmes are explained in practical terms, and the May 2025 examples show how conversation and everyday self-care contributed to children's learning.

The balance is clear. Settling relationships and communication with home were useful parts of the May 2025 experience, while consistent SEND strategies and responses to conflict were the improvement priorities. Families weighing this nursery should give those everyday care practices as much attention as the activity programme.