The Little School House Nursery

Teacher-led learning and the grounds of St Vincent’s School give The Little School House Nursery its character. In West Derby, children have space to explore nature alongside planned learning shaped by their interests. The combination matters: adult guidance and children’s choices both have a place in the day.

At its 7 December 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and judged its education Outstanding, with a carefully sequenced curriculum adapted to children’s needs. The nursery caters for children aged 2–5 and has 57 places in total. That capacity is a whole-setting measure, rather than the number sharing an activity or attending a particular session.

Morning, afternoon and full-day attendance feature in the dated 2025–2026 fee structure, within a term-time model.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children’s learning, development and care: here, planned activities sit alongside play that children help direct. The nursery calls its curriculum guidance the Early Years Framework and uses it to follow progress and plan the next learning opportunities. This gives observations a practical purpose, linking what a child can already do with what staff introduce next.

Teacher Led describes an approach in which adults model language, question children and set learning goals while responding to their interests. The curriculum page explains the balance between routines, planned teaching and spontaneous learning. Structure provides a familiar rhythm; children also influence what happens within it.

In December 2023, a conversation about dinosaurs developed into children making a dinosaur park. Storytelling also prompted construction, with children building a bridge inspired by The Three Billy Goats Gruff. These examples show how an interest could become something to discuss, design and make, rather than remaining a topic chosen entirely by adults.

Books served different purposes in December 2023: children used them for enjoyment and to discover information. Mathematics was woven into practical activities, including comparing pumpkins and exploring position, shape and number. Songs helped signal daily routines, while conversations gave children opportunities to listen and respond. Learning was attached to things children were doing.

Outdoor and Community Life

St Vincent’s School grounds provide opportunities to explore the natural world. The nursery’s forest school activities add outdoor learning through nature to its teacher-led approach. For families who value outdoor experiences, the grounds are a substantial part of the setting’s appeal.

In December 2023, children investigated insects and ice outdoors, and practised balancing, hopping and climbing. An arched frame and wheeled resources supported movement, giving physical play its own equipment and challenges alongside quieter investigation.

Links with the adjacent school also shaped daily life in December 2023. Children understood why they needed to keep to a particular side of a corridor to help protect children with visual impairments, and spoke about a forthcoming chapel service. These were concrete opportunities to learn consideration for others through shared surroundings.

Relationships and Communication

Regular sharing of children’s learning is part of the Teacher Led approach. Staff record learning and communicate it to parents, connecting nursery activities with a child’s developing skills. That is more useful than a general account of what the group has done: the emphasis is on the individual child’s learning.

In December 2023, stay-and-play sessions let parents see activities for themselves, and staff tailored guidance about supporting learning at home. Children were encouraged to share resources, wait their turn and express feelings. Familiar songs also helped them recognise routines, bringing communication into ordinary moments of the day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the December 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND benefited from collaboration between staff, parents and professionals, and judged safeguarding effective, including collection controls, emergency passwords and risk management. Those findings describe practice at that visit.

The staff team has paediatric first aid training, alongside safeguarding and food-hygiene training. The nursery also participates in an apprenticeship training scheme with Northwest Community College. This is a staff-development link, rather than an activity programme for children.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery operates at St Vincent’s School, Yew Tree Lane, Liverpool, L12 9HN. Weekday opening hours are 8am–4.30pm. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 0151 220 3801.

The 2025–2026 fee structure set out morning attendance from 8am–12.30pm, afternoon attendance from 12.30pm–3.30pm and a full day from 8am–3.30pm for the older age group. After School Fun Club extended attendance from 3.30pm–4.30pm and was charged separately, with weekly cash payment. These are dated booking terms, rather than a promise about a future booking.

That structure covered 38 academic-year weeks. Term-time attendance means families need a childcare plan for school holidays as well as a session that fits their ordinary working day.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. For children aged two, three and four, the 2025–2026 terms allocated 15 funded hours across two days, or 30 across four days, using the 8am–3.30pm attendance window. This was term-time delivery; entitlement should not be read as an assurance that a particular family qualifies.

Under those dated terms, paid sessions included the consumable charge, covering food and non-food items, and parents could not remove that charge from a paid session. Funded attendance carried separate charges for food and non-food consumables, with Enhanced Activities also listed as a separate charge for the older age group. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation.

The same terms provided lunch on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, while families supplied it on Monday and Friday. Breakfast and afternoon snacks formed part of the food-charge options, so lunch arrangements varied by attendance day.

The nursery is independent of the school whose premises it occupies. Attending does not guarantee a Reception place at the school.

• Term-time attendance. The 2025–2026 model covered 38 weeks, with morning, afternoon and full-day patterns. At a visit, discuss which pattern fits your child and how you will cover school holidays.
• Age and room fit. The nursery caters for ages 2–5. Ask how children of your child’s age are grouped and how settling and key-person arrangements work within that group.
• The complete quotation. The dated terms treated paid-session consumables differently from funded attendance, and families supplied lunch on two weekdays. Request a written breakdown for your intended days, including Enhanced Activities and any extended attendance.

The Little School House suits families seeking teacher-led early learning with outdoor exploration, whether they want morning attendance, afternoon sessions or full days during term time. Its strongest educational evidence is the December 2023 judgement, supported by concrete examples of stories, construction, conversation and practical mathematics.

The grounds and independent nursery identity give it a clear character. The practical decision rests on whether term-time care and the chosen session pattern work for the family, alongside the full cost of funded or paid attendance.