Little Fellows Day Nursery

Little Fellows Day Nursery is a small Cricklewood setting for children from three months to five years, organised around the Sprouting, Acorn and Oak rooms. The February 2022 judgement was Good across overall effectiveness, education, behaviour, personal development and leadership. It followed a previous Inadequate judgement, so the improvement recorded in 2022 matters.

The nursery’s character is practical rather than glossy. The youngest children have a room with its own nappy area, sleep space and calm area; older children move into rooms built around movement, stories, music and imaginative play. The published offer includes full days, morning sessions and afternoon sessions, with a three-session weekly minimum.

Rooms and Ages

The Sprouting Room takes children from three months to two years. Its dedicated nappy, sleep and calm areas give the baby day a clearer structure, while sensory activities, floor play and push-and-pull toys support early movement, language and confidence.

Two-year-olds move to Acorn Room, which covers ages two to three. Music and movement, dance, drama, construction, balancing, ball skills and walks keep physical development active rather than confined to a single activity table.

Oak Room is for preschool children aged three to five. Stories, nursery rhymes, singing and musical movement sit alongside arts and crafts, while a home-room area supports quieter imaginative play. The gradual shift towards self-care, mealtime independence and toilet training gives the final room a clear preparation-for-school purpose.

Learning and Named Experiences

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the day. In plain terms, it means children learn through play across communication and language, physical development, personal and social development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world, and expressive arts and design. Little Fellows pairs that framework with child-initiated play, then uses adults’ observation of interests to shape activities.

In February 2022, inspectors saw children use a library shed during daily outings, choosing books together, sharing and counting. They also recorded children’s interest in seasonal change on a walk and role-play as doctors. Those examples are dated inspection observations rather than a promise about today’s timetable, but they show the kind of community-based learning that informed the Good judgement.

Relationships have a defined structure here. A key person gets to know each child’s routines, interests and care needs, plans learning around those interests, and has a paired buddy who covers the role during absence. The settling-in plan begins with a parent staying in the room, then builds towards short separations at the child’s pace. Three introductory sessions are offered before a child starts.

In February 2022, safeguarding arrangements were effective, with risk assessments for outings, vigilant supervision, and recruitment and induction procedures in place. The regulatory picture has moved on since then: a March 2025 regulatory visit found non-compliance and required an action on behaviour management. The action was recorded as met on 2 April 2025. Families weighing this history should discuss how positive behaviour is handled in the room their child would join.

Food is part of the routine rather than a separate add-on. Meals, snacks and milk are prepared fresh on site, and the nursery describes weekly menus developed with a nutritionist. It also says dietary requirements are catered for. For a child with allergies or a specialist diet, confirm the current plan directly before accepting a place.

Little Fellows Day Nursery is at Unit 5 Sanderson Building, Wilkinson Close, Cricklewood, London NW2 6GR. It is open Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 6.00pm for 51 weeks of the year.

Sessions and Attendance

Families can book a full day from 8.00am to 6.00pm, a morning session from 8.00am to 1.00pm, or an afternoon session from 1.00pm to 6.00pm. Early sessions from 7.30am to 8.00am and late sessions from 6.00pm to 6.30pm can be arranged in advance. The nursery’s minimum attendance policy is three sessions each week, so this is not a one-day occasional-care model.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery says it accepts funded childcare for eligible two-year-olds and offers the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements for eligible families. Funded hours can be spread across 12 months, while a term-time 15-hour pattern is also described. Current nursery-specific prices are supplied in the provider’s written quotation.

For private hours, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are included, while parents provide nappies, wipes, cream, rain suits, milk and formula up to 12 months. Early and late sessions are separate bookable additions. Confirm how food and consumables apply to an individual funded-hours pattern when requesting a quotation.

• Behaviour management. A March 2025 action followed a finding of non-compliance and was recorded as met on 2 April 2025. Discuss the current approach to behaviour, consistency between practitioners and how concerns are shared with parents.
• Weekly pattern. The three-session minimum makes the nursery more suitable for families wanting a regular routine than an occasional single-day arrangement. Check that the combination of full days, mornings or afternoons matches the days you need.
• Food and allergy care. The nursery includes meals for private hours and says dietary requirements are catered for, while some consumables are supplied by parents. Families managing an allergy, formula or specialist diet should agree the current arrangement in writing.

Little Fellows Day Nursery suits families looking for a compact, room-based nursery from babyhood through preschool, with a published progression from Sprouting Room to Acorn Room and Oak Room. The February 2022 Good judgement gives useful evidence of thoughtful outings, responsive learning and effective safeguarding at that time, while the disclosed 2025 behaviour-management action and recorded resolution are essential context for a current decision.

It is a better fit for families who can use regular full days, morning sessions or afternoon sessions each week, rather than ad-hoc care. The fresh on-site meal offer, deliberate settling process and clear key-person handover are practical strengths, provided the attendance minimum and current behaviour approach work for the family.