The Little Learners Montessori Cricklewood

Montessori materials, two classrooms and a soft play garden give this Cricklewood nursery a clear identity: practical exploration matters here. The Little Learners Montessori Cricklewood serves children aged two to five, with two classrooms and an outdoor space that extends the opportunities for play beyond the building. It is a setting for toddlers and preschool children.

At the 16 April 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and found that children made excellent developmental progress, with teaching that responded closely to their individual interests. The useful detail behind that judgement is children's participation: preparing food, looking after their surroundings and choosing activities were part of the day. Independence had practical substance.

Full days, mornings and afternoons are offered, with a minimum commitment across three separate days each week. That combination gives families different attendance options, while still requiring a regular weekly pattern.

Rooms and Ages

The Toddler Classroom and Preschool Classroom organise the indoor provision, alongside an outdoor soft play garden. Together, the two classrooms serve the nursery's two-to-five age range. The garden adds a separate physical setting for exploration and play; outdoor experiences need not depend on a trip away from the premises.

In October 2024, indoor choices included a reading corner and a science station containing microscopes and experiments. The rooms had natural daylight and spaces that could be rearranged around activities. These features gave children different ways to engage: looking closely at an experiment, spending time with books or working with a material they had chosen.

Learning and Activities

EYFS is the framework for children's learning, development and care, covering the skills children practise through play and everyday experiences. Montessori adds an approach based on practical activity and children's choices, with materials they can handle and explore. At Cricklewood, learning plans respond to children's interests and their stage of development, rather than treating the whole age range as one uniform group.

In October 2024, named resources made that approach tangible. Pink Tower, Golden Beads and Number Rods supported work with sensory experiences and mathematical ideas; Sound Cylinders and Colour Tablets provided further opportunities to explore through the senses. Children could work with self-correcting materials, learning from the result of an action and trying again. That gave the emphasis on independent exploration a physical form.

In April 2024, mathematical learning extended into play with coloured liquid. Children discussed how much of a beaker they had filled, using fractions, and staff built on that interest to introduce ideas about telling the time. The value is the connection: mathematical language arose from something children were doing, rather than being confined to a separate exercise.

Books, songs and conversation also featured in the April 2024 nursery day. Staff learnt useful words from children's home languages, giving children who spoke English as an additional language a familiar starting point. Conversation moved between children and adults, with opportunities to listen and respond. For families using more than one language at home, that is a concrete example of how language learning and settling could connect.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden also provided a setting for imaginative care in April 2024. Dolls, clothing, blankets and nappies were used in play about looking after babies, including preparation for relationships with new siblings. A familiar family change became something children could explore through play.

Family backgrounds contributed to activities that month too. Children brought meaningful belongings from home, while relatives shared stories and explained celebrations. Children also made storytelling resources from wooden sticks. These examples show participation in the curriculum: children's experiences and creations helped shape what happened, rather than simply supplying a theme chosen by adults.

Relationships and Communication

Everyday independence was visible in April 2024 through food preparation and clearing up. Children cut fruit, poured drinks and washed their crockery; cleaning equipment was accessible for tidying after messy activities. These are small, repeatable tasks with a useful purpose. They give children opportunities to contribute to the room and practise looking after themselves.

Boundaries were taught through adults' example and gentle prompts in April 2024. Children practised following simple rules and adjusting their behaviour. This sits naturally beside the practical responsibilities: choosing an activity also involves learning how to use shared spaces and resources with other children.

Current communication includes app updates for parents and opportunities to take part in community events. That provides a connection between nursery and home beyond a brief conversation at the end of a session. Settling-in is also a defined stage in the Cricklewood enrolment sequence, following the tour and reservation stages.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its April 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) exceptionally strong, with individual plans reviewed with parents and cooperation between the special educational needs coordinator and outside agencies. The practical significance is the mechanism behind the judgement: support involved planning, discussion and review, rather than a general promise of inclusion.

In April 2024, the manager also held the coordinator role, bringing support planning and nursery leadership together. Staff exchanged information about children so that activities and the environment could accommodate individual needs. For a family considering SEND support, those arrangements provide a useful starting point for a discussion about their own child's day.

Sessions and Attendance

The main opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Full Day runs from 8am to 6pm, Morning from 8am to 1pm and Afternoon from 1pm to 6pm. These are distinct booking choices, so families can select a shorter session rather than committing to the whole opening day.

Early Bird adds the period from 7:30am to 8am, while Night Owl covers 6pm to 6:30pm. Both are separately priced additions. They extend the edges of the day for families whose work arrangements require an earlier start or later collection.

Bookings must cover at least three sessions on three different days each week and must be paid for ahead of attendance. The nursery opens for 48 weeks annually, closing during the final two weeks of August and for two weeks around Christmas and New Year, as well as bank and public holidays. Those summer and winter closures are a substantial part of the childcare calendar.

Getting There

The address is St Vitus Hall, 35 Cricklewood Lane, London NW2 1HR. A dedicated area supports dropping off and collecting children, with rail stations within walking reach and nearby bus routes offering alternatives to driving.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare and privately paid sessions are offered. Funding categories include Working Families, 15 Hours and NEG2: working-family funding is subject to eligibility, the 15-hour entitlement begins in the term after a child's third birthday, and NEG2 requires eligibility and a code for a two-year-old child. These categories describe different routes to support; they should not be treated as an automatic entitlement for every family.

The 15-hour entitlement is stretched across the nursery's 48-week year, giving 11.87 funded hours each week. That distinction matters when comparing the weekly funding allocation with the hours in a chosen session. A morning, afternoon or full-day booking still has its own attendance timetable.

Monthly bills are based on the daily rate and the number of days in the month, with payment due on the first and a direct debit required. There is a refundable deposit and a non-refundable registration charge. Tax-Free Childcare payments and most childcare vouchers are accepted, providing additional payment routes for families who qualify.

Meals are prepared by Zebedees, a nursery catering company. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the Cricklewood fees page setting out the funding and payment structure.

• Three separate attendance days. The minimum is three sessions spread over three days each week. Families seeking care on just one or two days will need to weigh that commitment against their weekly arrangements.
• Planned closure periods. Two weeks at the end of August and two weeks around Christmas and New Year sit within the annual closure pattern. Alternative care needs to fit those periods as well as bank holidays.
• Funding and the total bill. The 15-hour entitlement is stretched to 11.87 hours weekly. Ask for a written quotation separating funded time, private hours, meal charges and non-food consumables, including the position during funded hours.
• The visit and your child's day. Tours can be booked for Cricklewood. Use the visit to discuss how the two classrooms, settling-in stages and individual support would work for your child; allergy-affected families should also confirm current catering practice.

Cricklewood suits families seeking Montessori education for a child aged two to five who can attend regularly across at least three days. Full days, morning sessions and afternoon sessions provide genuinely different patterns, with Early Bird and Night Owl additions supporting the ends of the working day.

The strongest reasons to consider it are concrete: Montessori materials, two classrooms and a soft play garden. The April 2024 Outstanding judgement adds weight to those features. Families will need to balance that educational offer with the minimum weekly commitment and the summer and Christmas closure periods.