Jelli Tots Nursery

Warm relationships and purposeful challenge defined Jelli Tots Nursery at its February 2022 inspection. Ofsted rated the setting Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The nursery at Christchurch Hall, Christchurch Avenue, London NW6 7BJ, serves children aged two to five and has capacity for 45 children.

The strongest picture is of staff knowing children’s interests, helping them settle and then extending their learning. Communication, early mathematics and inclusive support all received specific praise.

In February 2022, the curriculum gave children varied ways to explore ideas. They built models from recyclable materials with masking tape and string, investigated sea-creature names and habitats at a water tray, and met mathematical language about shape, size and weight. More-able children rolled two number dice, added the result and selected the matching quantity of objects. This was challenge with a clear purpose. Staff also used role play and puppets to help groups practise sharing and solve problems together. Resources and activities represented different races, cultures and festivals, giving children practical starting points for understanding and respecting difference.

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the educational framework. This means practitioners plan learning through play across communication and language, physical development, personal and social development, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts, then adapt experiences to children’s development. At the inspection, songs, rhymes, conversations and additional small-group work strengthened communication and language. Bollywood dance movements, organised garden ball games, climbing, running and balancing developed physical control. The combination matters: children could rehearse language and number ideas in adult-guided moments, then use movement, making and imaginative play to build confidence in different ways. The inspection nevertheless identified the organisation of group activities as the point needing improvement, because sound from one group sometimes disrupted another.

In February 2022, staff built close relationships and learned individual interests, helping children settle well. Parents also received books and puppets to continue learning at home. This joined-up approach matters because familiar resources can connect nursery learning with family life. Staff also used songs, rhymes and conversation throughout the day, while extra group work gave children who needed it more concentrated language practice.

Support for children with special educational needs and disabilities was a major strength at that inspection. Comprehensive plans were reviewed regularly, with relevant targets, while staff worked with parents and other professionals. Safeguarding arrangements were effective: staff understood signs of abuse, reporting procedures and risks linked to extremism, and suitability checks were thorough. The manager held regular meetings with staff, discussed training and paid attention to workload and wellbeing. For children, that leadership matters when it keeps practitioners supported, current and able to concentrate on their work.

Jelli Tots Nursery is based at Christchurch Hall, Christchurch Avenue, London NW6 7BJ. Its recorded age range is two to five years, with 45 places in total. The provider record describes the setting as full day care and term-time provision, open Monday to Friday, but families need the current booking pattern from the nursery before treating those register details as a purchasable session. Families should request a current nursery-specific quotation directly from the provider.

• Group activity organisation. Ofsted’s February 2022 improvement point was to review group activities because noise from one group sometimes reduced another group’s concentration. Families can explore how the present timetable and space now manage simultaneous groups.
• Day-to-day practicalities. Ask about the current session pattern, funded-hours arrangements, meals and consumables before deciding whether the offer fits the family week and budget.
• Current practice. The detailed account of relationships, learning and inclusion comes from February 2022. A visit can establish how those routines operate now.

Jelli Tots Nursery’s 2022 inspection record shows a thoughtful early-years setting where warm relationships were paired with real educational challenge. The recyclable-model activity, number-dice work and Bollywood movement give the account unusual specificity, while the SEND planning and parent partnership add substance.

This setting best suits families seeking term-time early education for a two- to five-year-old and who value creative, language-rich learning. It will appeal most to parents who want creative making, early number work and language development to sit alongside active garden play. The principal question is how the group-activity weakness identified in 2022 has been addressed.