Little Shining Lights Nursery

Christian teaching gives Little Shining Lights Nursery a clear identity: Bible stories, prayer and Christian festivals form part of its approach to early childhood. This Thornton Heath charity combines that religious foundation with age-specific rooms, a garden used for learning and a key person for each child. For families choosing care, the ethos is an important part of the decision.

At its 9 September 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged safeguarding effective. The practical scale is 42 places in total, for children aged three months to five years. Full-time and part-time attendance serve different family routines.

The strongest detail is in the everyday experiences: accessible play resources and opportunities to learn outdoors. There are also clear improvement priorities from September 2025: more sustained conversation with children and more chances for them to manage everyday tasks themselves.

Rooms and Ages

BABY ROOM welcomes children from three months to two years, with an emphasis on movement, early communication and emotional and social development, supported through adult conversation and examples during play. Staffing in BABY ROOM is one adult to three children. Continuing routines from home is part of the room's approach. That connection matters for babies whose care needs do not change simply because they spend part of the day at nursery.

TODDLERS ROOM serves children aged two to three, with resources within reach and books, sounds, number work and creative materials brought into their play as their learning expands beyond the prime areas. Its usual staffing is one adult for no more than four children, compared with the legal minimum of one adult to five for this age. That is a concrete addition to staffing, rather than a claim based on the room's atmosphere.

PRESCHOOL ROOM caters for children aged three to five, bringing construction, pretend domestic play, books, music and art together with space for quieter reflection and activities that explore friendships and problem-solving. The arrangement gives children different ways to participate: building something, taking a role in play or spending time with a book.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the seven areas of learning that shape the rooms and children's experiences, from communication and physical development to early literacy, mathematics and creative expression. Here, resources and play connect those areas to what children can explore and practise during the day.

In September 2025, children chose activities themselves, including play dough, where adults demonstrated utensils and introduced colour language. Rolling and shaping the dough gave children practice using their hands while sharing tools with others. Books also crossed the nursery-home boundary: older children borrowed them to read with their families, while babies brought favourite stories to adults.

Learning about Diwali and Lunar New Year helped children explore different cultures in September 2025; daily affirmations also formed part of their experiences. These sit alongside the nursery's Christian teaching. The combination makes the content of the day worth considering, rather than treating the religious ethos as a label alone.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden functions as an outdoor classroom, extending play beyond the indoor rooms. Indoors, child-sized sofas, chairs and bookcases give the spaces a domestic character, with core toys and creative materials kept accessible.

In September 2025, outdoor games involved changes of movement, including jumping and stopping, while a large slide gave older children opportunities to climb and judge when to descend. Waiting until another child had moved away introduced a practical lesson in making a safe choice. Physical play carried a social lesson too.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person who works with their family and maintains a Learning Journey, recording achievements as development unfolds. This gives parents a continuing relationship with someone who follows their child's experiences, rather than relying only on isolated updates.

In September 2025, the key-person relationship helped shape individual learning plans and supported children as they first joined. Children separated confidently from their families, and adults demonstrated sharing and taking turns. Toddlers then used words to identify whose turn came next, showing how adult examples could become part of children's own interactions.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, with staff, parents and outside agencies working together on targeted plans. The practical mechanism matters: support was organised around individual goals, including preparation for moving on to school.

In September 2025, adults used words from children's home languages, together with gestures and signs, to support those learning English as an additional language. Children could help decide how much food to serve themselves and had drinking water within reach. However, independence was uneven: adults did not consistently encourage clearing away after play or meals.

Hot meals are cooked on site using fresh, local seasonal produce.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 8am to 5:45pm, and operates for 50 weeks. It offers full-time and part-time places, allowing families to choose between more extensive attendance and a smaller weekly commitment. Bank holidays and Christmas are closure periods.

An application form is used to enquire about a place, and the confidential registration form must be returned before a child starts. Families can contact the nursery by email at info@littleshininglights.co.uk or telephone on 020 8653 4778.

Getting There

The address is 92a Parchmore Road, Thornton Heath, CR7 8LX. Thornton Heath station is a 10-minute walk, with bus links also serving the area.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered. The funding information describes 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements for eligible working parents of two-year-olds and three-to-four-year-olds over 38 weeks each year. Eligibility depends on family circumstances; this does not guarantee a funded place.

The nursery operates on a not-for-profit basis. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their chosen attendance pattern, using the fees and funding page as the starting point.

• Christian teaching. Bible stories, prayer and Christian festivals contribute to the nursery's approach. At a visit, discuss how these fit into the day and how children from families with different beliefs participate.
• Conversation and independence. September 2025 improvement priorities concerned sustained discussion and children's participation in everyday tasks. Ask for examples of how adults now extend conversations and encourage children to clear away after play and meals.
• Attendance and the full quotation. Full-time and part-time places sit within a 50-week year. Ask how the funded entitlement fits your chosen pattern and whether meals and non-food consumables are included, charged separately or supplied by parents.

Little Shining Lights suits families seeking either full-time or part-time nursery care with an explicit Christian foundation. Its age-specific rooms, garden learning and key-person relationships give substance to that identity, while the September 2025 Good judgement provides a dated assessment of quality.

The decision rests on more than the grade. Toddler staffing above the legal minimum is useful practical detail; the priorities around conversation and independence deserve attention too. For families comfortable with the religious approach, this is a nursery with a clear character and tangible everyday learning experiences.