Loving Hands International Nursery School, Christ Church

A small, distinctive pack-away setting is the defining feature here. Loving Hands International Nursery School, Christ Church serves children aged two to five from the Christ Church Centre in Croydon, with 24 registered places. Ofsted judged it Outstanding in December 2022, across education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.

The strongest thread was inclusion made practical. Home visits helped staff understand children's experiences, while home-language dictionaries, visual aids and carefully chosen vocabulary supported communication. This is a sessional, term-time nursery rather than full-day childcare.

The nursery works as one small pack-away setting rather than publishing a named room structure. Its size shaped daily experience: younger children listened to stories alongside older children, and children regularly chose books during play. Staff extended vocabulary through ordinary routines and play, including water play and a role-play doctor's surgery where children listened to heartbeats, cared for dolls and later shared what they had learned about bones.

Learning was active as well as language-rich. Threading developed fine-motor control, while scooters and tricycles supported larger movements in the garden. Children used red stop and green go signs as they rode, turning physical play into practice in judging when it was safe to move. Families also contributed foods from their cultures for tasting sessions, connecting children's identities with the experiences of others.

Learning continued beyond the morning session. Parent workshops were paired with take-home resources, including story sacks, dual-language books, toys and poetry boxes. In parent terms, the EYFS means communication, physical development, personal and social growth, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts are developed together through play and routines, not confined to adult-led activities. That gives each ordinary routine a clear developmental purpose. Home visits informed how learning was personalised, while tasting foods contributed by families connected the curriculum to children's cultures. Younger children also shared book experiences with older peers, bringing mixed-age interaction into language development.

Relationships were a clear strength. Children new to the setting built bonds quickly with adults and other children, and children helped friends during snack routines. They prepared their own snack and used visual prompts to make choices at snack and singing times, giving everyday care routines a role in building independence. Visual choices at singing time offered the same chance to decide, communicate and succeed in a familiar part of the morning.

Safeguarding arrangements were effective in December 2022. Staff understood risks, knew children's circumstances and the local community, and leaders used safe recruitment and risk assessment. Personalised curriculum delivery and close knowledge of children's starting points helped those with special educational needs and disabilities advance quickly.

A later regulatory record requires context. In September 2023 the provider failed to make the required notification about a significant event connected with a safeguarding concern. The regulatory outcome confirms that registration continued.

The nursery operates at Christ Church Centre, Sumner Road, Croydon CR0 3LJ. The official record describes term-time opening and closure during school holidays, with morning hours on weekdays. The available morning combinations and any minimum attendance pattern remain questions for the nursery; the opening window is not itself a booking promise.

Children are registered from 24 to 60 months. Current funding terms, private-hour arrangements and treatment of extras remain questions for the nursery.

• Session pattern. This is sessional, term-time provision with weekday morning opening. Clarify which days must be taken together and how holiday closures affect the year.
• Regulatory follow-up. The October 2023 record concerned a missed notification about a significant safeguarding-related event, while registration continued. Ask how notification procedures have been strengthened since then.

Loving Hands Christ Church stands out for highly purposeful interaction in a very small pack-away setting. Books, home-language support, imaginative play and physical activity were woven through the day, with inclusion and parent partnership as clear strengths in 2022. The later notification failure matters and deserves a direct question. The regulatory outcome confirms that registration continued.

This setting is best suited to families seeking term-time, weekday morning sessions and a close-knit environment, rather than full-day or year-round care. Fit depends on whether the current single-morning or multi-morning combinations match the family’s week.