Little Lionhearts Nursery School

Story-led learning and unusually detailed physical spaces give Little Lionhearts Nursery School a clear identity. This Harrow setting takes children from three months to five years and has capacity for 138. Its Story Gems programme builds activities around tales, dressing up and children's own stories, while the Fountain Garden, Sensory Room and dedicated Art Room give those ideas different places to develop.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good in March 2022, improving from Inadequate at its previous assessment. Children were safe, happy and confident, and made good progress across the seven areas of learning. Those findings are now more than four years old, so daily-practice observations are presented as a dated snapshot.

The setting supports full days, mornings and afternoons, with an optional early start and both stretched and limited term-time patterns. This is practical breadth, not a single long-day model.

Learning and Named Experiences

The Early Years Foundation Stage shapes the curriculum through communication and language, physical development, personal and social growth, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts. In practice, that means staff plan a mixture of child-led exploration and guided experiences, changing the emphasis with age. Babies receive sensory play, rhymes, stories and calming music; toddlers meet manageable challenges that support communication and independence; preschool children practise relationships, responsibility and problem-solving.

Story Gems adds a recognisable layer. Activities begin with engaging stories and can move into dressing up or child-authored tales, with stages running from Growing Story Lover to Creative Story Teller. This gives language work a concrete thread rather than leaving story time as an isolated part of the day. In March 2022, older children were seen retelling familiar princess stories through role play, while books, songs and stories helped children learn new words.

The nursery does not confine creative and physical work to one general playroom. Its Art Room supports guided and free exploration of colour and texture, while the Soft Play Room uses soft surfaces, climbing blocks and quiet corners for movement and confidence. The Sensory Room is intended as a calmer space for curiosity and emotional regulation. These are useful options for children who need either more movement or less stimulation at different points in the day.

Outdoor and Community Life

Two outdoor playgrounds extend that variety. The purpose-built play area has climbing structures, slides, swings, movement features, road markings and full safety surfacing. It gives physical skills and imaginative journeys the same space. In March 2022, the inspection saw children building gross-motor skills through varied outdoor movement, while younger children practised early mobility indoors.

The Fountain Garden is the more individual feature. Its water fountain contains fish, alongside a herb-growing area and climbing castle. Children help care for plants and feed the fish, turning responsibility and attention to living things into repeated experiences rather than a one-off topic.

Relationships and Communication

A key person supports each child's settling and provides a consistent relationship for the family. In March 2022, staff provided warm care during nappy changes, handwashing, meals and rest. Staff made eye contact, explained routines and used songs; at sleep time, they reassured children gently. Children were also confident in choosing toys, tidying away and attempting coats, shoes, fastenings and zips.

Communication continued beyond pick-up conversations. The 2022 findings recorded daily discussions and an online learning system through which parents could share interests and ideas for what should come next. That two-way exchange matters because the curriculum is intended to follow children's interests rather than run as a fixed sequence for everyone.

The building adds practical support for independence. Toilets and wash areas are purpose-built at child height, with accessible taps, automatic soap dispensers and temperature-controlled water. Children can therefore practise personal-care routines with equipment sized for them, rather than relying on temporary adaptations.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In 2022, leaders worked with other professionals and used recommended strategies for children with special educational needs or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language. Possible learning gaps were identified quickly and support followed. The Sensory Room also gives the current environment a dedicated calmer area for children who need less stimulation.

Safeguarding arrangements were effective in March 2022. Staff supervised children closely, completed daily risk assessments and understood signs of harm and allegation procedures. Suitability checks and staff training were also in place.

One limitation deserves equal weight. The March 2022 report asked the nursery to make better use of routine activities and extend learning further. Lunchtimes were the example: staff did not always push independence or sustain stimulating conversation as effectively as elsewhere. The overall judgement was Good, but families comparing settings should ask how mealtime practice has developed since 2022.

Sessions and Attendance

Little Lionhearts is at 103-105 Greenford Road, Harrow, HA1 3QF. It opens Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 6:00pm and operates for 51 weeks, closing for one week over Christmas as well as published closure days.

The current fee document defines a full day as 8:00am to 6:00pm, a morning as 8:00am to 1:00pm and an afternoon as 1:00pm to 6:00pm. An optional Early Start runs from 7:30am to 8:00am. Attendance tables cover combinations of full days, mornings and afternoons, while funded hours can be stretched over 51 or 47 weeks. A limited term-time-only pattern is also listed. Families need a provider-specific written quotation for the current cost and exact pattern.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery accepts funded childcare for eligible children, including 15-hour and 30-hour arrangements, and supports Tax-Free Childcare. Eligibility and code renewal remain the family's responsibility. The fees and funding page explains the structure, while the current branch fee document sets out stretched and term-time patterns.

For private attendance, standard fees include breakfast, snacks, hot lunch, afternoon tea, drinks, nappies where needed, daily consumables, learning resources and normal enrichment. The fee page separately identifies extra sessions, special events and trips as additional categories. Funded term-time attendance carries a separate meal and sundry charge, so families using funded hours should not assume that the private-fee inclusions apply unchanged.

Meals and snacks are freshly prepared by an on-site chef in the commercial kitchen. That is a useful operational detail for families who want food made on the premises, and the team publishes that dietary needs are considered.

Getting There

The nursery names Sudbury Hill for Piccadilly line and Overground services, plus bus routes 92 and H17. These are transport references rather than calculated journey times.

• Evidence date. The Good judgement and detailed practice findings date from March 2022. Ask what has changed in teaching, leadership and daily routines since then.
• Mealtime learning. The improvement point concerned using routines, especially lunch, to extend independence and conversation. Ask for a current example of how staff now turn meals into learning.
• Funded-hours extras. Private fees include meals, nappies and daily consumables, but funded term-time patterns carry a meal and sundry charge. Request a written quotation for the exact attendance pattern so the two structures are clear.
• Individual support. The Sensory Room and child-height facilities are useful physical resources, but provision should fit the child. Discuss how the key person, inclusion lead and outside professionals would coordinate any specific support.

Little Lionhearts combines a broad attendance model with spaces that have a purpose: stories can move into art and role play, energetic children have soft play and two playgrounds, and the Fountain Garden brings plants and fish into everyday responsibility. The 2022 Good judgement supports the care and curriculum account, although its age means families should test the current reality and the response to the mealtime improvement point during a showround.

This setting should suit families needing full days with an early start, shorter morning or afternoon sessions, or funded care arranged on a stretched or limited term-time basis. It will be especially appealing to parents who value story-led language work, substantial outdoor provision and fresh food prepared on site.