Cheeky Chops Childminding Services

An open-plan hall and garden give this 50-place Hornchurch nursery a clear physical identity, but at its first inspection in March 2025 Ofsted rated Cheeky Chops Requires Improvement: children were happy, formed strong bonds and had effective safeguarding, yet learning and the premises did not serve the youngest as well as older children.

The Hacton Hall setting accepts children from birth to five and opens from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It operates for 50 weeks each year. The warmth and practical long day need to be weighed against the specific concerns about younger children.

Learning and Named Experiences

The published curriculum combines the Early Years Foundation Stage and Development Matters with learning through play. In practical terms, staff plan from children's interests and development, using observations to identify what should come next. Weekly themes include Transport and Emotions, with creative arts, sensory play, role play, outdoor exploration and simple STEM activities among the examples given on the curriculum page.

In March 2025, this worked much better for older children. They explored healthy food, toothbrushing and exercise, built independence and used mathematical language during role play. Younger children sometimes watched activities designed around older children's letters and sounds rather than receiving equally suitable learning of their own.

Space and Age Mix

Hacton Hall has an open-plan hall with a garden rather than a nursery divided into published, named rooms. That arrangement may feel sociable for older children, who were seen approaching babies kindly and playing peekaboo with them. This was also a core practical weakness. The shared layout restricted babies' opportunities to move, explore and interact independently, leaving them more reliant on close adult support.

Relationships and Communication

Care was the stronger side of the picture in March 2025. Children appeared happy and valued, listened to one another and celebrated their peers' achievements. The setting allowed children to build a connection before choosing their key person. That child-led approach can make the main care relationship feel earned rather than assigned.

Parents reported open communication and detailed feedback about their individual child. Regular progress updates also extend to partnership around practical stages such as weaning and toilet training. The usefulness of that communication now depends on how well it captures the youngest children's learning.

Wellbeing and Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements were effective in March 2025, while children developed respectful friendships and independence.

There was a leadership compliance issue: a change of manager had not been notified when it should have been. Inspectors found that the omission caused no harm to children and did not disrupt day-to-day operations. More materially for daily experience, the provider was required to strengthen learning for younger children and reorganise the premises by 12 April 2025. The current arrangement for younger children is therefore the most important point to examine on a visit.

Hours and Attendance

The nursery is at Hacton Lane Social Club, Haydock Close, Hornchurch RM12 6EA. It publishes opening hours of 7am to 6pm from Monday to Friday and says Hacton Hall operates for 50 weeks each year. The current record lists Bank Holidays and Christmas as closures. Only a full-day pattern is set out; separate morning, afternoon and half-day products are not set out.

The setting has capacity for 50 children aged from birth to five. This is whole-setting capacity, not a room size or a statement about current vacancies. Enquiries and waiting-list requests go directly to the Hacton Hall branch.

Food, Funding and Extras

Freshly cooked meals, milk or formula, nappies and wipes are included within private fees. The funding position differs. The current funding page says funded hours are stretched across the year and publishes a consumables charge for funded days for three- and four-year-olds, covering food, snacks, nappies or wipes where required, and everyday resources. A current written quotation is essential because the total depends on the child's age and attendance pattern.

Allergies and dietary requirements can be accommodated after parents provide the relevant information. The current menu and preparation controls remain important details for an allergy-affected family.

• Provision for the youngest children. In March 2025, activities and space were not organised well enough for younger children. Ask to see the changes made to both planning and the physical environment after the April 2025 deadline.
• Inspection response. The nursery was required to improve the younger children's curriculum and use of space by April 2025. Ask what changed and how leaders check its impact.
• Booking pattern. The 7am to 6pm window is clear, but separate session products or minimum attendance are not set out. Confirm the days and hours that can be contracted.
• Funded-hours costs. Consumables are charged on some funded places even though meals and everyday supplies are included within private fees. Request a personalised written breakdown before comparing costs.

Cheeky Chops Hacton Hall has genuine warmth, an unusually child-led approach to choosing a key person, long weekday opening hours and a recognisable open-plan hall-and-garden format. Older children had positive social and independence-building experiences during that March 2025 visit.

The decisive question is whether provision for babies and younger children has caught up. This setting may suit families who value a mixed-age, sociable environment and need care across a broad working-day window, provided they are satisfied by the nursery's evidence of improvement and its available booking pattern. A clearly separated baby room is not part of the published layout.