Little Learners Nursery & Preschool, Ambleside Avenue

A mud kitchen, nursery rabbits and Billy the tortoise give Ambleside Avenue’s early years story a practical, hands-on character. In June 2024, children explored materials, cared for animals and developed independence through ordinary daily tasks. Learning involved doing things themselves.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 17 June 2024, describing an ambitious approach to learning that developed children’s existing interests and abilities, while identifying inconsistent support for language from staff undertaking training. That combination matters: engaging activities need adults who can extend children’s thinking and conversation.

This Hornchurch setting has capacity for 37 children, with an accepted age range of 3–60 months. Its address is 1 Ambleside Avenue, RM12 5ES.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage connects children’s learning, development and care: play builds communication, physical abilities and relationships alongside early knowledge. Ambleside Avenue’s June 2023 – Topic Program – Colours & Shapes linked its topics to the framework’s seven areas of learning. This was a dated example of the group-wide topic approach, rather than a current events calendar.

In June 2024, making play dough brought children together around a shared task. Handling the materials exercised their hands, while experimenting with what happened next introduced cause and effect. The activity combined social interaction with physical and creative learning, rather than treating those skills as separate lessons.

Books and singing also formed part of the day in June 2024. Babies explored musical instruments and the sounds they could produce. Foam offered another kind of exploration: they reached into it, made prints and used small brushes. A ball pit provided opportunities for movement and play alongside other babies. These examples give parents a concrete picture of learning through sound, texture and movement.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden supported energetic and imaginative play in June 2024. Children used wheeled toys, ran and jumped, and investigated natural materials. In the mud kitchen, water, mud and utensils became ingredients for pretend cooking. Outdoor learning therefore included both larger movements and the smaller hand movements involved in handling equipment.

Billy the tortoise and the nursery rabbits added a living element to that experience in June 2024. Children helped care for the animals, making responsibility something they could practise. For a family whose child enjoys animals or messy exploration, these are useful examples of the nursery’s character at that time.

Relationships and Communication

In June 2024, staff helped children recognise and manage emotions, offering support when feelings became difficult. Everyday independence received attention too: children put resources away, cleared their plates and practised handwashing around meals and toileting. Preparation for school included these practical habits, alongside learning activities.

An online parent platform carried photographs, routine information and updates about development in June 2024. Families were also encouraged to borrow books for reading at home. Together, those arrangements connected nursery experiences with home life: parents could see what children were doing and continue a familiar activity themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2024 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities received good support, with staff working alongside other agencies and seeking additional funding. Those are dated judgements, rather than a general promise about every child’s experience.

Meals in June 2024 took account of children’s dietary needs, with cucumber and tomato pasta among the examples served. Food also linked to practical independence through clearing plates and learning hygiene routines.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. That calendar matters for families arranging childcare around work throughout the year, including planning cover during the Christmas closure.

Getting There

The nursery is at 1 Ambleside Avenue, Hornchurch, RM12 5ES. The branch telephone number is 01708 579 449, and the online enquiry form includes Ambleside Avenue as a visit option.

Funding and Paid Extras

In June 2024, the nursery provided funded early education for children aged two, three and four. Families should obtain a current written quotation for their proposed childcare arrangement.

• Conversation during play. In June 2024, some staff undertaking training did not consistently extend children’s communication. On a visit, ask how coaching now helps those practitioners turn activities such as play dough making into sustained conversation.
• Care for the youngest children. Foam, instruments and a ball pit featured in babies’ experiences in June 2024. Ask how your baby’s sleep and feeding routines would fit alongside these activities.
• Year-round planning. Bank holidays and a week at Christmas interrupt the usual weekday opening pattern. Build those closures into your family’s childcare plans.

Ambleside Avenue suits families seeking weekday childcare across the year and a play-based experience with practical independence woven into the day. Its June 2024 examples are appealingly concrete: animal care, messy exploration, music and garden play. The language-support improvement point deserves equal weight. The strongest fit is for parents who value those experiences and want to understand how adults extend them through conversation.