Little Angels Uni T/A Plaistow Day Nursery

Rosebuds, Sunflower and Daffodils give Plaistow Day Nursery a clear progression from babyhood towards school, with home routines shaping the youngest children's day and construction, books and role play becoming part of the older rooms. Based on the grounds of Plaistow Primary School in Newham, the nursery has 56 places in total. Its room age bands run from three months to five years.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall, found safeguarding effective and praised language development and targeted support for children needing extra help. That judgement has a specific practical caveat: children needed more help understanding how coughing and colds can spread germs. Full-day, morning and afternoon bookings give families different attendance options.

Rooms and Ages

Rosebuds room takes babies aged three to 24 months, combining sensory exploration, painting and coordination activities with a daily routine that can adapt to familiar patterns from home. The baby room has a maximum of 12 children per session. That is a room limit, rather than the nursery's total capacity, and gives parents a useful starting point when considering their baby's daily surroundings.

Sunflower room, for children aged 24 to 36 months, uses play to support development, with a home corner for role play alongside books, numeracy and construction areas. The toddler room has a maximum of 20 children per session.

Daffodils room serves children aged 36 to 60 months, with messy play, construction, mathematics, books, role play and an accessible IT system supporting preparation for school. The preschool room's maximum is 24 children per session. These spaces give children different ways to participate, from making something with their hands to exploring a story or acting out familiar situations.

Learning and Activities

The curriculum follows the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage): children develop communication, physical and social skills alongside early literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding of the world. Birth to 5 Matters and Development Matters are also used to observe children's learning and plan their next activities. These guide planning and assessment; the EYFS remains the framework for learning and care.

Children's interests help shape activities. In February 2023, songs, rhymes and stories were part of the day, and children independently selected books and discussed favourite stories with their key persons. Practitioners described babies' actions and repeated important words; for children learning English alongside another language, staff learnt words used at home. The concrete emphasis was on conversation woven into play.

Outdoor and Community Life

In February 2023, the outdoor playground linked movement with early mathematics: children counted while jumping between drawn shapes. Wooden planks offered balancing practice, while pedal and ride-on cars gave another opportunity to coordinate movement. Pots, vegetables and wooden utensils brought familiar everyday objects into play.

The same month's activities included tracing shapes and cutting dough with scissors. Large movements and careful hand movements both had a place in the day, rather than learning being confined to seated activities.

Relationships and Communication

Settling follows a gradual sequence of three free sessions: an hour first, about two hours next and roughly three hours for the third. Parents can remain in the room during the first session, and an introductory book gathers information about the child and family. A key person is allocated during settling, giving parents a familiar contact as their child starts attending.

Communication has several rhythms. Babies receive a written daily account covering sleep, food, activities and nappy changes, with time for a conversation with staff. Parents' evenings and Coffee Mornings each take place once a term, offering both a formal discussion about development and a chance to talk with management and other parents. Home link activities carry learning between nursery and home and help inform nursery planning. Parents can also telephone during the day for an update.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that the special educational needs coordinator identified children whose development needed additional attention and arranged targeted interventions, while staff shared signing skills to support communication. These are dated findings about the support children received, rather than a promise of a particular package for every child.

In February 2023, children explored feelings through a story and colours, practised brushing their teeth and took part in established handwashing routines. The improvement point concerned missed opportunities to explain germ transmission when children had coughs or colds. It was about helping children understand and apply healthy habits.

Zebedees supplies the meals, with fruit and vegetables accompanying food and snacks and provision taking account of religious and dietary needs. Families supply nappies, wipes and baby formula; these are outside the fees. Collection by another adult requires authorisation and a password, so changes to the usual collector need to follow that procedure.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Plaistow Primary School, Junction Road, London E13 9DQ. Enquiries can be made through the contact form or by telephone on 0208 4727 604.

Full-day attendance runs from 8am to 6pm, morning sessions from 8am to 1pm, and afternoon sessions from 1pm to 6pm. The nursery also describes these shorter bookings as half-sessions. Part-time full-day attendance can be booked for two, three or four days, subject to the nursery's discretion. This supports both shorter daily visits and fewer complete days each week.

The nursery operates Monday to Friday for 50 weeks of the year. Closures include bank holidays, two weeks at Christmas and three staff-training days. Family holidays and sickness remain chargeable, and missed days cannot be exchanged or refunded.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through the 15-hour and 30-hour entitlements, with the option to add privately paid hours. Registration and retainer charges are payable before attendance begins; the retainer is refundable when the required notice has been given and no balance remains outstanding.

A month's notice is required to end a place or reduce attendance days, with fees payable through that period. Late collection also attracts a charge. These terms matter when comparing the cost of the intended timetable with the cost of changing it later.

Getting There

The nursery occupies grounds shared with Plaistow Primary School. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place: families still apply through the local authority admissions process. Daffodils' preparation for school supports the next developmental step, rather than conferring an admissions advantage.

• Your baby's first sessions. Rosebuds adapts routines to those used at home, and settling builds across three sessions. At a visit, discuss how sleep and feeding routines would fit your child's day.
• The whole attendance bill. Funded hours can be supplemented privately, while families provide nappies, wipes and formula. Ask for a written breakdown covering the chosen timetable, meals and any additional charges.
• Health habits. February 2023's improvement point concerned children's understanding of spreading germs. Ask how staff now explain coughing, colds and healthy behaviour during everyday activities.
• Changing days. A month's notice applies to reducing attendance, and absences cannot be swapped. Families with changing work patterns should weigh those terms against morning, afternoon and part-time full-day options.

Plaistow Day Nursery suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full days, with a gradual settling programme and regular opportunities to discuss development. Rosebuds' adaptable routines and Daffodils' practical preparation for school give the age progression substance. The February 2023 Good judgement supports the choice, while its health-learning improvement point deserves attention. Chargeable absences and notice terms are the practical constraints to weigh against that attendance flexibility.