Smarty Pants Day Nursery

Stories turned into pretend tea for a tiger, while cooking became a lesson in measuring. Those December 2024 examples capture the learning character of Smarty Pants Day Nursery in Plaistow: everyday play gave children something to explore, describe and practise.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 13 December 2024 inspection. The setting has capacity for 64 children and accepts ages from 6 months to 60 months.

In December 2024, staff connected stories with imaginative activities rather than ending the experience at the final page. Children acted out what they had heard, giving them another way to use language and develop their ideas.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the December 2024 examples included exploring oil and water with pipettes, discussing the texture of dough and measuring flour. These activities brought vocabulary, observation and practical mathematics into play.

Weekly nature learning took children to a local park that month. Cooking also helped them practise mathematical ideas and work with others. For families who value learning through practical experiences, these are useful examples of what the day involved.

The detail of the December 2024 activities matters. Staff showed children how to operate pipettes, then children used them to add oil to water and observe bubbles. Handling a tool and noticing its effect sat within the same activity. Dough offered a different route into language: children described its consistency, linking words to something they could feel and manipulate.

Measuring flour revealed how children used earlier learning that month. They reminded friends to make the flour level in the scoop so that the quantity was right. Mathematics therefore involved explaining a practical step to another child, as well as carrying it out. Staff also used music and movement to extend children's existing knowledge. These examples connected practical actions with language and mathematical understanding.

At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted found effective safeguarding arrangements and excellent progress across the children, including those with SEND and those learning English as an additional language.

In December 2024, settling involved parents alongside the child's key person, building familiarity with both child and family. Children moving to an older room did so with companions, preserving social connections through the change.

Care also responded to different developmental stages that month. Toddlers explored feelings through stories and coloured teddy bears; babies received help with standing, alongside encouragement to attempt it independently. Children helped friends fasten aprons, making cooperation part of an ordinary activity.

The December 2024 settling approach gave parents a part in the relationship, rather than treating familiarity with the child as sufficient on its own. A key person developed connections with both. Moving children to an older room together extended that attention to relationships beyond the initial settling period: familiar companions were part of the change, not simply the room they left behind.

Children also received explanations about differences in how their friends learnt and managed sharing that month. Practitioners helped them understand that another child might still be developing a skill. This made inclusion a subject children could understand through their own interactions. Staff training addressed positive ways to support behaviour, giving practitioners a shared approach to use during the day. The apron example makes that social learning concrete: children noticed when a friend needed help and worked together to finish the task.

The address is Smarty Pants, 1 Plashet Road, London E13 0PZ. Opening hours are 8am to 6pm on weekdays, with closures for bank holidays, a week at Christmas and staff training days.

In December 2024, the nursery offered government-funded childcare and received additional funding for disadvantaged children. That funding supported experiences including nature learning and cooking.

• Moving between rooms. In December 2024, children moved up with companions. On a visit, ask how that approach would work for your child's stage and friendships.
• Planning around closures. Bank holidays, Christmas closure and staff training days interrupt the weekday opening pattern. Families needing continuous cover should factor these into their childcare arrangements.

Smarty Pants merits consideration by families who value practical learning, imaginative play and attention to relationships. The December 2024 examples give that judgement substance: storytelling led to role play, cooking introduced mathematics, and room changes preserved friendships. Its Outstanding judgement is dated; the strongest reason to consider it is the concrete account of children's experiences behind that grade.