KidsLab Day Nursery and Preschool

A Sakura garden, materials children can use in different ways, and outings to Mudchute Farm give KidsLab Day Nursery and Preschool a clear character: play draws on nature and the surrounding city. At 50 Skylines Village on the Isle of Dogs, this is a small setting with capacity for 24 children aged 2 to 5. Its garden includes a gardening corner, a role-play house, water play and a sandpit. There is plenty here for children to investigate with their hands.

At its March 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated KidsLab Good overall and found safeguarding effective. The strongest practical appeal today is the combination of outdoor time, creative activities and preparation for school that includes social and emotional skills.

School-hours and full-time attendance provide different lengths of day. The forthcoming August 2027 intake has a minimum booking requirement of four consecutive days, an important consideration for families planning a shorter nursery week.

Rooms and Ages

Explorers is the younger toddler group, supporting the move from baby care into toddlerhood. Stargazers takes older toddlers before preschool, while Voyagers is the preschool group, with an emphasis on preparation for the next stage. Children stay with their peer group through their nursery journey, with room allocation organised around age groups rather than changes partway through the year. For a child who takes time to adjust, that continuity may be an important part of the choice.

Baby care belongs to Skylines Nursery, the sister setting next door, rather than this KidsLab setting. The two nurseries collaborate on transitions and share a curriculum. That relationship matters to families moving from baby care into KidsLab, but each setting needs to be considered on its own merits.

The indoor approach favours muted colours, plants and natural materials. Resources invite experimentation rather than having a single prescribed use: children can compare textures and sounds, try out ideas and decide how to play. The environment is part of the teaching, giving children things to investigate rather than simply instructions to follow.

Learning and Activities

EYFS provides the framework for learning, development and care, with play and planned activities helping children build skills across its areas of learning. KidsLab adds the Curiosity Approach, which encourages exploration through natural resources and materials that can be used in different ways. Children have opportunities both to initiate play themselves and to join activities organised by adults. The balance allows space for an idea to develop, alongside deliberate teaching.

Project work brings together practical science, cultural studies, creative work and sport. Drama, dance, yoga, mindfulness and sports coaching add different ways to participate, from expressive movement to learning how to manage feelings. These are parts of the nursery experience, rather than a promise that every child will follow the same activity at the same moment.

Piano Piano Studio is a music partner, bringing an emphasis on playful piano learning. Its approach uses creative lessons to develop musical skills and confidence. This sits alongside the broader creative offer, giving families interested in early music a concrete partnership to weigh.

In March 2023, activities included growing daffodils and exploring the stages of a butterfly's life. Staff used counting rhymes and drew attention to shapes during pretend domestic play. Stories in more than one language helped children who were learning English, while making clay lanterns for Diwali brought cultural learning into a practical activity. These examples show how everyday play carried language, mathematical and wider-world learning at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

1000 Hours Outdoors is KidsLab's programme for encouraging daily movement and exploration in its private garden, with at least two hours outdoors each day. Planting and watching growth sit alongside active play and opportunities to take risks. The programme name should be read alongside that daily arrangement, rather than as an individual child's guaranteed total.

The Sakura garden provides a quieter place for sensory exploration, pretend play and reflection. Elsewhere, bikes, the role-play house and messy play with water and sand support different kinds of activity. Children can move between energetic play and slower observation, a useful combination within the same outdoor space.

Outings include Mudchute Farm and Docklands Museum, alongside theatres and observatories. These visits take learning beyond the garden into animals, local places and cultural experiences. They also give children shared experiences to revisit through conversation and play back at nursery.

Relationships and Communication

Settling includes sessions for parents and children together, allowing staff to learn about the child's needs and the family's wishes. Planning takes account of children who are already settled, as well as the newcomer. The emphasis is on building relationships gradually, so the start of attendance is a process rather than simply the first contracted day.

The settling plan asks families to allow at least one week, while recognising that some children need longer. It can extend to four weeks, and continued difficulty at that point may lead to discussion about postponing the start. Families organising a return to work should allow room for that adjustment rather than treating the initial timetable as fixed.

In March 2023, parents received regular progress updates and could borrow nursery books for reading at home. Staff supported everyday independence through snack preparation, pouring drinks and practising clothing skills. Those are useful examples of care and learning working together: practical tasks gave children opportunities to do more for themselves.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

KidsLab works with speech and language therapists and SEND specialists. This is a practical support mechanism, rather than a blanket assurance about the experience of every child. Staff also teach self-regulation techniques, helping children practise ways to recognise and manage their responses during the day.

Current staff arrangements include background checks, participation in the DBS update service and paediatric first aid certificates renewed every three years. These describe the arrangements in place; the dated safeguarding judgement belongs to the inspection.

Rest is built into the day through nap or quiet time, with nap mats for children who sleep. The routine also includes stories, free play and adult-led activities. A child who still needs a daytime sleep therefore has a place for rest within the wider programme.

Zebedees supplies hot lunches and dinners, alongside breakfast and two snacks, and dietary requirements are discussed with parents before attendance begins. These discussions cover allergies, intolerances and medical or religious needs, so families should use the settling process to establish the arrangements their child requires.

Sessions and Attendance

KidsLab's address is 50 Skylines Village, Limeharbour, London E14 9TS. School-hours attendance runs from 9am to 4pm; the full-time day runs from 8am to 6pm. Extended hours can be added to either pattern. The nursery operates throughout the year, closing on bank holidays.

For starts from August 2027 onwards, the attendance options are four or five days, with a minimum of four consecutive days. That condition belongs to this forthcoming intake. It is a substantial weekly commitment even where the shorter school-hours day is chosen.

Joining starts with contact and a Show Around meeting, followed by an online registration form, a contract and a deposit invoice once a place is offered. The deposit invoice is payable within two working days. A Welcome pack follows the signed contract and payment, with settling arranged for the agreed start.

Getting There

South Quay and Crossharbour are the nearest DLR stations, both 4 minutes walk to our doors; Harbour Exchange Square Stop S serves buses 135, D6 and D8. Visitor parking bays operate on a first-come basis, while the nearby Asda Superstore car park permits two hours of free parking.

Funding and Paid Extras

KidsLab accepts 15 and 30 funded hours, alongside privately paid attendance. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Meals and snacks are included in the fee, as are nappies, sun cream and nursery activities; trips to venues that charge admission cost extra, with agreement beforehand.

Payment is in advance, and sickness or holidays do not bring a refund. Fees are reviewed annually, with changes taking effect in September and an aim to give eight weeks' notice. Those terms matter when comparing the cost of the chosen attendance pattern across a full year, rather than looking only at a typical week.

• Four-day commitment. Starts from August 2027 require at least four consecutive days. At a visit, discuss how the school-hours or full-time pattern would fit the child's week and the family's working arrangements.
• Daily timetable. The home page gives standard hours ending at 6pm, while the contact page gives 8pm; both refer to extensions ending at 7pm. Resolve the closing time and any extension in the written agreement before relying on evening cover.
• Funding package. Meals, snacks, nappies and sun cream are included in the fee, while chargeable outings require prior agreement. What would the complete funded-hours package include for your child's attendance pattern?
• Teaching and healthy habits. In March 2023, Ofsted asked staff to allow children longer to formulate answers and strengthen teaching about why healthy food matters. During the visit, discuss how questioning and the Healthy Lifestyle Policy work in practice, including any allergy arrangements your child needs.

KidsLab suits families seeking either a school-hours day or full-time attendance, with outdoor exploration and creative play woven into the experience. The garden gives that approach substance: planting, messy play, bikes and the Sakura garden offer different ways to spend time outdoors. Community outings and the music partnership add further variety.

The four-consecutive-day requirement for the August 2027 intake makes this a significant weekly commitment. For families comfortable with that pattern, the appeal is clear: continuity with a peer group, practical learning and school preparation that extends beyond early academic skills. The March 2023 improvement points remain useful topics for a visit, alongside the precise hours and funded package.