Little Learners: St Saviour's Nursery

Alpacas, ponds and a fire pit give Little Learners: St Saviour's Nursery an unusually outdoorsy character for a London address. Its Little Learners in Nature provision gives children aged three to four an outdoor learning area alongside an indoor base, while the wider nursery uses a playing field, adventure playground and story gardens. Space to move is a substantial part of the appeal.

At its March 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding overall and in every assessed area. It currently accepts children aged 12 months to five years, with 140 places in total.

Rented space at St Saviour's Primary School in Walthamstow gives nursery children access to school facilities. Attendance does not guarantee a Reception place.

Rooms and Ages

Bunny Room combines sensory exploration with individual cots and sleep mats in a quieter sleeping area, while staff aim to follow home routines. Its flexible daily guide includes singing, buggy walks and movement outdoors or in the gym.

Tiger Room combines stories, pretend play and messy activities with early language, number work and literacy. Listening walks, singing, scooters, bikes and the sandpit feature in its routine; regular trips to the field, story gardens and adventure playground extend toddlers' space to explore.

Panda Room matches activities to developing skills and concentration, combining phonics, name writing, creative play and movement indoors and out. Age-based activity groups give children time with others at a similar stage.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets the standards for learning, development and care: children build language, physical skills and relationships through play, with further opportunities in literacy, mathematics, creativity and understanding the world. This is the shared early-years framework. What gives the day its particular shape here is the combination of books, physical activity and outdoor experiences.

Weekly newsletters share books, songs and activities, helping families continue conversations at home. The curriculum information adds ideas for supporting learning outside nursery.

In March 2022, babies practised language through repeated songs and stories. Older children built an enclosure inspired by Dear Zoo and identified unstable crates as unsafe to climb, connecting reading with problem-solving and risk awareness.

The March 2022 account of Green Heart Week linked whale-shark tracking with conservation and maths: children explored map distances and compared the animal's size with their surroundings.

Outdoor and Community Life

Little Learners in Nature draws on Forest School principles, using outdoor exploration as a setting for learning. Its Nature Zone contains hammocks, tepees, bug hotels and mud kitchens as well as ponds and a fire pit; an indoor base provides another space within the main building. For children who enjoy making dens and investigating living things, the physical resources give the outdoor approach substance.

Story gardens and a playing field provide spaces for conversation and active play. In March 2022, caring for chickens, alpacas and a corn snake helped children explore responsibility, with staff linking gentle animal handling to consideration for others.

Relationships and Communication

A key person provides continuity for children and families. Pre-admission discussions, accessible development records and daily conversations support that relationship. Baby and toddler communication books record eating, toileting and sleep, useful details for parents whose children cannot yet explain their day.

Staff monitor Bunny Room's quieter sleep area during naps. Toddlers can also sleep when needed, and staff support toilet training with families, accommodating individual readiness.

Toilet Training, Fine Motor Skills and How to Support Phonics at Home workshops address practical care and learning. Parents' evenings allow longer discussions about development alongside everyday exchanges.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2022 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding effective and found that prompt support planning helped children with SEND make substantial progress from their starting points. Those findings belong to that inspection date.

The group-wide SEND policy used here sets out a SENDCo role working with the child's key person, family and external professionals. Its Assess – Plan – Do – Review approach means support is planned, tried and evaluated, with referrals considered where further input is needed. Families participate through meetings, shared assessments and progress updates, providing a mechanism for discussing the support their child needs rather than a blanket assurance about outcomes.

Preschool children and those attending Little Learners in Nature brush their teeth after lunch each day. Food is freshly prepared by Edwards & Ward, which also runs the school kitchen; families discuss dietary needs with the nursery. Meals are eaten together, with children helping with tables and clearing away, making ordinary routines opportunities to practise independence.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and its current attendance and funding arrangements operate across 48 weeks. Flexible care is offered, while the application form specifies a minimum booking of three days for ordinary nursery attendance. Little Learners in Nature takes four-day bookings from Monday to Thursday or five-day bookings from Monday to Friday; its Friday attendance takes place in PS4.

Funded-only attendance is also supported, and the funding policy includes attendance examples below the ordinary three-day minimum. This deserves careful attention when choosing a pattern. A funding entitlement does not automatically add days to an existing booking, and changing or reducing an agreed pattern requires a new application rather than a simple amendment.

Closures include bank holidays and two weeks at Christmas. The September 2026 terms also identify Maundy Thursday, the Tuesday following Easter Bank Holiday Monday and three staff training and wellbeing days, split between autumn and summer. Families relying on consistent weekday care need to build those interruptions into their arrangements.

Getting There

The address is 33 Verulam Avenue, Walthamstow, London E17 8ER. The nursery rents space at St Saviour's Primary School, giving children access to school amenities while remaining a separate childcare setting.

St James Station is a short walk away, with trains to Liverpool Street Station in 15 minutes, a useful connection for commuting families.

Panda children use the school gym and ICT suite and share lunches with Reception children, building familiarity with school life. Families still apply for Reception through the local authority.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered to eligible families through universal three- and four-year-old funding, disadvantaged two-year-old funding and Working Families Funding. Funding is stretched across 48 weeks; the weekly amount therefore differs from the headline term-time entitlement. Working Families Funding depends on eligibility, with the required code supplied before funding is claimed and revalidated every three months.

Additional hours outside the funded entitlement are paid privately. Meals are optional and charged separately through Tucasi/Scopay, while snacks and consumables carry a separate optional charge; these arrangements also apply alongside funded hours, and families opting out must supply alternatives. Current prices should form part of the nursery's written quotation.

An offer includes a holding fee and a separate administration charge. The holding fee is credited against the final invoice once the child attends; cancellation normally forfeits it, subject to a five-day period after the offer during which a refund is available. The administration charge is a one-off, non-refundable payment, and payment arrangements can be reviewed for families experiencing financial hardship.

• Attendance needs careful agreement. Ordinary applications specify at least three days, while funded-only arrangements include shorter attendance examples and Little Learners in Nature requires four or five days. Use the nursery tour to establish which arrangement fits your child and how later changes would work.
• Nature provision carries a different commitment. Little Learners in Nature has an additional charge and a fixed multi-day pattern. During a visit, discuss how children use the outdoor area and indoor base across the day, including the Friday arrangement in PS4.
• Closures affect the working year. Christmas, Easter and training closures sit alongside bank holidays. Match the closure dates in the contract against your own childcare cover before agreeing attendance.
• School familiarity has limits. Shared lunches and access to school facilities can make the next stage feel more familiar. They do not confer a Reception place, so plan the school application separately.

Outdoor resources give this nursery a clear identity: the Nature Zone, story gardens and adventure playground offer more than a generic promise of fresh air. Communication books, weekly learning information and a defined SEND support process also give families practical ways to stay involved.

It suits families seeking ordinary nursery attendance or funded-only care, as well as those choosing four- or five-day Little Learners in Nature attendance for an older child. The March 2022 Outstanding judgement provides a strong inspection reference, but the decision also rests on whether the booking commitments, separate extras and annual closures fit family life. The school setting adds useful experiences; its admissions remain a separate decision.