Little Cedars Day Nursery

An animal enclosure and vegetable patch give Little Cedars Day Nursery a recognisable character: living things have a place alongside play and early learning. Based in Streatham, the nursery has capacity for 59 children aged three months to five years, with separate areas for different stages of development.

At its June 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good, finding effective safeguarding and good progress, including for children with additional needs. That judgement came with two practical priorities: calmer toddler mealtimes with more choice, and better timing of the progress check at age two.

Full days, mornings and afternoons serve different family routines, while funded sessions have their own shorter hours. The distinction matters when planning care around work.

Rooms and Ages

Babies have a quieter area of their own. Separate spaces accommodate children aged one to two, toddlers aged two to three and preschool children aged three to five, giving the different age groups their own arrangements rather than treating the nursery as one undifferentiated space.

The animal enclosure and vegetable patch add tangible interest to the environment. They give families something concrete to weigh alongside the indoor arrangements, especially if their child enjoys animals or growing things.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, with activities adapted to each child's pace. This is the early-years foundation, rather than an extra programme unique to Little Cedars. Individual interests and abilities inform learning support, and each child has an assigned key person who maintains a progress journal and helps set personal learning goals.

In June 2022, physical play included riding scooters and bikes, using climbing frames and taking turns on slides in the large outdoor play area. Counting was woven into jumping through hoops. Those examples show how movement and early number work could share an activity rather than occupy separate parts of the day.

Creative experiences in June 2022 included babies exploring paint with their hands, while older children drew themselves and discussed their features. A water tray provided another setting for experimenting with bubbles. The emphasis was on children exploring materials and expressing their own ideas.

Forest school is among the optional, separately charged experiences associated with funded attendance, alongside outings, multisport sessions, and music and dance. These are additions to the nursery day; they need to be considered separately from the funded childcare hours.

Outdoor and Community Life

In June 2022, children helped care for chickens, rabbits, a lizard and stick insects. Older children watched chicks hatch and then cared for them, while younger children searched the enclosures with staff for animals and eggs. Nature learning involved living creatures, rather than pictures alone.

Relationships and Communication

A key person and individual progress journal provide continuity between a child's experiences and their next learning goals. Blossom is the online platform used to record development and share updates through its Parent App; parents can also contribute observations and photographs from home. This creates a practical route for home experiences to inform nursery learning.

Settling has a defined place in joining. The first settle-in week is free, and the offer is reviewed afterwards to establish whether the nursery can provide the facilities needed for the child's welfare. Written confirmation includes the start date, booked sessions and settling arrangements, so the initial week forms part of the placement process.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the June 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked effectively with families and other agencies to support children with additional needs, while children learning English received help through home-language words, pictures and gestures. These are useful examples of support in practice at that date, rather than a blanket promise about every child's experience today.

In June 2022, staff comforted children who were distressed and encouraged sharing and turn-taking. However, toddler meals were less settled because adults were occupied moving around and serving food, and children had fewer opportunities to choose. The age-two progress summaries also needed more deliberate timing, ideally alongside children's health checks.

An in-house chef prepares food daily, including breakfast, lunch and tea, with snacks between meals and provision for vegetarian and vegan diets. Food and drink are included in private fees, although families generally supply baby milk; funded attendance has a separate food-charge structure.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 27 Aldrington Road, Streatham, London SW16 1TU. Opening hours run from 7.45am to 6.15pm on weekdays, with closures for bank holidays, Christmas week and one inset day each term.

For all-year-round paid attendance, mornings run from 7.45am to 1pm, afternoons from 1pm to 6.15pm and full days from 7.45am to 6.15pm. All-year-round funded mornings are 9am to 12.45pm, funded afternoons 1.30pm to 5.15pm, and funded full days 9am to 4.30pm. Funded hours therefore do not automatically cover the whole opening day.

Bookings are recurring set sessions. The usual minimum is two full days or three half-day sessions each week, with an exception for children accessing the Government's 15-hour childcare scheme. Extra sessions can be booked subject to availability, and extensions of up to 30 minutes at either end of the opening day can be arranged for an additional charge with 24 hours' advance booking.

Funding and Paid Extras

Little Cedars participates in the 15- and 30-hour funded childcare schemes for eligible families and offers stretched provision over 51 weeks. Stretching spreads the annual entitlement across more weeks; it does not add funded hours. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation, with the fees and funding terms explaining the charge structure.

For funded attendance, food, personal-care consumables and extra hours are charged separately, with activities also carrying optional charges. The 15-hour placements for eligible two-year-olds receiving additional support are fully funded and incur no additional fees. Families should distinguish that exception from the arrangements applying to other funded attendance.

Nappies are supplied by the nursery, while parents provide formula, bottles, bedding and spare clothes. Alongside these different arrangements, the funded consumables charge includes Blossom App access and personal-care items. A non-refundable registration charge applies, with an exemption for the two-year-old funded placement, and a deposit is required after an offer.

Fees are paid monthly in advance. Ending the contract or changing recurring sessions requires one calendar month's written notice; the deposit-return clause separately specifies a full term's notice. That difference deserves attention before signing.

• Toddler routines and age-two checks. The June 2022 priorities concerned meal organisation and the timing of developmental summaries. During a visit, ask how food choices now work and how progress checks are coordinated with health appointments.
• Funded hours versus the working day. Funded sessions start later and finish earlier than paid sessions. Compare the actual session times and separate charges with your working routine, including the fully funded two-year-old exception where applicable.
• The settling review. A free settle-in week is followed by a review of the conditional offer. Discuss how that decision is made and how your child's needs will be assessed during the week.
• Contract wording. Contract termination requires a calendar month's notice, but deposit repayment refers to a full term. Resolve that difference in writing before accepting the terms.

Little Cedars suits families seeking either full-day attendance or recurring morning and afternoon sessions, including those using stretched funded hours. The animal enclosure, vegetable patch and individual learning journals give the offer substance beyond its timetable.

The Good judgement from June 2022 supports the case for considering it, while the toddler-mealtime and age-two-check priorities remain useful points for a visit. The decision is also contractual: funded session boundaries, paid extras, the settling review and deposit wording all affect how well the arrangement fits a household.