Little Gemz

Story puppets, a garden obstacle course and a family tree give Little Gemz a recognisable character: early communication, physical play and children's family relationships all featured in its October 2023 daily life. These are useful details for parents weighing what children actually do during the day.

Ofsted judged Little Gemz Good on 18 October 2023 and found its safeguarding arrangements effective. Based at East Grinstead Children & Family Centre, it has capacity for 51 children, with an accepted age range of 6 to 60 months.

The early years foundation stage sets the framework for children's learning, development and care. In October 2023, concrete examples included practising communication through peekaboo, counting during games and balancing outdoors.

In October 2023, babies chose favourite books and used accompanying puppets, while peekaboo gave them opportunities to practise early communication. Older children shared pretend tea-making and cooperated to move equipment into the garden playhouse. These examples connect language and social learning with children's own play.

Outdoor activity that month included balancing across obstacle-course pods and playing What's the time, Mr Wolf?, combining movement with counting and following rules. Music sessions involved singing, dancing and actions. A family tree displayed photographs of people important to the children, giving them something personal to discuss and helping them learn about one another's backgrounds.

In October 2023, children sought their key person through eye contact or by approaching them, and staff responded with quiet reassurance and cuddles. Parents received daily feedback, while an online system shared photographs and notes about what their children were learning. That gave families two ways to follow the day.

At the October 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children needing help with settling or emotions received support, but identified uneven attention to other children and activities that did not consistently accommodate everyone's learning needs. The practical concern was how staff balanced individual reassurance with sustained interaction across the group, including during changes of routine.

Little Gemz is at East Grinstead Children & Family Centre, Blackwell Farm Road, East Grinstead, RH19 3JL. Opening hours are 8am to 4.30pm on Monday and Thursday, and 8am to 4pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; it opens across the year, closing for bank holidays and Christmas.

In October 2023, the setting received funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four. This is a dated funding position rather than a promise of a funded place today.

• Shared staff attention. The October 2023 improvement priorities included distributing interaction more evenly among children. On a visit, ask how practitioners sustain contact with the whole group when one child needs extra reassurance.
• Activities and transitions. Planning in October 2023 did not consistently keep children engaged through routine changes or enable everyone to participate. Ask to see how an activity is adapted for different learning needs.
• Your attendance arrangement. The week includes different closing times, and the funding finding dates to October 2023. Discuss your intended booking pattern and funded-hours arrangement together before deciding.

Little Gemz suits families who value play built around stories, movement and familiar relationships, and whose working day fits its afternoon closing times. Its October 2023 strengths sit alongside clear improvement priorities: more evenly shared adult attention and better planning for individual needs. Those are the most useful points to explore when judging whether its day will suit your child.