Little Lambs Nursery

An open-plan nursery with a quiet sleep room, sign language woven into preschool activities and a termly visit from Zoo Lab gives Little Lambs Nursery its character. Each age group has its own area, while children also play alongside other groups. The arrangement combines a shared setting with activities adapted to different stages of development.

At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Little Lambs Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), made good progress with appropriate support. Two improvements were required: more individually tailored staff development and sharper planning of what children should learn next. Those are useful points to weigh alongside the positive judgement.

Little Lambs has capacity for 46 children and accepts ages from 3 months to 5 years. Its home is the Scout Hut at Gatcombe Park in Hilsea, Portsmouth. Full Day, Short Day and Half Day bookings sit alongside term-time arrangements, giving families more than one way to organise attendance.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Group, covering the nursery's youngest children up to age two, occupies an area within the shared baby and toddler room, with age-appropriate toys and resources for exploration. A separate sleep room contains cots and bedding. That gives rest its own space rather than making sleep another activity within the busy play area.

Toddler Group, for ages two to three, combines child-led play with planned activities, outdoor time and support for sharing, language and toilet training. Its routine recognises the differences between children newly turning two and those approaching their next stage. The emphasis is on practising everyday skills through play, rather than expecting the whole group to develop at the same pace.

Pre-School Group, for ages three to five, uses separate learning areas within the open-plan setting and balances adult-led activities with children's own choices, while building communication and self-care. Equipment is available for children to select themselves. Personal trays give them somewhere for their pictures and other belongings, and snack time includes opportunities to pour drinks and prepare snacks.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning, development and care: children learn through play, with experiences spanning the areas of development rather than a day built around formal lessons. Little Lambs adds concrete practices to that foundation. Makaton, described here as a form of sign language, is used with preschool children during stories, rhymes and group routines, giving communication a place across the day rather than confining it to a separate activity.

In April 2025, younger children joined animal sounds to stories, while toddlers tested different blocks as they built towers and tried again after a collapse. These are small experiences with a clear purpose: stories invite children to listen and respond; construction gives them a reason to experiment and persist.

Counting also had a practical use in April 2025. Preschool children compared their success in a beanbag game, counting throws into a hoop and working out who had more. Numbers became part of a game they wanted to play. The improvement request about more precise next steps matters here: engaging activities and a clear plan for an individual child's next piece of learning are separate considerations.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play extends beyond the nursery's playing ground. Children go on walks to parks and shops and use the library, bringing everyday places into their learning. The baby activities also include park visits, train journeys and the beach, with experiences adapted for younger children. These outings broaden the settings in which children can explore.

Zoo Lab, a visiting mobile zoo, comes once per term. It brings animals into the nursery as a shared experience. Easter parades, Christmas parties and leavers parties add occasions for families and children, with the latter marking the move towards school.

Relationships and Communication

Free settling-in sessions help children and parents become familiar with the staff and setting before regular attendance begins. They offer time to build familiarity together, which is useful when nursery is a child's first experience of being cared for away from home.

Daily Diary is the practical communication tool for Baby Group and Toddler Group. Staff complete it on each attendance day with information about feeds, sleep and nappy changes. For parents of younger children, those details connect the nursery day with routines at home rather than leaving the handover to a general account of activities.

A noticeboard covers nursery information, with an additional section for preschool activities; occasional newsletters and annual feedback forms provide other routes for communication. Parent meetings can be arranged when needed. In April 2025, key-person conversations also included advice about toilet training, making that relationship useful for a specific change in a child's daily routine.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In April 2025, staff used observations of children's achievements to follow their development and drew on individual interests when planning activities. Parents and other professionals worked with the nursery on targeted support for children with SEND. The practical mechanism was collaboration around individual needs, rather than a single approach applied to the whole group.

Sleep has a defined routine: children resting in the sleep room are checked every ten minutes. Families supply personal care essentials, including nappies, wipes, barrier cream and sun cream, with bottles and comfort items brought from home where needed. Keeping those familiar items with a child can support continuity between home and nursery.

Parents provide lunch and other main meals, while the nursery supplies snacks and drinks; food brought from home can be refrigerated and reheated. Little Lambs has a nut-free policy, so food choices need to follow that policy as well as the child's age and stage.

Sessions and Attendance

Full Day runs from 8am to 4pm; Short Day starts at 8.30am and finishes at 4pm; Half Day runs from 8am to 1pm. An All Week full-time option covers Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm. Early Bird is the additional 8am to 8.30am slot. These are different booking choices, so the pattern matters as much as the overall opening window.

New families must begin with at least 15 hours. Little Lambs opens Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm, across 52 weeks, closing for public holidays and polling days. Polling-day closures are credited to the account. This makes the closure calendar relevant even for a family choosing year-round attendance.

Term-time care covers 38 weeks, with arrangements for funded children aged two, three and four and non-funded children under three, subject to the nursery's terms. The nursery also avoids bookings intended to last only a few weeks or months. Attendance is therefore organised around an ongoing place rather than occasional crèche-style care.

Overrunning an agreed session can trigger a charge for an additional session, and collection after 4pm also incurs a charge. Families should build the collection deadline into their childcare planning, especially when choosing the Half Day option.

Getting There

The address is the Scout Hut, Gatcombe Park, 70 The Ridings, Hilsea, Portsmouth PO2 0UF. Enquiries can be made by telephone, email or the contact form.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funding is offered from nine months, with funding also identified for children aged two, three and four, subject to the nursery's terms. It is delivered termly and is not stretched across the year. Families combining year-round attendance with funded hours therefore need to distinguish the funded arrangement from any additional private childcare.

Parents supply main meals and non-food essentials such as nappies, wipes and sun cream. Snacks and drinks are supplied by the nursery. Current prices and the charge structure belong in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and sessions page sets out the attendance options and funding arrangements.

• Planning the next step. The April 2025 improvement requests concerned individual staff development and more exact learning plans. At a visit, ask how an observation becomes a specific next step for your child and how staff development supports it.
• Shared spaces for younger children. Baby Group sits within the baby and toddler room, while sleep has a separate room. Book a visit in advance and consider how the shared play area and rest routine would suit your child.
• Attendance and collection. New starters need at least 15 hours, funding is not stretched, and late collection can lead to an additional-session charge. Compare the Full Day, Short Day and Half Day patterns against your actual working hours.
• Food and allergies. Main meals come from home and the nursery operates a nut-free policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements before attendance.

Little Lambs suits families seeking play-based care with practical communication for younger children, a separate space for sleep and preschool routines that build independence. Zoo Lab and Makaton give the day recognisable additions, while outings connect nursery experiences with places beyond the setting.

Its attendance choices serve both families needing a Full Day and those choosing a Half Day or later-starting Short Day. The April 2025 Good judgement provides a positive inspection position, balanced by specific work required on staff development and individual learning plans. The minimum booking requirement, unstretched funding and home-provided meals are the practical commitments to weigh before choosing it.