Little Learners Day Care

Early writing, stories and conversations during water play give Little Learners Day Care in Portsmouth its clearest character. At its April 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the provision Good and safeguarding effective, with an ambitious curriculum preparing children for their next educational stage.

The nursery accepts children aged 3 to 60 months. Its strongest practical examples concern the small steps of childhood: making sounds, recognising letters and learning to manage personal routines.

In April 2025, babies explored a water table while staff introduced words connected with their play. Singing gave them opportunities to imitate sounds. For older children, activities connected writing with the letters in their own names, giving early mark-making a personal purpose.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, the April 2025 examples show how conversation, play and stories connected those areas: books prompted discussion about the brain and keeping it healthy, while staff asked questions to explore children's understanding.

Daily routines offered another kind of learning. In April 2025, children washed their hands and refilled their own bottles. Mealtimes were less consistent: older children were not always helped to progress to cutting food with a knife. That is a specific limitation in an otherwise practical approach to independence.

Behaviour expectations were explained to children in April 2025. Practitioners discussed the nursery's rules and the reasons behind them, then followed through consistently. Indoor walking was a concrete example: reminders helped children connect a familiar instruction with keeping themselves safe. Children could explain those rules themselves. For parents, the useful detail is that expectations involved discussion as well as adult reminders, giving children a part in understanding how shared spaces work.

At the April 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through assessment, the progress check at age two and collaboration with professionals including speech and language therapists. This connected the identification of learning gaps with support from people involved in children's care.

In April 2025, children had close relationships with their key person. Staff talked and sang during nappy changes, and recognised when babies needed rest, settling them in a sleep room. These examples make personal care an important part of the nursery day. Before changing nappies, practitioners asked young children for permission. Their running conversation explained what was happening, so care routines included communication rather than simply completing a task. The sleep room also gave tired babies a specific place to rest.

Staff development in April 2025 included targeted learning about children's mental health and wellbeing. Practitioners also received support through supervision discussions with leaders. For families, these are useful details about how adults examined their work: training addressed an aspect of children's everyday wellbeing, while supervision provided a setting for discussing practice. They sit alongside the concrete care examples, rather than replacing them with a broad promise about every child's experience.

Parents' evenings with key persons formed part of communication in April 2025. Links with local primary schools also supported preparation for the next educational stage; they concerned children's transition experiences.

For a parent, the key-person meeting offered a conversation with the practitioner who knew their child, linking family discussion to that child's nursery relationships. Preparation for moving on also extended beyond writing activities: leaders worked on school relationships as part of children's transition experiences. Those two examples put communication alongside learning, with adults connecting the nursery day to family life and the next educational stage.

The address is Park Lodge, 28 Clarkes Road, Portsmouth PO1 5PR. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, with year-round opening.

In April 2025, the nursery provided government-funded early education for eligible children aged nine months to four years. This is a dated participation statement, rather than a promise of eligibility for an individual family.

• Mealtime independence. In April 2025, support for older children learning to cut food needed strengthening. This matters if developing practical self-care is a priority for your child.
• Planning attendance. The weekday opening window extends from early morning into the evening. At a visit, what booking pattern and funded-hours charge arrangements would apply to your child, including meals and nappies?

Little Learners suits families who value language-rich play and practical preparation for the next educational stage. The April 2025 examples give substance to that proposition: babies practised sounds, older children worked on writing their names, and key-person relationships supported everyday care. Mealtime independence remains the specific improvement point to weigh alongside those strengths.