Little Hands Nursery School Bourn

The Elephant Room and The Mouse Room take their names from children's suggestions about things big and small. That gives Little Hands Nursery School Bourn a character rooted in its own spaces: a sizeable village-hall room, a quieter adjoining room and an enclosed garden, with movement between them built into the layout.

Children can attend from two years old. At its August 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good overall. The strongest practical feature is the choice between busier play and smaller, quieter spaces, rather than a single room expected to accommodate every kind of activity.

Rooms and Ages

The Elephant Room is the large main space, with a smaller room alongside it. The Mouse Room provides the quieter space and leads into the garden. Connecting doors allow children to move between the rooms, while the layout also lets staff create smaller areas for group activities. For a child who enjoys company but sometimes needs less bustle, that flexibility matters.

These connected play spaces allow movement between rooms and the garden. The nursery occupies the main hall and an adjacent room at Bourn Village Hall, with its own enclosed outdoor play area.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences contribute to learning, rather than sitting apart from it. Alongside this, Bourn uses Learning in the Moment, with the connected indoor and outdoor spaces supporting its curriculum. The layout gives children room to pursue play across different environments.

In August 2022, children experimented with chalk and water to make a paste for drawing, and used flower heads with water to make marks outdoors. Dough work involved copying a demonstration and manipulating small pieces with fingers and thumbs. These examples combine exploration with practical hand control, giving learning a tangible purpose.

Stories also had a place outside. In August 2022, an outdoor library beside the playhouse offered a quieter spot for children to share books. Puppets, rhymes and smaller group activities supported listening and conversation. The quieter side of the day was as concrete as the energetic play.

At the August 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children making good progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Those are dated judgements, and should be read alongside the specific care practices observed at that time.

In August 2022, staff used sand timers to help children take turns and gave advance notice when activities were about to change. When disagreements arose, adults talked through feelings and helped children work towards their own solutions. The emphasis was on making expectations understandable and helping children manage social situations.

Communication with families extended beyond a conversation about the day. In August 2022, parents received development updates and ideas for supporting learning at home; staff also discussed additional learning help and the move to school. This connected the child's nursery experiences with what families could do afterwards.

Meals and snacks were healthy and nutritious in August 2022, and staff joined children at the table to talk about different foods and their benefits. Eating was also an opportunity for conversation about health.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 08:00 to 17:30. These are opening hours. Its address is Bourn Village Hall, Short Street, Bourn, Cambridgeshire, CB23 2SG.

Bourn's contact email is lh.bourn@gmail.com and its telephone number is 01954 710656. This provides a direct branch contact for enquiries.

Funding and Paid Extras

In August 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Families should use the nursery's current written quotation for prices.

• Quieter children's participation. In August 2022, some children answered over others during group activities, leaving quieter children fewer chances to contribute. On a visit, ask how staff now make room for each child's ideas.
• Extending discoveries. In August 2022, staff sometimes missed opportunities to deepen understanding, including during exploration of sinking and floating. Ask how practitioners build on a child's experiment or question today.
• Planning attendance and costs. Bourn opens from 08:00 to 17:30 on weekdays, and provided funded early education in August 2022. Before booking, ask for the attendance options and a written quotation separating funded hours, paid hours, meals and consumables.

Little Hands Bourn suits families seeking preschool care from age two with connected indoor spaces and access to an enclosed garden. Its room arrangement gives busy play and quieter activity different places to happen, while the August 2022 examples show learning through making, experimenting, stories and social interaction.

The balance is clear: a Good inspection judgement and useful physical flexibility, alongside specific questions about extending learning and ensuring quieter children are heard. Those teaching points deserve attention when deciding whether the nursery matches a child's temperament and needs.