Little Minds Nursery

A village hall, a mud kitchen and countryside exploration give Little Minds Nursery a recognisable character. At Tormarton Village Hall, indoor play sits alongside forest and farm exploration, bringing nature into children's learning.

The nursery has capacity for 65 children aged 11 months to 5 years. At its 3 December 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall and judged safeguarding effective. That positive assessment came with two clear priorities: more consistent encouragement of independence, and better adaptation of activities and routines to extend learning.

Morning, afternoon, full-day and School Day bookings offer different lengths of care, with term-time or all-year contracts.

Rooms and Ages

Two playrooms organise the day by developmental stage: a dedicated room for toddlers up to two and a half, and a pre school room in the main hall for children aged two and a half to 5. The hall combines space for movement with quieter corners for conversation, giving older children room for active play and somewhere to pause with friends.

Little Minds operates as a pack-away setting. A mud kitchen and wildlife exploration provide outdoor play on site; village walks and neighbouring farm visits take learning further afield.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the educational foundation, covering areas of learning through experiences that develop children's language, physical abilities, relationships and understanding of the world. Alongside it, Little Minds Curriculum uses the child's FUTURE as its organising idea, placing emphasis on communication, independence, resilience and meaningful experiences. The curriculum description connects these priorities to children's interests rather than setting out a fixed sequence of adult-led tasks.

Child-initiated play shapes planning: practitioners build on existing abilities and respond to learning opportunities during play. Birth to 5 matters supports planning and progress reviews, keeping each child's development central to the next step.

In December 2024, babies practised communication through gestures, spoken words, songs and actions. Two-year-olds explored the sounds at the start of their names through stories and rhyming pictures. Preschool children had time to consider questions before answering. These examples show how language learning can run through conversation and play, rather than being confined to a separate lesson.

December 2024 findings also identified missed learning opportunities in the main room: staff needed to adjust activities and routines more consistently to sustain engagement and extend children's skills.

Outdoor and Community Life

Mini Explorer sessions explore local forest and farms, taking learning beyond indoor resources. Physical activity sessions serve all ages, with dance offered from age 3.

In December 2024, younger children negotiated a small hill in the nursery's outdoor area, two-year-olds exercised in the park and preschool children explored uneven ground during forest school sessions. Finding slug eggs prompted discussion about what would happen next.

In December 2024, community life included walks, farm visits and stories read by a visiting church representative. Preschool children also rehearsed nativity play songs, participating in village church events.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who follows their development, plans next steps and exchanges information with parents through assessments and daily conversations. Settling is linked to this relationship, so the person supporting a child also builds an understanding of their family and individual needs.

An online journal provides updates, while each child's key worker writes 2 reports per year using their abilities and interests to set targets. Parents receive both everyday information and structured developmental reporting.

At the December 2024 inspection, Ofsted found good progress and collaboration between key persons, parents and management to arrange extra support and address learning gaps.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDco coordinates additional support. When concerns arise, staff meet parents and introduce a My Support Plan with targets and supporting activities; it is reviewed every 6-8 weeks, with quarterly progress meetings involving the key person and manager. This gives families a defined cycle for reviewing support rather than relying solely on informal conversations.

WellComm assesses speech and language each term. The Leuven assessment scale is used to consider emotional wellbeing and involvement in learning. Where further help is needed, the SENDco can adapt experiences, obtain resources and seek support through South Gloucestershire Council. Transition work includes sharing information with parents and professionals as children move on to school.

In December 2024, staff responded to children's dietary needs and rest requirements. Independence was less consistent: preschool children sometimes received too little encouragement to persist with changing after outdoor sessions, and two-year-olds had fewer opportunities to practise doing things for themselves. Everyday care routines therefore formed part of the improvement agenda, alongside planned learning activities.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks of the year. All-year contracts and term-time contracts are offered; term-time dates broadly follow South Gloucestershire terms and exclude Inset days. Bank holidays and a week at Christmas are closures.

Morning sessions run from 8am to 1pm or 9am to 1pm. Afternoon sessions run from 1pm to 5pm or 1pm to 6pm. Full Day options are 8am to 6pm, 8am to 5pm, 8am to 4pm, 9am to 5pm and 9am to 6pm; School Day runs from 9am to 4pm. The minimum booking is 2 sessions across 2 days each week, with a morning, afternoon or full day each counting as one session.

The address is Tormarton Village Hall, High Street, Tormarton, Badminton, GL9 1HU. The setting has access to the A46 and junction 18 of the M4. General enquiries can be made by telephone on 01454 218747 or by email at childcare@littlemindsnurseryltd.co.uk.

Funding and Paid Extras

The charging structure effective from 1st January 2024 includes 15 hour funding for eligible working parents' children aged 9 months and 2 years, universal 15 hour funding for ages 3 and 4, and 30 hours funding for eligible working parents of children aged 3 and 4. Funding starts in the term after children reach the eligible funding age; the 15-hour entitlement covers 38 weeks per annum. Funding can follow term-time attendance or be stretched for all-year attendance; additional hours attract private fees. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Under the first funding option, funded hours can be used across sessions with a separate consumables service charge covering meals, snacks and additional provision. A second option removes that service charge and the deposit, while charging separately for food: its term-time patterns are afternoons from 3pm to 6pm for 15 hours, or mornings from 8am to 11am together with afternoons from 3pm to 6pm for 30 hours. These sessions exclude Forest School and require a fresh application each term.

Meals and snacks are charged separately on funded arrangements.

For ordinary bookings, a deposit is required; it is non-refundable if the agreed place is not taken up, while a portion is credited on the final invoice if the required notice has been given. The second funding option has its own deposit exemption. The fees and funding terms explain the distinction between the two arrangements.

• Independence in everyday routines. December 2024 findings identified uneven opportunities for children to manage tasks themselves. On a visit, ask how staff now support two-year-olds and help preschool children persist with changing and other practical tasks.
• Funding changes the attendance pattern. The option without a consumables service charge uses specified term-time sessions, excludes Forest School and requires reapplication each term. Compare that arrangement with the broader session choice before deciding which fits your week.
• Food and allergy arrangements. Meals remain a separate charge on funded arrangements, and bringing food from home is restricted except for a SEND need. Families affected by allergies should confirm current food-handling practice and how individual dietary needs are managed.
• The pack-away hall setting. Older children use the main hall, with movement space and quieter corners. A visit can help you judge how that arrangement works for your child and how resources are organised through the day.

Little Minds suits families who value countryside exploration, child-led play and a key-person relationship supported by regular developmental reporting. Morning and afternoon sessions, several full-day lengths and the School Day pattern give it relevance to different working weeks, while term-time and all-year contracts provide another useful choice.

The December 2024 Good judgement supports that appeal, with clear qualifications: children needed more consistent opportunities to act independently, and activities and routines needed better adaptation to extend learning.