CleverClogs Longwater

A sleep room for Hedgehogs, outdoor access for Owls and separate spaces for Squirrels give CleverClogs Longwater a clearly staged approach to the early years. This New Costessey nursery accepts children from 3 months to 5 years and has capacity for 92 children. Its youngest rooms each accommodate up to 15 children, a useful starting point for parents weighing the scale of baby and toddler care.

At its 4 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good and safeguarding effective, while asking for sharper evaluation of learning and clearer explanations of unfamiliar ideas and words. Later supervision concerns matter alongside that judgement: corrective action was recorded in November 2025 and July 2026 following issues involving movement between the building and garden.

Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings serve different family routines. The strongest practical details are the room arrangements, individual learning journals and the attention given to babies’ routines during settling.

Rooms and Ages

Hedgehogs accommodates up to 15 babies aged 3 to 18 months, with activity and messy-play or eating spaces alongside a sleep room, a flexible daily structure and outdoor time when weather permits.

Owls takes up to 15 children aged 13 months to 2½ years, combining imaginative play, construction and craft with freely accessible outdoor space and beds equipped with individual bedding for rest.

Squirrels serves children aged 2 to 3½ years, emphasising friendships and self-help through play, with garden access, short group activities introducing letters and numbers, and separate spaces for smaller activities and naps.

Deers accommodates up to 24 children aged 3 to 5 years, developing independence, social confidence, early writing and problem-solving through play and shared discussion.

Foxes takes up to 22 children aged 3 to 5 years, with the same preschool emphasis on imaginative play, construction, group games, letters and sounds.

These age bands overlap. The whole-setting capacity is a separate measure from each room’s maximum; neither tells parents how many children will attend together on a particular day.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) structures learning through play, covering language, movement, relationships, early literacy and mathematics, creative expression and understanding the world. Planning draws on children’s interests and their next steps, with activities led both by children and by adults. This is the statutory foundation of the nursery day, rather than an additional branded programme.

iConnect is the online learning journal: practitioners collect observations, photographs and artwork, and parents can contribute through their login. The journal follows children between rooms. That gives families a continuing account of development rather than a fresh start whenever a child changes group.

In May 2023, children explored balance by building on toy vehicles and made imaginary creatures using modelling materials. Early writing involved marks in sand and dough, alongside movements that exercised hands and fingers. These examples connect purposeful learning to ordinary play: balancing calls for experimentation, while manipulating materials prepares hands for more controlled marks.

The improvement points are equally concrete. In May 2023, evaluation needed to examine more closely what activities helped children remember, understand and accomplish; explanations of unfamiliar vocabulary and complicated ideas also needed greater clarity. Attractive activities alone were not the whole test. Their effect on learning mattered.

Outdoor and Community Life

In May 2023, babies explored natural textures, toddlers experimented with sounds using utensils outdoors, and children practised movement through climbing, sliding and ride-on play. The garden supported sensory exploration as well as physical activity.

Longwater’s Christmas party has included craft-making, party food and a visit from Santa. This is an example of a branch celebration, rather than a promise about a future date or a fixed annual programme.

Relationships and Communication

Settling in Hedgehogs centres on learning each baby’s routines and needs. That is an important practical distinction: the starting point is the child’s existing pattern of sleep, feeding and care, rather than expecting every baby to fit the same timetable immediately.

Communication is tailored to the room. Baby updates cover feeds, sleep, nappy changes and activities through iconnect; Owls uses individual daily records for eating, sleep and nappies. In Squirrels, a parent board summarises activities, meals and rest. These arrangements give families information about care as well as learning, helping them connect the nursery day with the evening at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

In May 2023, staff shared observations with parents and used assessments to shape activities around individual development. Children also practised everyday independence: older children prepared fruit and helped with washing up, while babies found belongings before outdoor play. These were inspection-time examples of care and learning working together.

The later regulatory position deserves clear attention. In its 15 July 2026 outcome, Ofsted recorded that requirements had not been met, but corrective action had strengthened supervision and reinforced procedures for moving between indoor and outdoor areas. In November 2025, action had also followed an incident in which a child briefly lacked supervision during that transition. Both outcomes recorded remedial action; the supervision issue nevertheless recurred.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is 441 Dereham Road, New Costessey, Norwich NR5 0SG. Opening hours run from 7.45am to 6pm on weekdays throughout the year, with bank-holiday closures.

The booking choices are a morning from 8am to 1pm, an afternoon from 1pm to 6pm, or a full day from 8am to 6pm. An earlier start at 7.45am costs extra and requires advance booking. The opening window therefore includes an arrangement beyond the standard session start.

Longwater can be contacted on 01603 742592 or through its contact form. Its waiting-list rule considers the order of enquiries alongside birth order and siblings already attending. This is a booking rule, not an indication of current vacancies.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered from 9 months, with the full entitlement and additional funded hours for eligible families; term-time and stretched arrangements are offered. Term-time contracts follow Norfolk County Council’s school dates. Private hours beyond the funded allocation are charged separately, so the attendance pattern and funding allocation need to be read together.

During funded sessions, food carries a separate charge, with the option for parents to supply it instead. Parents provide nappies, wipes and items such as nappy cream and sun cream; funded arrangements also include conditional consumable charges for attendance exceeding three term-time half-days, and a contribution covering an early start and consumables when funding exceeds 20 hours.

A deposit applies when children attend beyond their funded sessions, while fully funded attendance is exempt. One month’s written notice is required to cancel or reduce sessions, and charges continue for holidays, sickness and bank holidays. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation; the fee and pricing policy explains how these categories fit together.

• Repeated transition concerns. Corrective action followed supervision issues in November 2025 and July 2026. Ask staff to demonstrate how children are accounted for when moving between the garden and building, and how that procedure is checked.
• Learning beyond the activity. The May 2023 improvement points concerned evaluating learning and explaining unfamiliar concepts. A useful visit discussion is how practitioners now establish what children have understood and remembered.
• Funding and extras. Funded-session food is separately charged unless supplied from home, and consumable contributions depend on attendance. Request a written breakdown for the precise morning, afternoon or full-day pattern you intend to book.
• Settling and room changes. Hedgehogs uses a settling process based on individual routines, and room age bands overlap. Ask how settling visits and later room moves are adapted to your child, including their sleep needs.

CleverClogs Longwater suits families seeking morning or afternoon sessions as well as full-day attendance, with room arrangements that distinguish babies’ care from older children’s growing independence. The sleep provision, outdoor access and continuing iConnect journal give parents concrete features to weigh.

The Good judgement belongs to May 2023. Repeated later supervision concerns, despite recorded corrective action, make transition procedures an essential part of choosing this nursery. A decision should bring those safeguards together with the room, settling arrangements and complete charging structure that fit the child.