Little Elms Daycare Sydenham

Little Elms Daycare Sydenham
Unique reference number (URN): EY440075
Address: 246 Perry Hill, LONDON, SE6 4HD
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 12/01/2012
Registers: EYR, CCR
Registered person: Little Elms Daycare Nursery Limited
Inspection report: 23 April 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
Safeguarding standards met
The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for
governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open
culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively
identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding.
Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all
legal requirements are met.

Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Children develop their self-esteem and become curious explorers. They are provided with
activities and experiences to help support them to develop age-appropriate skills across all
areas of the curriculum. Children learn about the environment, the food they can grow, the
minibeasts in the soil and local parks. This supports their understanding of the world around
them and healthy lifestyles.
All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities who have
tailored support, make positive progress from their starting points. Children are generally
well supported to reach their developmental milestones successfully and are suitably
prepared for their next learning stage effectively. Babies learn how to adapt to new
environments and people in a safe way.
Children develop a positive attitude towards learning, using their curiosity to explore what is
available to them. They are eager to use the resources available to explore the living
creatures in the soil, developing their physical skills and learning how to use an identification
chart to find out what they see.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Children show positive attachments to staff and seek them out if they need support or
reassurance. Regular communication with parents ensures that staff meet children's
changing needs and adapt their approach as needed, supporting children's emotional
wellbeing further.
Overall, children learn and understand what is expected of them. They learn how to share
resources and take turns during their play. However, there are some inconsistencies in the
staff's organisation of transitions in the daily routines. Consequently, at mealtimes, staff do
not help children effectively enough to understand what is going to happen next.
Staff have high expectations for children and are positive role models, promoting how to
engage respectfully. All children behave well. They are polite and follow instructions.
Leaders recognise the challenges they have faced and ensure children and families remain
at the heart of what they do. They have worked hard to establish a positive environment
where children can learn in a safe and acceptable way to express themselves. They
promote an inclusive and respectful environment where all families are welcome.
Leaders understand the importance of regular attendance in supporting children's progress
and promote this effectively with families, helping children to benefit fully from the learning
on offer. They offer slower mornings where children ease into the day at their own pace.
This helps them to settle well when they arrive and supports their understanding of the
routines of the setting successfully. It supports better attendance and helps prepare children
for later learning, including attending school.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders and staff implement and follow effective procedures to support children's welfare
and wellbeing, providing a safe environment and a place where children can feel happy and
secure.
Children are successfully supported to develop self-care skills. For example, babies learn to
feed themselves using a spoon, developing their confidence and coordination skills. Older
children learn about oral health and have opportunities to practise their toothbrushing skills
during activities. This supports children's independence and understanding of how to keep
themselves healthy.
Relationships between staff and children are warm and responsive. The key-person system
is effective in building secure relationships with children. Children show they feel safe and
secure, confidently exploring their learning environment and seeking out staff when they
need comfort or reassurance. Regular communication with parents helps staff to meet
children's changing needs. As a result, staff have a secure knowledge of the children,
including their likes and interests, any additional support they may need and dietary
requirements.
Outdoor learning is effectively embedded in the curriculum. Staff provide children with
opportunities to be outdoors and be physically active. For example, children use different
tools to dig in the soil, using magnifying glasses to look at which creatures live there. Older
children learn about the fruits and vegetables they can grow and eat. Children have access
to activities and trips into the local community, which extends their development further.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have a secure understanding about child development and how children learn.
They support staff to create a curriculum that builds effectively on what children already
know and can do. When planning, staff consider the needs and stages of learning of
children to ensure activities help children to make continuous progress in their development.
However, not all staff are yet confident in implementing the curriculum. For example, when
children use the available water play, their communication, including mathematical
language, is not being strengthened and extended as expected by the leaders.
Generally, children's communication and language are supported well overall. For example,
babies enjoy singing nursery rhymes and exploring books. Older children hear staff role-
modelling language during play and asking them questions to extend their learning.
Although leaders have started to support their staff team, the youngest children are not
consistently benefiting from high quality interactions. For example, although babies are
happy exploring their new learning environment and crawling over and under the soft
shapes in the garden, staff's interactions with them are limited and do not fully extend their
learning. Nevertheless, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or
disabilities, make steady progress in their development.

Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders assess and evaluate the provision to identify what it is children need and how to
best support them in their learning. They create an inclusive environment and build positive
and open relationships with parents. The manager effectively monitors children's progress
and works with staff to identify children who need extra support. Staff work together with
other professionals involved and parents to develop personalised support, particularly for
those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known, or
previously known, to social care.
Parents talk about the support they receive, especially to help remove any barriers their
children might face in their learning. This has a positive impact on the children as they thrive
and make sufficient progress in their learning and development.
Leaders have a secure understanding of child development and the vulnerabilities that
families living in the local area face. They use any additional funding children receive to
enhance their learning experiences further. This includes trips to the local community,
including parks, to help children experience a variety of outdoor learning. This helps to build
children's confidence to explore new environments, extend their knowledge about the
community they live in and to develop their physical skills.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders are committed and highly motivated. They review all aspects of the setting with
rigour and demonstrate a clear willingness to implement improvements. Their ability to
identify where practice needs to be strengthened has enabled them to address weaker
areas effectively to promote children's sense of security. Although staff are still developing
their understanding of how to embed the newly introduced curriculum, they benefit from
purposeful support and guidance from leaders to enhance their practice.
Leaders follow safer recruitment procedures and ensure that new staff complete a thorough
induction. They hold regular one-to-one supervision meetings, which support staff wellbeing
and identify professional development needs. Staff enjoy their work and experience
wellbeing support from leaders. This has a positive impact on how staff engage with children
and their families.
Staff build positive and professional relationships with parents and share meaningful
information about children's learning. Parents speak positively about the care their children
receive and appreciate the support offered to their families. Communication provides
parents with information about their child's day and progress.

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children become curious and independent learners at this setting. Information gathered
from parents when children first start means staff can meet children's individual routines
from home and support them to settle. Children are happy and enjoy playing with their
peers. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well,
reducing any barriers they might face to learning. Any gaps in learning are targeted with
individualised plans. This means all children make the progress they are capable of and are
well prepared for the next stage of learning, including school.
Children learn about their feelings and emotions and how to express them in safe and
acceptable ways. This helps them to form respectful relationships with their peers. Children
learn what is expected of them and become familiar with the daily routine. Children
demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and actively explore the clean and well-organised
learning environment. They show confidence, problem-solving skills and a 'can-do' attitude.
For example, babies try to independently put shapes in the shape sorter.
There is a focus on supporting children's healthy lifestyles. Children receive fresh and
nutritious meals and snacks and have opportunities to learn about oral health and be
outdoors daily. This supports children to develop their understanding about how to stay fit
and how to look after their health. Children enjoy activities using real fruits and vegetables in
their outdoor kitchen and practise brushing teeth, using a dental demonstration model.
Children learn and understand about their health and how to make healthy choices. This
positively impacts their overall wellbeing.

Inspector:
Anja Eribake
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY440075
Address:
246 Perry Hill
LONDON
SE6 4HD
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 12/01/2012
Registered person: Little Elms Daycare Nursery Limited
Next steps
Leaders should continue to support all staff to understand and confidently embed the
curriculum across the setting.
Leaders should focus on staff's development to ensure younger children receive
consistently high-quality teaching.
Leaders should further develop the organisation of transition times during daily routines,
including mealtimes, to support children to understand and prepare for what will happen
next.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, parents and children during the inspection.
We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the
quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The
registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for
children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.
We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we
received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information
about this.

Register(s): EYR, CCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Lewisham
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 23 April 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
62
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
Expected standard
The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are
following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional
standards expected of them.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.
Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects
and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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