Little Pearls Nursery and Preschool Ltd

Little Pearls Nursery and Preschool Ltd
Unique reference number (URN): 2830527
Address: 29 Mansfield Road, Ilford, IG1 3BA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 15/04/2025
Registers: EYR, CCR
Registered person: Little Pearls Nursery and Preschool Ltd
Inspection report: 30 March 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.

Strong standard
Achievement Strong standard
Children make excellent progress from their individual starting points across all areas of
learning. Children show highly positive attitudes to learning, engaging fully in both adult-led
activities and chosen play. Children ably take responsibility for parts of the daily routine,
such as setting the table or organising their belongings. They use new vocabulary with
increasing accuracy, including mathematical language to compare size and numbers. Many
children show pride in their achievements and seek adults out to share what they have
done.
Physical development is prioritised well. Staff provide abundant opportunities for children to
strengthen both large and small physical skills through carefully planned activities and
outdoor play. Children also make secure progress in developing independence and self-care
skills. From a young age, they learn to eat independently, dress and undress themselves,
brush their teeth and manage personal hygiene routines confidently.
Disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and
children who face other barriers to learning make similarly sustained progress due to highly
effective targeted support and tailored teaching. As a result, all children flourish, develop
confidence and resilience and are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their
learning, including school.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Positive relationships between staff and children are a significant strength of the setting.
Staff know children exceptionally well and provide warm, responsive interactions that help
children to feel safe, secure and emotionally supported. Leaders have established a kind,
caring and highly nurturing environment where expectations for behaviour are clear,
consistent and well understood by children and staff.
Children learn to recognise and understand their feelings through purposeful conversations,
daily interactions and thoughtfully planned activities. Children are supported to consider how
others may feel through gentle questioning and discussion, helping them to develop
empathy, emotional awareness and an understanding of consequences. Children respond
positively to this approach, showing increasing awareness of their own and others' feelings.
Children listen attentively and engage with adults who model this understanding. For
example, during circle time, children listen as staff help them to understand that everyone
can make mistakes.
Leaders take decisive and supportive action to promote good attendance and punctuality,
working proactively with families where concerns arise. For example, leaders make prompt
'check-in' calls when children do not arrive at the expected time and work collaboratively
with families to reduce barriers to attendance, such as adapting session times to better meet
individual family needs. This helps to ensure that children attend regularly, settle quickly into
routines and benefit consistently from the rich learning opportunities on offer.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Children's welfare and wellbeing are at the heart of practice. The nursery is safe, calm and
welcoming, helping children to settle quickly and develop a strong sense of security and
belonging. Staff know each child extremely well and respond sensitively to their individual
needs, offering reassurance, close support or space as needed. Secure relationships
ensure that children feel emotionally safe and confident to explore.
Healthy habits are embedded throughout the day. Children independently wash their hands,
manage self-care routines and learn about balanced food choices through a well-planned
menu that reflects a variety of cultures and encourages children to try new foods.
Children learn to recognise, express and manage their emotions and show high levels of
emotional security. Independence is a clear focus throughout the nursery. This is evident in
children's positive attitudes, growing self-care skills and confidence in managing daily
routines. For instance, staff discuss the importance of oral hygiene with children, helping
them to understand how to care for their teeth. Children use mirrors to check their teeth
when brushing, and a sand timer helps them know when they can finish. This builds
familiarity and confidence with oral health in a fun and practical way.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
The curriculum is ambitious, thoughtfully designed, fully embedded and highly effective. A
real strength of the setting is the clear vision of what leaders and staff want children to learn,
fully rooted in child development. Learning is thoughtfully sequenced so that new knowledge
builds effectively on prior learning. Each room has clear learning intentions for children's
learning, which are regularly reviewed and adapted to reflect children's needs and interests.
Children experience a rich blend of adult-led teaching and meaningful play opportunities.
Children benefit from adults who model language very well and introduce new vocabulary as
they play, read, sing and explore together. Children show curiosity, a sense of fun and
interest as they join in. Children recall familiar stories, such as 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar',
in their play as they explore with play dough that has been creatively set up with natural
resources and small-world minibeasts. This helps children to make connections with the
current learning theme across the nursery. Children with additional needs take part in
'bucket time' sessions that provide motivating and visually engaging experiences. Children
are supported to focus their attention for longer periods and to join in with adult-led group
activities.
Children use a range of resources to support their early mathematical development. For
example, children match small wooden ladybirds to laminated sheets to recognise numbers
and practise counting. Children concentrate as they carefully place the correct number of
objects and take pride in their achievements. Children use clipboards and pencils to record
what they have counted, helping them to begin forming numbers.

Inclusion Strong standard
The setting demonstrates a highly consistent, skilled and proactive approach to inclusion
that goes beyond expected practice. Leaders and practitioners know all the children who
face barriers to their learning exceptionally well and identify additional needs early on. This
ensures that children receive timely interventions and personalised targets that are sharply
focused on helping them make secure and sustained progress from their starting points.
Detailed information is gathered from parents at the earliest opportunity. Staff use this
information, alongside their precise tracking of children's progress, to plan and adapt
support with accuracy. Progress is reviewed continuously, and adaptations are adjusted
systematically so children can participate fully in all aspects of nursery life. Staff work
proactively with external professionals to support children with special educational needs
and/or disabilities and those that face barriers to their learning. Leaders consistently review
focused targets and outcomes for children and share these with parents and staff. These
collaborative working partnerships help to maintain continuity when supporting children to
reach their individual learning outcomes. Parents comment, 'We couldn't ask for a better
nursery.'
Leaders have a comprehensive understanding of their local community and provide targeted
support for children and families, such as food and clothes bank initiatives. These actions
consistently reduce potential barriers to learning. Leaders use additional funding
strategically. They ensure that it has a clear and measurable impact on improving outcomes
for disadvantaged children. Staff are extremely well supported by leaders in accessing
further training and in tailoring their approach to meet children's needs.
Leadership and governance Strong standard
Leadership and governance are significant strengths of the setting. Leaders are ambitious,
inspirational and deeply reflective, with robust systems firmly in place that drive continuous
improvement. Monitoring and evaluation are rigorous. Leaders maintain a detailed
continuous improvement plan, demonstrating clear progress over time, and they already
have plans in place for future developments. For example, the outdoor play space has been
identified as an area to enhance further, providing even more opportunities for children's
learning and development.
Leaders have a very comprehensive understanding of their setting and the local community
in which they are based. They place the service of that community and the needs of their
families and children at the heart of everything that they do. They work closely with all
families to ensure that they receive tailored support where needed and to build effective
working relationships.
Parents value the support that they experience from leaders and staff alike. Leaders are
highly proactive in building relationships with all families, such as in developing special
seasonal events to welcome them in. Parents are consistently positive about the ongoing
communication that they receive. They also feel that any special educational needs and/or
disabilities are identified early and skilfully supported.
Leaders manage staff workload effectively, ensuring high morale and a committed,
motivated team. Decisions are consistently made in the best interests of children,

particularly for those who are disadvantaged or face barriers to learning. Staff feel supported
and empowered, which translates into high-quality teaching and care. Overall, leadership is
highly effective, ensuring that all children thrive and achieve their potential.
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 arrive at this welcoming nursery happy, confident and ready to engage in the day
ahead. They are warmly greeted by highly skilled, attentive staff who know them well, offer
reassurance where needed and support smooth separations from carers. Children quickly
settle into familiar routines and carefully considered environments that reflect their interests,
helping them feel secure, valued and ready to learn.
The thoughtfully designed indoor and outdoor spaces spark children's curiosity, imagination
and a love for learning. Children confidently choose from rich, stimulating activities that
promote their independence and build important lifelong skills. Children access a rich and
ambitious curriculum where learning is embedded through purposeful play. Children
demonstrate excellent behaviour. They remain purposefully engaged and motivated,
displaying positive attitudes towards their learning.
Children are given special roles in the pre-school room, which help to build their confidence
and raise their self-esteem. For example, children take responsibility as lunch monitors,
where they help to lay the table and set out named place mats. Children also take part in
sharing the daily routine by using the laminated 'Now and Next' book to tell others what is

Inspector:
Anne Maher
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2830527
Address:
29 Mansfield Road
happening next. This supports children to develop a sense of responsibility, strengthen their
speaking and listening skills and become increasingly assured when communicating in front
of others.
Children extend their understanding of the world through rich, developmentally appropriate
interactions with staff. Children's learning is targeted and supported when staff work closely
with parents and other professionals and use precise assessment to identify their individual
needs. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully included and
achieve well when staff regularly review and adapt their provision. Children thrive in this
nursery and are well prepared for their next stage of learning.
Next steps
Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure
continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a
transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children,
those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known (or
previously known) to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their
learning and/or wellbeing.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with the managers, practitioners, parents, children, the special
educational needs coordinator and those with designated safeguarding roles 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.

Ilford
IG1 3BA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 15/04/2025
Registered person: Little Pearls Nursery and Preschool Ltd
Register(s): EYR, CCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00
Local authority: Redbridge
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 30 March 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
1 to 4
Total number of places
64
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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