Littlebrook Nursery

Littlebrook Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): EY334366
Address: 501 Bath Road, WEST DRAYTON, Middlesex, UB7 0EN
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 18/10/2006
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: Littlebrook Nursery Ltd
Inspection report: 12 May 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
Typically, children make expected progress from their starting points, including those who
face barriers to their learning. However, inconsistences in staff subject knowledge and the
implementation of daily routines mean that some children do not always consistently receive
the most accurate information to build on further. For example, after pre-school children
brush their teeth, staff ask them why this is important. Children explain that toothbrushing
removes 'dirt' from their teeth. Staff do not consistently model more precise language to help
widen children's vocabulary or deepen their understanding of how to keep their teeth
healthy.
Children demonstrate growing confidence and knowledge through their play, exploration and
interactions. For example, older babies demonstrate some actions from familiar songs, such
as rolling their hands to 'wind the bobbin up'. Children develop their gross and fine motor
skills in a variety of ways. Babies splash in water with their hands, helping to strengthen
their hand and arm muscles. Toddlers scoop and pour sand into containers, supporting their
hand–eye coordination. Pre-school children make marks on paper and understand that their
patterns can convey meaning.
Children develop increasing independence in their self-care skills through everyday routines.
For instance, older children self-serve their lunch and persevere at mastering the tricky
technique of using a knife and fork to eat their lunch.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Leaders and staff have high expectations around children's behaviour and are positive role
models. Staff support children, including those with special educational needs and/or
disabilities, to develop good social skills. Through sensitive interactions, modelling and
gentle reminders, staff encourage children to take turns, share and cooperate with others.
Praise is used effectively to reinforce positive behaviour. As a result, children treat one
another with kindness and respect, often inviting their friends from indoors to join their
outdoor play by taking them by the hand. In the baby room, staff use warm facial
expressions and nurturing interactions, which babies respond to with smiles, laughter and
giggles.
Overall, routines across the provision are well established, and children are familiar with
them. However, at times, the organisation of these routines does not fully support purposeful
learning. For example, children are instructed to wash their toothbrushes after brushing
them, which creates a long queue and increases waiting times where there is minimal adult
engagement. When they finish, children move to the carpet area where circle time is already
underway. However, those still waiting in the bathroom queue become a little restless,
arriving later on the carpet and missing aspects of learning that their peers are already
engaged in.
Attendance and punctuality are promoted well. Parents recognise the importance of regular
attendance and follow procedures when their children are absent. This helps to support

children's safety and wellbeing.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders recognise the importance of outdoor play and fresh air, particularly in promoting
children's physical and emotional wellbeing. They intentionally encourage staff to focus on
children from disadvantaged backgrounds who may have limited access to open spaces at
home. As a result, these children, in particular, flourish in the large outdoor environment.
They benefit from plenty of opportunities to run freely, climb and balance with increasing
confidence, coordination and stamina.
There are close and responsive relationships in place between children and their key
person. Care practices are followed from home, helping children to settle, such as sleeping
with their comforter. This is also evident for children who have recently transitioned to the
next room, some of whom have speech delay. They quickly develop friendships with their
peers and happily chase one another around the garden and engage in play activities
indoors with growing levels of cooperation. This shows that all children feel safe, secure and
valued at this welcoming setting.
Overall, children begin to develop an understanding of healthy food choices. However, staff
do not yet consistently deepen older children's understanding of the effects that different
foods, such as sugar, have on their bodies. This does not support children to consider ways
to maintain their overall health.
Staff support children as they learn to recognise, express and manage their feelings. Since
the last inspection, each room includes a thoughtfully planned calm area with suitable
resources, such as books about emotions. These areas are used for children who need time
to relax and regulate themselves. Children frequently choose to use these spaces
independently, where they can quietly reflect or talk calmly with staff about their feelings and
experiences.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have been working with early years advisers to support staff to develop a clearer
understanding of how to effectively implement a sequenced curriculum across the setting.
As part of this ongoing support, the development of children's early writing skills has been
identified as an area for improvement. Staff have received training to implement this, with
some pleasing results already evident.
There is also a focus on developing children's communication and language skills alongside
personal, social and emotional development. However, there are times when staff do not
consistently take account of the age and stage of development of younger babies. For
example, songs are occasionally sung too quickly, which limits opportunities for babies to
hear and absorb language effectively. All children develop a love for books and enjoy looking
at pictures as staff share stories with enthusiasm and expression. However, on occasions,
when engaging in conversations with older children, staff do not always identify or address
children's misunderstandings promptly. This means children's knowledge and skills are not
accurate, leading to gaps in their learning potentially widening. In addition, although most
staff use children's assessments and observations to highlight any gaps in their learning,

this is not consistently identified or addressed promptly enough to reduce barriers to their
learning.
Overall, staff interactions typically support children's developing knowledge and confidence
in mathematics. Mathematical learning is often woven naturally into everyday routines, such
as counting pieces of fruit on children's plates at snack time. Staff also introduce more
explicit teaching, such as by asking simple addition questions and modelling the use of
fingers to calculate totals. In this way, older children, in particular, learn that using fingers is
a helpful strategy to support early problem-solving.
Inclusion Expected standard
Overall, leaders and staff have an appropriate understanding of how best to support
individual children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is strengthened by
working closely with external professionals, who provide guidance and support to develop
tailored plans with small, achievable targets. External professionals have also mentored
individual key persons who support children who face barriers to their learning. This has
enabled staff to deliver more effective interventions, such as one-to-one 'special time', where
these children engage with high-interest toys while key vocabulary is modelled in context.
This means there are positive early steps in reducing barriers and narrowing gaps in
children's learning. That said, this is still in its infancy. Leaders and staff do not yet
consistently review targeted support with parents and carers, as well as external
professionals.
There is further scope to strengthen mentoring and coaching so that staff are more proactive
in identifying and addressing emerging gaps in younger children's learning at an earlier
stage. As a result, some children do not always receive targeted support swiftly enough,
which can allow gaps in learning to widen. That said, as these children transition to the next
room, staff who are trained to deliver targeted interventions provide more focused support,
and gaps begin to reduce.
Support for children with barriers to their learning is promoted more effectively for their
personal, social and emotional development. For example, these children increasingly learn
to engage with others, smiling at staff and their friends as they interact and play alongside
them. Additional funding is spent on helping those children who receive it to develop their
physical skills well, such as purchasing resources that help to develop these children's
stamina, coordination and control.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
In general, leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and areas
for improvement. Since the last inspection, they have implemented several positive
changes, including providing children with increased time and opportunities to explore and
investigate in the outdoors. Leaders are committed to driving continual improvement and
plan to further enhance the outdoor environment by introducing additional sheltered areas,
to enable children to play and learn safely in all weathers.
Leaders are proactive in supporting staff and provide ongoing guidance, including modelling
ways to notice spontaneous moments and skilfully build on children's existing knowledge

and skills. However, some staff do not yet use this approach consistently enough to
strengthen their practice. Monitoring of individual staff's teaching is not yet sufficiently robust
or sharply focused to inform highly personalised professional development. As a result,
children do not consistently achieve to the best of their abilities. Nevertheless, leaders give
careful consideration to staff's wellbeing and workloads.
Typically, leaders prioritise decisions that are in the best interests of children, including those
who face barriers to their learning. This is reflected in the thoughtful use of any additional
funding to meet the specific needs of individual children who are entitled to it, such as to
promote regular attendance and punctuality at the setting, which helps to prepare children
for their next move in education, including school. Leaders are committed to ensuring
children have equal access to the curriculum and the opportunities available to them. They
work closely with external professionals to secure appropriate support for children and their
families, helping children thrive and be ready for their next move in education.
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

Voluntary Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Voluntary 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 with enthusiasm, ready to start their busy day ahead. They separate from
parents and carers with ease, including children who face barriers to their learning. Children
are warmly welcomed by kind and attentive staff. They quickly develop close and trusting
relationships with their key persons and confidently seek them out for play, cuddles or
reassurance when needed. With big smiles, children across the setting engage happily in
stimulating activities on offer, many of which reflect their evolving interests. This
demonstrates that children feel safe, secure and valued at this stimulating setting.
Generally, children's starting points and individual needs are understood by staff, who work
closely with parents to gather relevant information. This partnership supports staff in
identifying children's next steps in learning. The gathering of children's detailed information
allows staff to make thoughtful adaptations to support learning, such as facing children with
speech delay and sitting down at their level so they can clearly see how words are formed.
Overall, children benefit from a broad and varied curriculum. Typically, babies respond
enthusiastically during interactive singing sessions, toddlers proudly complete tasks
independently and pre-school children play collaboratively, sharing resources with their
friends. There is a key focus placed on supporting children's emotional wellbeing. Leaders
aim for children to develop self-regulation skills by the time they transition to their next stage
in education. For example, toddlers use calm, cosy areas in their rooms where staff
introduce and reinforce emotional vocabulary through books and discussion. Older children
self-register on arrival by locating their name card and selecting from a range of visual
emotion cards to show how they are feeling.
Another key priority is providing ample opportunities for physical development through
running, jumping and climbing in the vast garden. This is particularly valuable for children
who have limited access to outdoor space at home. As a result, children develop increasing
coordination, control and confidence in their physical skills. The enjoyment and

Inspector:
Sonia Panchal
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY334366
Address:
501 Bath Road
WEST DRAYTON
Middlesex
UB7 0EN
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
determination they show as they run from one end of the garden to the other is clearly
evident. Over time, children develop a range of skills that support their physical and
emotional wellbeing, and their readiness for school.
Next steps
Leaders should support staff to refine daily routines for older children so transitions and
group activities are managed more efficiently, reducing waiting times and minimising
interruptions to learning.
Leaders should strengthen professional development for staff through targeted coaching
and mentoring to improve the consistency and quality of practice, particularly in
supporting children's communication and language skills.
Leaders should support staff to promote healthy food choices through consistent,
meaningful discussions that help children understand how different foods affect their
bodies.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, 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.

Registration date: 18/10/2006
Registered person: Littlebrook Nursery Ltd
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:15 - 18:30
Local authority: Hillingdon
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 12 May 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
1 to 4
Total number of places
103
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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