Little Nest Day Nursery Forest Hill

Little Nest Day Nursery Forest Hill
Unique reference number (URN): 2806974
Address: 1a Church Rise, LONDON, SE23 2UD
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 05/11/2024
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Little Nest Day Nursery Forest Hill Ltd
Inspection report: 7 July 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, including those who may face barriers to their learning and wellbeing, typically
make steady progress from their individual entry points. Staff focus heavily on
communication and language, ensuring all children rapidly develop the vocabulary and
speaking skills needed to express themselves.
Across the setting, children demonstrate growing curiosity, resilience and independence.
Two-year-olds swiftly build essential social and communication skills. They learn to
cooperate, follow established routines and listen attentively to adults. Because of this robust,
well-sequenced curriculum and carefully tailored transitions, all children are well prepared
for their next steps. This ensures a smooth and successful transition into school when the
time comes.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Leaders have successfully established a positive, welcoming environment underpinned by
commonly understood expectations for behaviour. This is evident from the start of each day,
as leaders and staff greet children and their parents and carers warmly upon arrival. An
emphasis is placed on the importance of regular attendance and punctuality, with leaders
collaborating closely with parents to highlight the long-term advantages of consistent
attendance.
The relationships between staff and children are a strength of the setting. Staff and children
have formed trusting bonds. Children regularly approach staff for comfort or support and
enthusiastically invite them into their play. These secure attachments are fostered right from
the outset through flexible, robust settling-in procedures tailored to individual needs. This
ensures staff know each child deeply, allowing new children, even those managing the
anxiety of separating from parents, to show delight upon seeing their trusted adult. Children
settle quickly and demonstrate that they feel safe, happy and secure.
Staff typically consider each child's stage of development and unique circumstances when
supporting them to maintain the setting's expectations. Daily routines are clearly defined,
which helps children feel secure as they know what to expect next. Staff remain responsive,
modifying these routines if children indicate a need for a different approach. Leaders and
staff consistently model kindness. They offer prompt, age-appropriate guidance to remind
children of the importance of being kind to their peers. Through this supportive approach,
children are well guided to learn how to collaborate, share and get along positively with
others.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders and staff effectively implement procedures that promote children's health, safety
and overall wellbeing. A prime example is the nutritional lunch program. Children thoroughly
enjoy the freshly prepared meals cooked on site each day. Through engaging lunchtime

conversations, children learn what it means to be healthy, noting that eating broccoli helps
them grow strong muscles. These positive experiences help them build healthy habits for
the future. Daily routines are intentionally designed to foster both hygiene and
independence. Young children follow good hygiene practices with support, confidently
washing their hands before meals. Staff further promote healthy lifestyles by introducing oral
health through stories and discussions. This helps children become familiar with
toothbrushing routines.
Staff maintain a secure understanding of safe sleeping practices and conduct regular
checks on sleeping children. By establishing clear care routines, leaders ensure that every
child's individual needs are met in a safe and attentive environment. Leaders ensure that
care practices effectively meet individual needs. Staff adapt daily routines seamlessly,
ensuring all children, including those facing potential barriers, can access learning and
support.
The key-person system is well embedded, allowing children to form secure relationships
with their primary caregivers and the wider team. Staff typically possess comprehensive
knowledge of all children across the setting. They speak confidently about each child's
unique interests, preferences and next steps in their development. This emotional
foundation allows children to feel safe, happy and secure, fostering a positive sense of
wellbeing. Staff use their knowledge of each child to judge when to offer independence and
when to step in with support. As a result, children are successfully encouraged to manage
their own toileting and self-care needs, building vital confidence and autonomy over time.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of curriculum design, carefully planning learning
around what children already know and can do. Activities are structured to build on existing
knowledge, skills and interests, ensuring steady and meaningful progress for all children.
Teaching across the setting is typically effective, characterised by staff who use their
knowledge of each child to ensure learning is engaging and purposeful. Leaders ensure
teaching reflects children's varying developmental stages and learning styles. This inclusive
approach ensures that the curriculum is accessible and impactful. It successfully supports all
children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and varied
starting points, to make progress.
Assessment is a continuous, natural process. Staff closely monitor children's progress. For
example, they note tool handling and dominant hand use in sensory play and discuss mark-
making and colour choices with children to help them understand their thinking. However,
while other areas of learning thrive, opportunities for younger children to develop their larger
physical skills, such as building core strength and using the large muscles in their arms and
legs, are not as consistently embedded. This highlights an area where leaders need to
reflect and drive continuous improvement.
Communication and language development is prioritised through purposeful staff
interactions. Staff utilise every opportunity to talk to the children, including routine times
such as nappy changes and washing their hands for lunch. During play, staff actively narrate
children's actions and introduce key vocabulary, such as teaching the concepts of 'scoop'
and 'pour' during sand play. Mathematics is naturally embedded into daily routines and play.

Children regularly practise counting, such as counting steps on the stairs or toys during tidy-
up time. Staff effectively support this learning by modelling vocabulary related to size and
measurement during play and using storytelling to introduce foundational mathematical
concepts. Leaders also place emphasis on children's personal, social and emotional
development. Staff interact in a calm manner and offer plenty of praise, reassurance and
encouragement. Daily activities are deliberately designed to promote listening, 'kind hands'
and turn-taking, such as the sharing of buckets and spades.
Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders are committed to providing an inclusive environment where all children are valued
and supported to achieve their potential. They use robust observations and assessment
information to recognise when children may need additional help. Through strategic support
and inclusive practices, leaders take swift action to reduce barriers to learning and
wellbeing. They make reasonable adjustments to the environment, such as providing quiet,
calm spaces for children when they feel overwhelmed. They use targeted approaches, such
as reading specific stories, to help children understand and talk about their emotions.
Leaders have a secure understanding of children's starting points. They monitor progress
regularly alongside parents and carers, carefully assessing the impact of any interventions
put in place to ensure they are working. Leaders know how to effectively direct early years
pupil premium funding towards tailored resources and targeted support. This will
successfully narrow the gap for disadvantaged children.
Clear processes are in place for multi-agency working. Leaders know when to reach out to
external professionals to shape children's opportunities. They maintain seamless
communication to support children known or previously known to children's social care.
However, while leaders themselves are swift to identify needs, they do not consistently
ensure that all staff have a secure understanding of how to assess, plan and deliver step-by-
step support for children who need extra help. This lack of targeted training means that staff
are not always equipped to independently implement the early identification of emerging
special educational needs and/or disabilities during day-to-day interactions.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders have a clear and ambitious plan for supporting continual progress in the recently
opened setting. They offer a curriculum that empowers children to be independent, learning
through exploration in the setting's well-equipped indoor spaces. Decisions made by leaders
consistently prioritise the best interests of all children, particularly those facing barriers to
learning, ensuring equitable access to rich learning experiences. Leaders demonstrate an
ability to accurately identify the strengths of the provision. While they have successfully
inducted new staff members, which has already had a positive impact on the day-to-day
running, leaders recognise there is still work to be done to ensure complete consistency.
However, leaders do not yet provide sufficiently targeted professional development to
address these remaining areas for growth, which limits staff confidence and prevents
practice from improving rapidly across the setting.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are happy and settled and feel safe and valued in this nurturing environment. They
get off to a wonderful start each morning, greeted with warm smiles by staff who truly care
about them. Because they form close bonds with the team, children eagerly seek out staff
members for comfort, reassurance and shared moments of joy throughout the day. This
secure sense of security helps children develop a confident 'can-do' attitude, especially
when learning to manage their own needs during daily routines. Children move freely and
happily between activities, knowing that a helping hand is always nearby to make them feel
included.
Children thrive here because their safety, well-being and unique needs are the top priority.
The rooms are filled with carefully chosen toys and resources kept within easy reach. This
allows children to make their own choices and lead their own play. For those who might
need an extra helping hand to attend regularly, support is wrapped around the family to
ensure no one misses out on the fun. Through this attentive care, all children are kept safe
and given what they need to flourish and begin to build emotional resilience.
With this secure foundation, children develop the vital skills, knowledge and confidence they
need to get the best start in life. Their days are filled with exciting, shared experiences, from
story time and sensory play to exploring outdoors. They make progress in their
communication because staff engage them in chatty, back-and-forth conversations all day
long. For example, children eagerly repeat fun phrases while scooping sand and use their
imagination to talk in the ice cream role-play shop. By learning to share, take turns and
cooperate, children begin to build their very first friendships. They are gaining all the
independence they need for their next big steps in learning.
Next steps
Leaders should review and strengthen the physical environment for younger children to
ensure that it offers appropriate opportunities for them to develop their large physical
movements.
Leaders should strengthen staff understanding of early identification of emerging special
educational needs and/or disabilities, so that appropriate strategies are implemented
consistently and children receive timely support to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Inspector:
Natasha Wood
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2806974
Address:
1a Church Rise
LONDON
SE23 2UD
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 05/11/2024
Registered person: Little Nest Day Nursery Forest Hill Ltd
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 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 7 July 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children, parents and carers 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.

1 to 2
Total number of places
39
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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