Little Learners Day Care Ltd in Portsmouth has maintained its ‘Good’ rating following an Ofsted inspection conducted on 24 April 2025, with inspectors praising the nursery’s educational quality and child development approach.
The nursery, located at Park Lodge on Clarkes Road, received ‘Good’ ratings across all categories including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This matches the rating achieved at their previous inspection in June 2019.
Strong Educational Foundation
Inspectors noted that children arrive at the nursery with “delighted smiles” as staff greet them warmly, with children forming “close and meaningful bonds with their key person”. The curriculum was described as “ambitious and interesting” with a clear focus on preparing children for their next educational stage.
Staff implement activities that encourage children’s excitement about writing, with older children taking pride in successfully writing their names. The nursery demonstrates particular strength in supporting babies’ language development, with staff singing and building vocabulary through activities such as water play.
Reading and Learning Culture
The setting actively promotes children’s love for stories and books throughout the facility. Staff read enthusiastically and use books to build children’s knowledge, including teaching them about brain health. Children demonstrate strong comprehension skills, easily answering questions about story content.
Special Needs Support
Staff show good understanding of supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities, using assessments effectively and working closely with external professionals such as speech and language therapists. This collaborative approach ensures children benefit from shared learning strategies.
Areas for Development
While children generally develop independence through activities like hand washing and bottle filling, inspectors identified that mealtime independence could be better supported. The report noted that staff don’t always recognise when older children are ready to use knives to cut their food.
Staff Development and Leadership
Leaders consistently provide professional development opportunities for their 17 staff members, with employees achieving further early years qualifications whilst employed at the nursery. Staff receive targeted training, including mental health and wellbeing education for children.
The nursery operates full-day care from 7:30am to 6pm on weekdays throughout the year, serving 169 children across 63 places for ages ranging from birth to eight years. The facility provides government-funded early education for eligible children between nine months and four years.
Ofsted confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective, with an “open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first”.
