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Early Buds Nursery Ltd

Early Buds Nursery Ltd is a day nursery in London for children aged 1 to 4, with 100 registered places. Ofsted report card, 15 May 2026: Strong standard in 3 areas, Expected standard in 3 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Edinburgh Primary School, 97 Queens Road, London, E17 8QR

Early Buds Nursery Ltd is at Edinburgh Primary School.

Key facts

Type
Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
1 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
100 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
30 July 2024 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:45 - 18:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 15 May 2026

Who runs it

Early Buds Nursery Ltd is run by Early Buds Nursery Ltd (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Strong standard
  • Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
  • Achievement: Expected standard
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
  • Leadership and governance: Expected standard
  • Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 15 May 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive happy and excited to come into the nursery. They smile, laugh and happily leave their parents. Children feel safe and secure at the nursery and have warm and supportive relationships with staff. Key persons develop a deep and loving relationship with their key children. This helps all children to settle and thrive. Children develop their social skills as they make new friends and build friendships. They typically enjoy learning as they take part in activities, indoors and outdoors. Consequently, children make secure progress from their starting points and achieve the skills they need for school.

Children enjoy making smoothies using fruit. They are highly engaged in this multi-sensory activity. Children develop physical skills as they cut fruit and use tools to mash it into the cup. They learn about understanding the world as they make healthy choices and about mathematics as they count and measure.

Staff ensure that all children are supported to take part in activities, including those with barriers to learning. For example, they offer children individual support so that they do not feel overwhelmed. Staff provide a predictable environment and use strategies to inform children of any upcoming changes in routines. They use visual schedules to help children understand and process what is happening. Staff ensure that children's attendance is monitored to help ensure that they make the most of their time at the nursery to learn and develop. Staff understand children's backgrounds and cultures. Children learn to celebrate and explore the differences and similarities they share with others. This supports them to develop high levels of respect for one another. As a result, children build friendships and play well together. Children explore mixing water with play dough and use spray bottles to add water, helping to support sensory play and small-physical development.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

Specialised staff consistently work closely with staff to swiftly identify if children need additional support to meet their individual needs. They make comprehensive referrals to the relevant external agencies to get the support children need. Staff follow targeted strategies to help children make effective progress from their starting points. For example, staff shift children's attention in situations that might lead to challenging behaviour and encourage positive behaviour. This helps them to provide high levels of support for the children in their care.

Leaders use specific funding to support children, to support further training for staff and to purchase new equipment to help children progress. Leaders ensure that children who are known to, or previously known to, children's social care are well supported. Staff work closely with parents and carers and professionals to help children feel safe and secure. For example, to support children's emotional needs, staff offer safe spaces to help them to express their feelings and emotions. This helps children to process their experiences and reduce anxiety. Leaders use early years pupil premium funding to provide experiences that children may not receive at home.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Staff typically interact well with all children to help develop their communication and language skills. However, they do not consistently maximise back-and-forth exchanges with babies. This does not help to further develop babies' communication skills. Leaders implement a well-designed curriculum to support children's overall development. Staff read stories to older children, introducing them to new words and sentence structures. Staff create a safe and comforting environment that strengthens children's emotional health. Children enjoy outdoor play, where they learn to run and move quickly in different directions. For example, they climb, ride wheeled toys and engage in mud play. Staff help children to develop spatial awareness and confidence through active and engaging play.

Children enjoy singing nursery rhymes and use actions to express their understanding. This helps to develop their early literacy skills. Staff offer praise and encouragement to help children feel confident and relaxed. Children develop mathematical awareness as they count, weigh and measure during an activity where they make play dough. They carefully scoop out the flour from the bag and measure and pour the oil before mixing it all together. Children use mathematical language as they talk about the measurements. Staff demonstrate an appropriate understanding of the areas of learning and promote children's independence well. They check for any gaps in children's learning to help them to make secure progress. Staff support children to respect one another and learn about each other. For example, they teach children about different cultures and festivals.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children are typically prepared for their move on to school. They make secure progress from their starting points and are motivated to learn. Children select and handle books, turning the pages easily. Younger babies typically maintain eye contact for longer periods and watch adult faces as they talk to them. Toddlers develop imaginary play, for example, by pretending to put dolls to sleep. They listen to simple stories and understand what is happening with the support of pictures.

Older children are able to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. They articulate their ideas and thoughts in well-formed sentences. Children develop friendships with other children. They talk about their feelings in more meaningful ways. For example, they can express when they are sad or happy. Children carry out appropriate tasks. They clear away their own plates after eating. Children follow rules and understand why they are important.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Children develop consistent and positive relationships with staff. They feel safe, secure and understood. Staff provide effective care practices and routines that help to meet children's care needs well. Staff help children to understand boundaries. For example, they explain why there are rules and use visuals as reminders. Children share and take turns. Children can increasingly manage their own feelings and behaviour. This supports their emotional development and prepares them for school. Children build appropriate attitudes to learning, such as they are eager to take part in all activities. For example, children engage in role play with real-life vegetables and pretend to prepare pasta that they have learned how to make at home.

Staff remind parents and carers about the importance of attendance so that children do not miss out on their learning and development. As a result, children continue to attend regularly and benefit from their time in the nursery. Staff observe and assess children's starting points so that they can plan for their next steps in learning. Staff deploy themselves effectively to support children's play. As a result, children learn how to work collaboratively with others. Staff support children to build resilience. For example, they work closely with parents to devise ways to support children in developing social skills and joining in with others. As a result, children are happier, more engaged with each other and learn together. Staff make reasonable adjustments when considering children's needs, for example ensuring that they feel safe and secure when taking part in all activities.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff consistently prioritise all children's welfare and wellbeing. They identify children's needs early. Staff develop nurturing relationships with children from the start. For example, the key-person system is well embedded so that babies develop secure attachments from the beginning. As a result, babies settle easily and are happy when they arrive each morning. Staff support children to understand safety. For example, during outdoor play, staff remind children to keep safe when running around. During a smoothie-making activity, staff remind children how to cut fruit safely. Staff are effective and positive role models. They support children to develop their physical and emotional health. For example, staff offer children a wide range of healthy menu options. Staff sit and eat with children to help foster an inclusive environment. As a result, mealtimes are relaxed and joyful.

Staff carry out effective care routines. They offer comfort and promote positive hygiene practices. Children understand the importance of hygiene. For example, they wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. Children learn to respect the environment as they help to tidy away resources after playing with them. Staff use a respectful and gentle approach, communicating their actions to children. They ensure that sleep and rest routines are safe and calm to support children's physical needs and help them to regulate their emotions. Children consistently make their own healthy choices and decisions. Staff are highly responsive to the varying needs and changing circumstances of individual children and families.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders work collaboratively as a team and have high expectations for all children. They have a secure understanding of the setting's strengths and weaknesses. However, they are typically working to improve staff's interactions with children, particularly with younger babies, to further support the development of their communication and language skills. Leaders support staff's professional development. For example, staff access regular online training to develop their knowledge and understanding of childcare practice. Specialist leaders within the organisation deliver in-house training on inclusion and behaviour management strategies to further strengthen staff's expertise.

Leaders also hold daily 'huddle' meetings at the end of each day to help support staff's wellbeing and workload. This provides opportunities for staff to support each other and share relevant information to better meet children's needs. These meetings bring staff together in a supportive and collaborative environment. Staff work successfully with parents and carers. For example, they share daily information at the end of each day about their child's routines and learning. Staff hold regular parent meetings and share their children's next steps for learning, as well as offering ideas to support learning at home. Many parents have more than one child attending, which provides continuity of care. Parents are invited into the setting to join in and observe their child's learning. They regularly access the online parent app to share and receive important information. All of this helps to build secure partnerships with parents. Leaders and staff work effectively with other agencies to support children's individual needs.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should strengthen staff's interactions and support for younger children's communication and language development even further.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 15 May 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 15 May 2026: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 3, Expected standard in 3

Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.

The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.

Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.

Source: Ofsted reports

Funded childcare hours in England

All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.

Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.

Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.

The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.

Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)

Other nurseries nearby

  • Footsteps Day Nursery - Day nursery, London E17 8PJ, ages 0 to 4, 58 places, 0.2 miles
    Ofsted, 21 January 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Willow Tree Nursery Limited - Day nursery, Walthamstow E17 9AA, ages 0 to 4, 79 places, 0.3 miles
    Ofsted, 10 June 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Little Stars Nursery - Day nursery, London E17 8JU, ages 2 to 4, 35 places, 0.3 miles
    Ofsted, 30 June 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Early Learners Centre Pre-School - Day nursery, London E17 9QL, ages 2 to 4, 25 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 9 December 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • KMK Kinderzimmer Walthamstow - Day nursery, London E17 9QG, 82 places, 0.4 miles

Schools nearby

Early Buds Nursery Ltd on the Ofsted website