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First Years Pre School Ltd

First Years Pre School Ltd is a day nursery in Harrow for children aged 1 to 4, with 89 registered places. Ofsted report card, 7 July 2026: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Trinity Church, Hindes Road, Harrow, HA1 1RX

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
89 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
21 November 2022 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 7 July 2026

Who runs it

First Years Pre School Ltd is run by First Years Pre School Ltd (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

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

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 7 July 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 are generally happy, confident and eager to learn in this welcoming setting. They arrive, warmly greeted by familiar practitioners, separate from their families with reassurance and quickly settle into the day's routines. Children develop trusting relationships with practitioners, who help them feel safe, valued and included. They play alongside their friends, share resources and increasingly learn to cooperate with one another. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language typically participate fully in daily experiences because practitioners adapt activities, communication and routines to meet their individual needs.

Children generally enjoy a broad range of experiences that reflect their interests and encourage them to explore the world around them. Following a visit from a mobile farm, they enthusiastically recreate their experiences through small-world play, confidently naming animals, recalling feeding and brushing them and sharing what they have learned about caring for them. Outdoors, children work together to transform a large cardboard box into a pretend house, exchanging ideas as they draw windows, flowers and furniture. They remain engaged for sustained periods, taking pride in their creations and celebrating one another's contributions. Children also enjoy caring for fruit, vegetables and herbs in the garden, recalling what plants need to grow and showing excitement as they observe changes over time.

Children typically develop increasing confidence and independence through familiar daily routines. They help prepare for snack and mealtimes, manage many self-care tasks and make choices from the activities available. Positive relationships with practitioners help children understand expectations, develop friendships and begin to resolve minor disagreements appropriately. Families are welcomed into the life of the setting through regular communication, workshops and opportunities to share in children's learning, helping to strengthen continuity between home and the setting. Children benefit from regular attendance, which helps them establish secure routines, build positive relationships and participate fully in the curriculum. Overall, children enjoy coming to the setting, generally make expected progress from their starting points and are appropriately prepared for the next stage in their learning.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders generally create an inclusive culture by ensuring practitioners gather detailed information from parents when children join the setting and use ongoing assessment to identify, assess and meet children's individual needs. They regularly review children's progress and adapt support where required to reduce barriers to learning and wellbeing. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children, children who are known or previously known to children's social care and those learning English as an additional language or facing other barriers to learning.

Practitioners generally adapt activities, routines and communication to help children participate alongside their peers. They use visual timetables, choice boards, objects of reference, communication boards and simplified language to support children's understanding, communication and independence. Calm spaces, sensory resources and targeted adult support help children remain engaged in learning and daily routines.

Leaders work closely with parents and external professionals, including the local authority special educational needs coordinator, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, to review support and implement agreed strategies consistently. Additional funding is used appropriately to provide targeted resources and interventions that support disadvantaged children and those requiring additional help. Overall, children typically experience an inclusive environment where they feel they belong, participate fully in the curriculum and generally make expected progress from their individual starting points.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have designed a broad curriculum that generally reflects children's interests, builds on what they already know and can do and prepares them for the next stage of learning. Practitioners use observations and assessment information to plan experiences that develop children's knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. The curriculum is adapted appropriately to meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children learning English as an additional language and other children who may require additional support.

Practitioners generally engage children well through meaningful experiences, including gardening, bug hunts, sensory play, cooking and visits that encourage children to explore, investigate and revisit previous learning. They typically support children's communication through modelling language, introducing new vocabulary and responding to children's interests during play. However, opportunities to extend younger children's mathematical understanding are not maximised because practitioners do not consistently use mathematical language and purposeful questioning during child-led play.

Older children generally enjoy adult-supported activities and are encouraged to collaborate and participate. However, on occasion, practitioners direct aspects of older children's play, reducing opportunities for older children to follow their own ideas or make independent decisions in their play. Purposeful questioning is also not consistently used to challenge older children to think critically, solve problems and explain their thinking. Overall, the curriculum is generally well planned and enables children to make expected progress from their starting points.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically make expected progress from their individual starting points because practitioners use assessment information to build on what children already know and can do. Learning is adapted appropriately to meet the needs of different groups, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children learning English as an additional language, disadvantaged children and those receiving additional support.

Children typically develop the knowledge and skills needed across the areas of learning through experiences that generally build on previous learning. For example, during bug hunt activities, they recall earlier learning about the life cycle of a caterpillar while using magnifying glasses to observe insects and discuss their discoveries. Younger children develop increasing physical control through sensory experiences, while older children generally become more independent as they manage everyday routines and resources.

Overall, children typically acquire the age- and stage-appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to make expected progress and are generally prepared for the next stage in their learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders generally promote positive behaviour through clear expectations, well-established routines and regular support for practitioners. They monitor practice and provide guidance to help practitioners use consistent approaches that support children's emotional wellbeing, behaviour and relationships. The importance of regular attendance is promoted through ongoing communication with families, helping children establish secure routines and participate consistently in the curriculum.

Practitioners typically build warm, respectful relationships with children, helping them feel secure and understand what is expected. Children generally respond positively to familiar routines, showing increasing independence during everyday activities, including self-care and mealtimes. They typically respond positively to established routines and remain engaged in their play, cooperate with their friends and usually persevere when trying new experiences. Older children generally share resources, take turns and use agreed strategies, such as sand timers, to manage minor disagreements.

Practitioners support children to recognise and express their emotions through visual prompts, planned activities to support their wellbeing and sensitive interactions. Children are encouraged to develop simple strategies to help regulate their emotions and build positive relationships with others. Overall, children typically behave appropriately, develop positive attitudes to learning and are generally supported through inclusive routines that help them feel safe, valued and ready to learn.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Practitioners are kind, caring and attentive to meeting children's individual needs. Children develop close and trusting relationships with their key persons and readily seek comfort and reassurance when needed. These warm interactions help children to feel emotionally secure. Practitioners support children sensitively as they settle into the nursery each day and when they make larger transitions, such as moving between rooms. As a result, children feel safe, settled and confident in the setting.

Practitioners work with small, consistent groups of children, which enables them to know the children they care for well. This supports children to form secure attachments with practitioners and positive relationships with their peers. Children benefit from a calm and nurturing environment where practitioners prioritise their emotional needs. Practitioners provide children with healthy meals and snacks and sit with them to encourage positive social interactions and support their developing independence.

Leaders place emphasis on supporting children to develop independence in their personal care routines, including toileting, in a sensitive and respectful manner. When children are not yet able to communicate verbally, due to their age or special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), practitioners ensure they are supported effectively using visual boards or prompts. This reduces children's frustration and ensures that all children's needs and preferences are understood and responded to appropriately. Children who have SEND or face other barriers to their learning or wellbeing benefit from the nurturing relationships they establish with practitioners, leading to them feeling safe, valued and cared for in the nursery.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of the children, families and wider community they serve and use this knowledge to shape the curriculum and provision. They regularly review children's progress, evaluate the impact of the curriculum and adapt support where required to meet the needs of different groups, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, children learning English as an additional language, disadvantaged children and those who may face additional barriers to their learning. Leaders have also responded to local priorities by strengthening the promotion of oral health and healthy lifestyles through partnerships with health professionals and families.

Since the previous inspection, leaders have strengthened the monitoring of practice through regular room audits, coaching, peer observations and supervision. These arrangements generally help leaders identify areas for development and provide timely support for practitioners. Staff report that they feel well supported, value the regular opportunities to reflect on their practice and feel able to discuss their wellbeing and professional development. Leaders have also expanded training opportunities, helping practitioners continue to develop their knowledge and skills.

Leaders maintain productive partnerships with parents, external agencies and local schools, supporting continuity in children's learning and successful transitions. Parents value the regular communication, workshops and opportunities to participate in nursery life, helping to strengthen learning between home and the setting. Leadership and governance generally ensure that the setting continues to improve and that children and families receive appropriate support.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should develop the mathematics curriculum for younger children to ensure practitioners consistently provide high-quality teaching that extends children's mathematical understanding.
  • Leaders should consider supporting practitioners to provide older children with greater opportunities to lead their own play and make independent decisions during adult-supported activities.
  • Leaders should consider supporting practitioners to use more purposeful questioning to challenge older children and extend their critical thinking and problem-solving during play.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 7 July 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 5 August 2025: Full inspection, Requires improvement (report)
  • 5 September 2024: Full inspection, Requires improvement (report)

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

  • Sure Success Learning Ltd - Pre-school, Harrow HA1 1UJ, 0.3 miles
  • KidsUniverse Montessori & Day Nursery (Harrow) - Day nursery, Harrow HA1 1TY, ages 1 to 4, 96 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted report card, 30 July 2026: Needs attention in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met
  • Fun Kids Nurseries - Day nursery, Harrow HA1 1TX, ages 1 to 4, 54 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 25 June 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Happy Days Nursery - Day nursery, Harrow HA1 2UA, ages 2 to 4, 33 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 23 July 2021: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • College Road Pre-School - Pre-school, Harrow HA1 1BA, ages 2 to 4, 24 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 22 May 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

First Years Pre School Ltd on the Ofsted website