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Little Rascals Nursery

Little Rascals Nursery is a pre-school in Scunthorpe for children aged 2 to 4, with 26 registered places. Ofsted report card, 14 September 2026: Strong standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Dragonby Road, Scunthorpe, DN17 2LD

Key facts

Type
Pre-school (Sessional day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
2 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
26 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
2 September 2024 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 15:30

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 14 September 2026

Who runs it

Little Rascals Nursery is run by Little Rascals Pre-School Committee (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

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

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 14 September 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

All children receive the support they need to succeed, and the curriculum is highly inclusive. Leaders and staff make every effort to reduce barriers to learning, wellbeing and attendance and work closely with families and other professionals to implement effective strategies. This approach ensures consistency between home and the setting, helping every child make significant progress from their individual starting points.

Children settle quickly and happily into the calm, nurturing environment, quickly learning the setting's expectations. They confidently embrace familiar daily routines as they excitedly gather for circle time. Children joyfully sing their hello song, embedding their language confidently and warmly welcoming every child. Children demonstrate they feel safe and secure as they independently explore the environment. Children learn to manage appropriate risks as they enthusiastically navigate the climbing frame. They show deep concentration as they carefully plan the placement of their hands and feet to maintain balance and stability. Attentive staff observe closely, offering support only when needed. Children build confidence and resilience as they take pride in their achievements.

Children benefit from high-quality teaching where there is a strong focus on developing children's personal, social and emotional development alongside their mathematical understanding. Through targeted activities such as using pincers to sort glass stones and colour-sorting wooden pegs, children develop their small-muscle skills, hand-eye coordination and concentration. They naturally develop mathematical language, such as 'more and less' and 'large and small'.

Children thoroughly enjoy their learning in this setting. During music time, they enthusiastically express themselves creatively through varied movements. Children swirl foam tubes and strike them against various surfaces to discover and compare different sounds. Children's laughter echoes around the setting. They develop a sense of rhythm as they release physical energy in group activities.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

This is an inclusive setting where all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are given the individualised support needed to make progress. Staff are extremely swift in identifying potential barriers to children's development. They monitor children working below targets, identifying children before targeted support is needed. Strategies to engage all children in their learning are consistently implemented. For instance, staff use visual and audio props, sign language, single-word instructions and structured interventions when implementing the curriculum. Staff sit beside children to model activities, gradually reducing direct support so children can try them independently. This ensures the curriculum and environment are accessible to all learners, particularly children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), children who speak English as an additional language or children with speech, language and communication needs.

Leaders work closely with parents and carers and external agencies, such as social care, speech and language therapists and health professionals. They implement strategies to identify children's triggers for when they become frustrated, for example. Staff closely monitor environments and routines for changes in children's behaviour. They provide sensory objects, redirect children's play and use gentle language to help children express their emotions or frustration safely. This supports children to build self-regulation skills, and as a result, children do not always need continuous specialist equipment. Staff make a demonstrable difference to the opportunities and experiences of disadvantaged children and those with SEND. Staff continue to monitor the impact in children's attainment gap when they start school.

The manager uses funding appropriately. New resources are purchased to support children's concentration on task and the development of early mathematics. Leaders also purchase food and clothing, ensuring all children's basic needs are met so they are ready to learn.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

The curriculum is structured into 3 distinct stages rather than rigid age brackets, ensuring every child can progress at their own individual pace. This flexible framework enables staff to provide focused, personalised support tailored to each child, so all children feel valued, supported and able to participate fully. It provides clear evidence of impact and progress made.

The inclusive curriculum incorporates designated quiet spaces, offering a calming environment for children who require time away from busy play areas to regulate their emotions. Staff understand children's behaviours well. They recognise when children are struggling and promptly intervene, redirecting their play to help them self-regulate. Climbing equipment is thoughtfully positioned to help children safely manage and express their physical energy. Staff consistently use visual cues alongside spoken words, ensuring effective communication for children who speak English as an additional language or those still developing their early communication skills.

Evidence-based programmes are delivered with children to support their development. For instance, staff implement a programme to support children's mathematics as well as their memory, attention and understanding. Young children use baskets of wooden shapes and coloured blocks to practise early mathematics, memory and attention skills. Staff ask children to sort by shape first, then change the rules after a few minutes to sorting by colour and finally into groups. All children, particularly children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, stay deeply focused during these short bursts of activity, demonstrating their knowledge and building their skills.

Achievement: Strong standard

The setting is in an area where children experience significant vulnerabilities. However, children make clear progress from their starting points across all 7 areas of learning. Staff know the children extremely well. Children are typically well prepared for the next stage of education, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are disadvantaged.

Children make impressive progress in their personal, social and emotional development. For instance, children learn to recognise their own feelings and develop skills to regulate their behaviour and emotions. Children build life skills, confidence and self-esteem through daily routines. They are learning the importance of personal hygiene, eagerly demonstrating how they brush their teeth and wash their hands while talking about the process.

Children develop patience as they wait for their turn to place balls into a machine where air pressure pushes them through tubing and out the top. Their friends eagerly try to catch them as they emerge. Children use language such as 'up, up and shoot' as they learn about basic cause and effect. They recognise their achievements, smiling with pride as they look to their key worker when they complete an activity.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Leaders use a range of strategies to support children's behaviour and develop their knowledge of routines. For example, staff give a verbal and visual warning 5 minutes before an activity ends and a new one begins. Transitions, such as snack time, are calm and well managed. Children learn about kindness, respect and consideration for others as they form a line and independently collect their cups from the water station. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, understand and follow routines well.

Staff actively support children's emotional regulation and sustained engagement in play and learning. For instance, they recognise when children become frustrated and step in with gentle, individual attention. They offer children a quiet space or take them to share a story together. Staff encourage them to explore their feelings as they talk about the emotions of characters, such as 'sad', 'angry' and 'happy', which strengthens children's understanding to name, manage and express their own emotions.

Parents and carers value daily discussions, online updates and take-home resources, such as story activity packs and play dough activities. They feel included in their children's development and can extend learning at home. Additionally, staff foster strong partnerships by providing essential support, such as breakfast, which supports all children to attend consistently and on time. Parents speak highly of this inclusive support.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders demonstrate a strong understanding of community needs. They work with health specialists to teach children effective oral hygiene. They provide take-home toothbrushes and toothpaste to support consistent dental routines at home. Staff also collaborate with charities to provide free healthy food. This ensures all children have access to a balanced diet and regular, nourishing meals. Furthermore, staff share budget-friendly snack ideas to help families build healthy habits in the home, removing the financial barrier some children and families may face.

Activities strongly focus on self-care. Children flock to the water tray with excitement. Quieter children take their key worker's hand to participate. Staff use dolls to teach basic care, personal hygiene and self-care concepts. They also teach children about healthy lifestyles, developing their awareness of how their bodies move and function. Through engaging physical experiences, such as song and dance, children gain an understanding of the importance of regular exercise and its positive impact on their overall health and wellbeing.

There is an effective key-person system in place. Children establish warm, positive relationships with staff. Children nuzzle into their key worker when tired. Staff have an excellent understanding of all children's needs. This enables them to be responsive and respond promptly to children's needs.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

The setting is long-running but has new premises, a new committee chair and dual management of the setting. This has supported a clear line of leadership and strategic oversight. The active involvement of the committee chair ensures cohesive day-to-day management. Leaders deeply understand local needs. Working closely with the community and local church, this outreach approach benefits vulnerable families. This includes providing food parcels, clothing and celebration gifts throughout the year to vulnerable children who attend the setting. Parents and carers state the setting has been a lifeline for them.

Leaders ensure all staff are appropriately trained and able to skilfully adapt their teaching, routines and the environment. This ensures all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and/or those who face barriers to learning, participate confidently. They benefit from consistent enhanced staff-to-children ratios, which have a profound positive impact on the setting. Staff are appropriately placed to engage in child-led play and provide targeted support during challenging times of the day. They recognise and support colleagues if and when needed to ensure every child is fully included and supported with minimal impact on their learning.

Staff establish and maintain excellent partnerships with parents and families. Parents are particularly pleased with how hard staff work to support them to develop their skills, knowledge and confidence in being the best parent they can be to their children. Leaders have collaborated closely with the local authority to implement improvements that are now actively enhancing children's learning and development. Leaders invest in the team's professional development to ensure consistently high-quality teaching across the setting. Staff feel highly valued and thrive within this enabling environment.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should ensure sustained improvement and continue to monitor the impact of all initiatives to help realise a transformational impact on all children's achievement and wellbeing, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 14 September 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

  • Little Owls Scunthorpe Ltd - Day nursery, Scunthorpe DN17 2JL, ages 0 to 4, 70 places, 0.2 miles
    Ofsted report card, 27 January 2026: Strong standard in 4 areas, Expected standard in 2 areas; safeguarding standards met
  • Peekaboo Day Nursery Ltd - Day nursery, Scunthorpe DN17 2QY, ages 0 to 5, 24 places, 0.5 miles
    Ofsted, 12 June 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • The Learning Tree Preschool - Pre-school, Scunthorpe DN17 1HE, ages 1 to 4, 30 places, 0.6 miles
    Ofsted, 19 June 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Moorwell Miracles Children's Day Nursery - Day nursery, Scunthorpe DN17 2TX, ages 0 to 4, 78 places, 0.6 miles
    Ofsted, 22 May 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Leap Ahead Nursery - Day nursery, Scunthorpe DN17 1PL, ages 1 to 4, 41 places, 0.7 miles
    Ofsted, 26 September 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

Little Rascals Nursery on the Ofsted website