Little Skippers Nursery
Little Skippers Nursery is a day nursery in London for children aged 1 to 4, with 104 registered places. Ofsted report card, 9 April 2026: Strong standard in 1 area, Expected standard in 5 areas; safeguarding standards met.
140 Falkland Road, London, N8 0NP
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
- 104 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 25 October 2023 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 9 April 2026
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Strong 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 9 April 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 enthusiastically greet their peers and staff on arrival. They quickly engage in the activities available to them. Children are encouraged by staff to be kind and considerate by sharing and taking turns. They are encouraged to behave well and manage their feelings. Children confidently choose a colour from the table that matches their mood and share how they feel.
Children are keen to take part and contribute to activities, such as circle and singing activities. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those that face barriers to their learning are very much included and take part with support and guidance from staff. Children find the curriculum meaningful and interesting, because staff observe children throughout the day to inform their decision-making of what to include. For example, children who need additional support are given the time, space and encouragement they require to participate fully in group activities.
Children are enabled by staff from the baby room to pre-school to independently achieve goals that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. For example, in the baby room, children use pastry diggers to make marks in play dough to develop their fine motor skills in preparation for independently holding their spoon. Pre-school children, in preparation for school readiness, take responsibility for their book bags and understand that Monday is 'uniform' day.
Parents are encouraged by leaders to participate. Parents' contributions are considered important to meet each child's needs. Parent meetings provide an opportunity to exchange knowledge and information about the child. This informs both parents and key person and enables both to support each child's next steps for learning. Parent are kept up to date by the nursery's online app. They also take part in children's activities, such as cooking and reading, as well as social events.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Strong standard
Leaders and staff fully understand the importance of early detection of any barriers to learning. They are quick to identify when children need further support to meet their individual needs. They have strong relationships with other professionals, such as speech and language, occupational therapist and physiotherapists. They confidently use the relevant professionals to understand the best ways to meet individual children's needs and to support them effectively.
Staff adapt the activities within the curriculum to enable all children in the group to take part. This includes using funding for additional support staff, as well as specific play resources and activities. For example, visual aids and sensory resources have been purchased to support children's language skills, confidence and emotional wellbeing. Leaders and key person diligently follow other professionals' advice. They closely monitor the children daily, to identify any progress made or emerging areas that need additional focused support. Leaders take prompt action to engage other professionals and support parents through the assessment process.
Staff understand the importance of creating an accessible, adaptable environment to enhance children's sense of belonging and to support their mobility and safety.
Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
Leaders provide a curriculum that offers children learning opportunities across all areas of learning and development. The curriculum is inclusive and enables every child to make progress, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those that face barriers to their learning. Staff adapt their teaching, provide targeted support and create an enabling environment that allows all children to participate fully and achieve their potential. Leaders ongoing evaluation of teaching has enabled them to identify areas where further focused support is needed. This will help staff enhance their practice and plan even more precisely for children's learning.
Staff prioritise language and communication, they provide a continuous narrative that helps children connect words with actions. Children are encouraged to talk and are introduced to new vocabulary throughout daily routines. In the toddler room, children prepare fruit for snack time using words, such as 'slice, chop, segments' and 'pieces'. Staff extend learning by adding mathematical language, like 'more, less, large' and 'small'. Children problem solve as they divide and share their fruit fairly across their plates.
Children's physical development is prioritised from babies to pre-school to ensure they build strength, coordination and a positive attitude towards physical activity. The outdoor nursery area, as well as local parks, are used purposefully. This is to promote active play and opportunities to develop physical skills, including running, climbing and balancing.
Achievement: Expected standard
Children develop well and show motivation to learn. They enthusiastically share their thoughts and ideas and explore the setting confidently. Children communicate their pride to staff when they achieve. For example, pre-school children begin to recognise the letters in their name, as they line up the wooden letter blocks to form the word.
Children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities transition into their next stage of learning at the right time within the nursery because staff know when each child is ready and equipped. Babies show growing confidence and are familiar with the staff in the toddler room because they have had opportunities to spend time in the room before transitioning.
Pre-school children, in preparation for school, confidently contribute, independently ask questions to confirm their understanding and embrace responsibilities and tasks. They enthusiastically volunteer to set the dinner table and select and organise their book bags.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
Staff provide a positive role model for children, as they work together as a team with respect and kindness. Children are listened to by attentive staff, who are interested in what they have to say. Children form strong and positive attachments with staff, which creates a calm and happy environment with commonly understood expectations for behaviour.
Children follow clear daily routines that help them feel secure and understand what comes next. Visual timetables support all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children confidently recognise and complete routines, gaining a sense of achievement. They independently follow established hygiene practices, such as handwashing, and dispose of used tissues appropriately.
Children come together in the morning and afternoon and are gently reminded by staff of the 'golden rules'. Children are praised for acts of kindness towards their peers. Leaders actively promote children's regular attendance and work closely with parents and carers to identify and reduce any barriers. As a result, children attend consistently and benefit fully from their time in the nursery.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
Staff ensure that care practices are carefully considered in conjunction with parents to ensure children's needs are met. Staff in the baby room carefully gather information regarding each child's sleeping and feeding routines. Staff vigilantly monitor meal and sleep times to ensure children's needs are met and they are safe. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who have more detailed care plans, are well supported.
Children benefit from healthy and nutritious food. Staff talk to children about healthy options to help them understand what foods are good for them. Children have plenty of space inside the nursery for mobility and exploration. The outdoor space allows small groups of children time to play outside with opportunities for frequent outings to the park.
Staff support children well to recognise, express and manage their emotions and develop a sense of emotional wellbeing. For example, children consider at the start of the day and use the feeling poster at circle time and colour mood table to pick out how they feel. Children show a great deal of emotional wellbeing. They regularly go to their key person for hugs or support if they feel sad or worried.
Leadership and governance: Expected standard
Since the last inspection, there has been significant improvements that address the areas previously identified for development. This has strengthened the day-to-day running of the nursery and improved the way areas for further improvement are identified. Leaders have clear plans in place to support their nursery's ongoing development. For example, they have already outlined their intention to provide more focused support for staff, helping them to plan more precisely for children's learning.
Leaders continue to provide training to enhance staff's knowledge and skills, particularly in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They ensure that professional development opportunities are well targeted, enabling staff to meet the needs of children in their care effectively.
Leaders and staff build positive relationships with parents and carers. Parents value the daily conversations and regular meetings that keep them well informed about their children's experience and progress.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders should continue to strengthen their supervision and coaching for staff, to further ensure good-quality teaching and assessment across the provision.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 9 April 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
- 9 April 2026: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 1, Expected standard in 5
- 23 April 2025: 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
- Sunshine Sprinkles Nursery - Day nursery, London N8 0RG, 72 places, 0.2 miles
- Orange Day Nursery - Day nursery, London N8 0JE, ages 0 to 5, 78 places, 0.2 milesOfsted report card, 24 July 2026: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met
- Busy Bunnies - Day nursery, London N8 0LY, ages 2 to 4, 22 places, 0.2 milesOfsted, 15 September 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Brown Bears Nursery - Day nursery, London N8 0RP, ages 1 to 4, 40 places, 0.2 milesOfsted, 11 January 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Hidaya Nursery - Day nursery, London N15 3HB, ages 2 to 4, 72 places, 0.2 milesOfsted report card, 12 March 2026: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met
Schools nearby
- North Harringay Primary School - Primary, 0.1 miles
- St John Vianney RC Primary School - Primary, 0.2 miles
- South Harringay Junior School - Primary, 0.4 miles
- South Harringay Infant School - Primary, 0.4 miles
- West Green Primary School - Primary, 0.4 miles