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Little Willows Kindergarten

Ofsted: Good
(Mar 2023)
·
4.6(11 parent reviews) ·Joicey Road, Gateshead, NE9 5AT · Gateshead
Number of places
120 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Mar 2023
Local authority
Gateshead

About this day nursery

Little Willows Kindergarten, located in Gateshead, offers high-quality childcare for children aged 0 to 5 years. They are open from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm, providing a caring, loving, and secure environment.

The nursery strives to be a 'home from home' where children feel content and happy. They boast a full-time chef who prepares home-cooked meals and nutritious snacks, holding a 5-star food hygiene rating.

Children are encouraged to explore their surroundings, including a beautiful garden, to discover new things daily. Little Willows Kindergarten emphasises creating individual settings for each child, with highly qualified staff.

They welcome parents to visit and experience the environment firsthand to ensure it's the right fit for their child.

What it's like

Children enter the setting excited, happy and pleased to see their friends and the warm, friendly staff. They settle quickly and flourish in the nurturing environment. Children independently access a broad range of resources that are set up by staff, who know children and their interests well.

Ages 0-5Home-cooked mealsBeautiful gardenHighly qualified staff

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

15 hours — working parents (9 months–2 yrs)15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)
Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

Key facts

Food

Meals, snacks and consumables are included with the enrichment contribution. No outside food permitted.

Opening hours

7:30 am - 6:30 pm

Age range

0-5 years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Little Willows Kindergarten

Last inspected 29 March 2023

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children enter the setting excited, happy and pleased to see their friends and the warm, friendly staff. They settle quickly and flourish in the nurturing environment. Children independently access a broad range of resources that are set up by staff, who know children and their interests well.

Inspector highlights

  • The manager is ambitious and passionate about her role and has implemented positive changes.
  • The SENCo is knowledgeable and ensures children with SEND receive the support they require.
  • Children have superb opportunities to develop their physical skills through outings and a well-resourced garden.
  • Children are kind and polite, using good manners without prompting.
  • Partnership with parents is a real strength, and staff gather detailed information to support children.

Areas to develop

  • 1Strengthen support for staff through coaching and mentoring to raise the quality of education to an even higher level.
Inspection #10280476 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is knowledgeable and understands her responsibilities well. She knows where to go to access advice and makes swift referrals to ensure that children get the support they require. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) make the best possible progress.

Outdoor space

Children have superb opportunities to develop their physical skills. They go on regular outings to local parks and each room spends quality time in the setting's well-resourced garden. Older children relish using spray bottles and pretending to put out 'fires', while toddlers enjoy climbing across wooden planks and painting on large sheets of paper.

Parent Reviews of Little Willows Kindergarten

4.6
(11)
Lauren Bloomfield
7 years ago

I love Banana Moon. My daughter has been going to this nursery for almost a year now and she loves it. She has come on leaps and bounds and her development is coming along great too. The nursery itself is lovely, big, clean, bright and well equipped. The staff are amazing, my daughter loves them. They can't do enough to help her and myself and I feel very happy leaving her in their care. I totally 100% recommend this nursery

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Nina Land
7 years ago

Banana Moon is a great nursery! The location is perfect with it being next to saltwell park and kids often go for a walk there. My children love going to the nursery and there is lots of activities for them to do every day. Staff are loving, caring and always keep me up to date on everything my kids are doing. All meals are home made as well and there is a good variety of fruit and vegetables every day. Would definitely recommend! - Paulina K-S.

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Miriam Berks
7 years ago

Our daughter started here a couple of months ago and we are really happy we chose Banana Moon for her nursery. The staff are all lovely and you can tell they really care about all the children. I love that they keep you updated with photos showing what the children have been up to each day. Our daughter seems to be settling in well and has learned loads of new skills since starting.

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Charlene Haggie
7 years ago

Absolutely fantastic Nursery; I moved my twin boys here a year ago from another Nursery and it was definitely the best thing I could have done. Staff are all really friendly and caring; managers are also fab!! The boys always have a great time and they do lots of different activities to help them develop. I also love that they give two cooked meals per day which you don’t get at other Nurseries. Thank you for taking such good care of our boys; they love it here!

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Beth Ashbridge
2 years ago

What a magnificent nursery. We say pretty much every day what a lovely nursery this is. The ladies in Theo’s room clearly love their job and the children and are so thoughtful and dedicated to giving the best care. The office is incredibly organised and responsive. We couldn’t ask for anything more. Theo is so happy here! Thank you, Little Willows x

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Little Willows Kindergarten. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: September 2017

  • March 2023Good
  • September 2017Good

Frequently asked about Little Willows Kindergarten

About the setting

Little Willows Kindergarten registered in 2016 and is located in Gateshead. It employs 21 members of childcare staff, with one holding a level 5 qualification and 17 having level 3 qualifications. The setting opens Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year, from 7.30am until 6pm and provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

URN
EY540675
Registered person
Sister Act North East Limited
Day care type
Full day care
Register
Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register
Establishment type
Childcare on non-domestic premises
Previous rating
Good

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This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more