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The Little Big Nursery At St. Dominic's

Ofsted: Good
(Feb 2022)
·
5.0(10 Google reviews) ·St. Dominics School, Bargate Street, Stafford, ST19 9BA · Staffordshire
Number of places
49 places
Age range
0–4 yrs
Last inspected
Feb 2022
Local authority
Staffordshire

About this day nursery

The Little Big Nursery, situated within the St. Dominic's Grammar School grounds in Stafford, offers early education and childcare for children starting from six weeks old. The day nursery operates 52 weeks a year, closing only on Bank Holidays, with core hours from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM.

Parents can choose from morning, afternoon, or full-day sessions, with no minimum session requirement. The day nursery staff works closely with families to ensure each child benefits maximally from their time there.

With a focus on nurturing relationships with parents through an online learning journey system, the nursery provides daily feedback, observations, and photos of children's development, allowing parents to contribute their own insights. The facility includes dedicated baby, toddler (2-3 years), and preschool rooms, each tailored to specific developmental stages with a strong emphasis on communication, language, values, respect, and early academic skills like phonics, literacy, and numeracy.

The nursery also leverages the extensive school grounds for outdoor play, encouraging risk-taking and environmental awareness. Following the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Requirements, the curriculum is designed to prepare children for primary school.

, Nature Detectives, and Music, enrich the children's learning experience. The nursery maintains a strong partnership with St. Dominic's Grammar School, sharing facilities and enabling interaction between nursery and older children.

For older children aged four to eight, a Holiday Play Scheme is available during Staffordshire school term dates. The nursery welcomes prospective parents to visit with an open-door policy during specific hours or by appointment.

Our ethos

The Little Big Nursery follows the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Requirements with a curriculum designed to prepare children for primary school. They emphasise nurturing relationships with parents, providing daily feedback via an online system. Key areas of focus include communication, language, values, respect, and early academic skills. The nursery also encourages risk-taking and environmental awareness through outdoor play and offers a variety of enriching extra-curricular activities.

What it's like

Children receive a friendly welcome and are eager to start their day, happily separating from parents. They are enthusiastic and motivated to learn, making good progress through a balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated play. Children demonstrate excellent behaviour and develop secure, trusting bonds with staff.

Ages 6 weeks to 4 yearsOpen 52 weeks a yearStrong links to St. Dominic's Grammar SchoolOnline learning journeysVariety of extra-curricular activities

Pricing & funding

The nursery charges an administration fee to register for entry testing and a trial day, followed by a joining fee once the acceptance paperwork is completed.

Funding accepted

15 hours — eligible 2-year-olds30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)

Good to know

  • An administration charge is payable to register a child for entry testing and a visit day.
  • A joining fee is applicable upon completing the acceptance paperwork.

Key facts

Session types

Morning (07:30-12:30), Afternoon (13:00-18:00), Full Day (07:30-18:00)

Opening hours

07:30 - 18:00

Age range

six weeks to four years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for The Little Big Nursery At St. Dominic's

Last inspected 8 February 2022 · Angela Hulme

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

What it's like to attend

Children receive a friendly welcome and are eager to start their day, happily separating from parents. They are enthusiastic and motivated to learn, making good progress through a balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated play. Children demonstrate excellent behaviour and develop secure, trusting bonds with staff.

Inspector highlights

  • The manager and director are ambitious and empower staff to provide high-quality practice.
  • Staff gather key information about children's individual needs and existing skills, ensuring continuity of care.
  • Staff plan enjoyable activities based on children's interests and next steps in learning.
  • Children enjoy exploring the outdoor area and enhance their physical development.
  • Children's communication and language skills are supported particularly well.

Areas to develop

  • 1arrange everyday routines of the nursery, such as handwashing, so they do not disrupt children's enjoyment and engagement in learning activities, such as story time
  • 2make the most of the outdoor learning environment to provide children who prefer to learn outside further play and learning opportunities.
Inspection #10208421 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

They say that they like the family feel of the nursery and their children love being here.

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

Staff gather key information about children's individual needs and their existing skills and abilities before they start at the nursery. This helps staff to provide continuity in their care and helps children to settle quickly.

Outdoor space

Children enjoy exploring the outdoor area. They enhance their physical development as they enthusiastically navigate climbing apparatus and ride on bikes and tricycles.

Google Reviews of The Little Big Nursery At St. Dominic's

5.0
(10 Google reviews)
Ryan Lang
10 months ago

Our son has been at Little Big Nursery since he was around 9months. When circumstances changed, which added miles each way, keeping this a constant was a no-brainer. Each member of staff has been a delight to speak to and all seemingly bring their own individual qualities and experiences to a seamless service. I will be forever thankful to the individual key workers and owners of this nursery. I can honestly say it feels like a second home for not only our son, but us too. The attitude to go above-and-beyond to help and support each child, and family is something I don’t think any other nursery will come close to.

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Charlotte
a year ago

Our son attended The Little Big Nursery from 9 months until he left to go to Reception. The staff felt like an extension of our family and we knew our son was in the best hands while we were at work. My son has been at school just over a month now and his Reception teacher has commented on how great his social skills are (I know this is because of the strong values he has been taught at TLBN). I cannot thank them enough for the amazing start to education that they gave to my child, and will be sending my daughter there next year!

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Laura Bradley-Richards
2 years ago

Our eldest has been attending LBN for almost 3 years, and our youngest has just started. Like a lot of parents, I was very anxious about my children starting nursery so young. However both settled so well thanks to the love and support offered by all staff. I really can not find fault, and 100% recommend the nursery to anyone looking for a safe and family feel environment.

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Caitlin Sellar
2 years ago

We have been so happy with The Little Big Nursery - our daughter has been attending in the baby room for a couple of months now and we couldn’t have wished for more in terms of them supporting her to settle. I’ve been really grateful for all the updates and nothing has been too much trouble. Our main goal when searching for a nursery was to find somewhere nurturing and that is definitely the case here - it’s hard to capture in words but I feel there is a genuine commitment to the children and their wellbeing. Thank you so much Catt & Carley and all the team!

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Mani Kaur
2 years ago

I cannot praise Grace, Chris & their amazing team enough. I was extremely hesitant to put my little one in nursery and vetted several places in the surrounding areas before we selected Big Little - there was a very long checklist! The care and support provided is second to none and the activities are superb - our little one has already picked up French words! An excellent setting, amazing staff and a lot of development opportunities!

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for The Little Big Nursery At St. Dominic's. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Most recent inspection

8 February 2022

Good

Only one graded inspection on record — a trend chart will appear here once a second graded report is published.

View full Ofsted report

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