Little Gems Private Day Nursery

1 Dunlady Road, Dundonald, Belfast BT16 1TT
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9.9 136 Reviews
  • Little Gems Private Day Nursery, Belfast
Little Gems Private Day Nursery offers a loving homely environment for your child, having been part of the community for over 12 years with long established management and staff. Little Gems offers full day care for children aged 3months to 10years old. Each room is equipped with age appropriate resources and has a full programme of activities for a fun and stimulating day. Under 3s enjoy a weekly visit from Jo Jingles for music and dancing while Pre-school enjoy Spanish lessons and Debut Tots as part of the Pre-school curriculum. A large garden offers plenty of opportunity for exploring outside, gardening and outdoor toys. After-school care is available all year with a summer scheme and breakfast club. The nursery collects from Dundonald Primary and Brooklands Primary. Everyday carers strive to meet the individual needs of every child in their care, encouraging learning through play, covering all the areas of learning to develop independent and confident children.
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Funding & Fees

Full Week - £314
Full Day - £75
Half Day - £52
Two children – Full time - £531.50
Afterschool - £35
Morning & Afterschool - £36.00

Fees applicable from April 1st 2025.

Contact Little Gems Private Day Nursery to get a personalised quote.

Contact Little Gems Private Day Nursery to get a personalised quote.

Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Leah Morrow (Nursery Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 38

Total Places for Children

  • 103

Age Range

  • from 0 years 3 months
  • to 5 years 0 months

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00

When Closed

  • Public Holidays

Little Gems Private Day Nursery Reviews (136)

9.9

Little Gems Private Day Nursery has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.913) out of 10, based on 26 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Little Gems Private Day Nursery has 136 reviews.

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Date Published
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Reviewer Connection to Little Gems Private Day Nursery
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Total of 136, showing 121-136
Review from Ashleigh S (Mother of Child) published on 14 November 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I have been using Little Gems Private Day Nursery for years and for all 4 of my children. Staff are all brilliant and I would highly recommend them to anyone thinking of putting their children into childcare. All of my children love going here.
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Review from Jill (Mother of Child) published on 14 November 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has attended Little Gems since she was 1 year old. She has now progressed through the baby room, 'Wobblers' and now is currently loving toddlers. The staff are all wonderful with the children and help to create a warm and homely environment. My daughter loves going in in the morning and
really doesn't want to leave at the end of day!
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Review from Caroline M (Mother of Child) published on 11 November 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has attended Little Gems nursery for almost 5 years now. I have always been very happy with the standard of care given. The staff are friendly and always willing to take extra time with the children who need it. The facilities are fantastic, there are always plenty of activities going on
no matter what the age. The management is approachable and always happy to make time and act on any concerns. I never have a problem with recommending Little Gems to anyone.
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Review from Liza W (Mother of Child) published on 10 November 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I have a 3-year-old daughter and 19mth old son who both attend Little Gems full time. Both of my children have developed with their speech, play, social skills and knowledge, a great deal of which is due to the outstanding care and attention that they receive from all the staff. Both of my children
look forward to going in to see the staff, their friends, eat new and different types of food, play with a huge range of toys inside and out, sing songs and develop knowledge. The staff are all skilled, caring, fun, engaging and have the patience of saints!


Working full time is a struggle, but knowing that I am leaving my children in an environment where they are nurtured, developing new skills, challenged when they misbehave and are taught the core values of manners, kindness and curiosity makes life much easier. The staff are fantastic, support a wide range of charities, engage with parents positively and have the best interest of our children at the forefront of their days! THANK YOU!

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Review from Graham T (Father of Child) published on 4 November 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter has been at Little Gems Private Day Nursery three days a week now since January '16 and loves it. All the staff members are great with her and she has made so many friends. They have really helped with her speech development and she is so proud when she gets stickers in her toilet training
book for doing well.
Little Gems Private Day Nursery foster a fun, creative, safe environment and we are very happy that she has a place there.
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Review from Mais K (Mother of Child) published on 3 November 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I'm writing this review to show my appreciation for the massive change in relation to my previous review.
The nursery and it's outstanding team never fail to put every effort to make positive change and take parents comments into consideration.
I want to mention that the recent changes to the food
menu are fantastic. There's a wide variety of meals and snacks over 4 weeks which ensure a good healthy diet for the kids . As well as the new refurbishment to the outside grounds which look amazing.
There's always ongoing development to meet the kids needs on individual and group basis.
Little gems have been a great family and a second home to my son from the very start and put every effort to deal with the individual needs of each child.
Thanks for everything.
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Review from Leanne E (Mother of Child) published on 3 November 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I am really glad I picked this nursery for my son to attend. He absolutely loves all the leaders and children and is settling in really well. His speech and interaction with other kids has come on amazing too. Overall, I'v no complaints and I'm really happy with the nursery
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Review from B H (Father of Child) published on 27 June 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I would wholeheartedly recommend Little Gems as a Day Nursery. Both of our kids have attended the nursery since they were very young. The staff are first class and our kids still enjoy their time at nursery.
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Review from Tracey Y (Mother of Child) published on 2 June 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My son has only started his settling in phase before starting 2 full days next week. I was so nervous leaving him but the staff there are not only amazing with my son but have totally put me at ease as well. Thank you.
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Review from M M (Father of Child) published on 26 May 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We have been using Little Gems full time for our two sons since 2011.
We cannot fault the care provided by the girls. Managers are always innovating and providing new equipment and opportunities for the children. The staff turnover is very low and that speaks for itself.
There's a real family feel
and although the cost has gone up substantially (over the last year in particular) we still wouldn't consider leaving as our second son is so well settled here.
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Review from James A (Father of Child) published on 25 May 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Both of my children have attended Little Gems from a young age. My daughter is currently in the baby room and the staff are very attentive and care greatly about the children in their care. Warm and friendly atmosphere.
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Review from Ki (Mother of Child) published on 25 May 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has been coming to the nursery for near 2 years and is coming on leaps and bounds. The staff are fantastic my daughter loves a Tuesday and Wednesday morning when you tell her she is going.
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Review from Rachel H (Mother of Child) published on 6 January 2016 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has been attending Little Gems full time since Sept 2014. She loves it and all the staff are lovely, very approachable and I genuinely feel they really care for her. They are always enthusiastic and all the children seem to be very happy there.
Having previously had both my daughters at
another nursery until we moved house, I was keen to keep my daughter into clear day nurseries as both had been so happy there, the managers had been so helpful and welcoming that I had no doubts that Little Gems would be just as good and I've not been disappointed. I have been so impressed with both nurseries and it is such a reassurance to know how well she is looked after and that the girls are giving her such a good educational, emotional and play start to her life, especially with her being there full time. Not to mention the new chef who seems to be cooking up lots of healthy and different dishes :)
I am regularly recommending and singing the praises of all at Little Gems on social media when parents are on looking for recommendations of nurseries.
Thank you to all, and hopefully my daughter will continue to flourish within your care until she starts P1 in 2017.
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Review from Sarah G (Grandmother of Child) published on 14 December 2015 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My twin grandchildren started this nursery in August when my daughter got a full time job. We visited a number of nurseries in the area but we're very impressed by the friendliness and openness of the staff. I am usually the person dropping off and picking up the children and I can honestly say that
I am always impressed by the welcome the children receive everyday. The children clearly love the staff and are happy to be left there. I have never had any worries about the care they receive and am happy to recommend this nursery to other parents.
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Review from Parent of a 19 months toddler (Mother of Child) published on 14 December 2015 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter started at the nursery aged 10 months and moved on to the wobbler room at the end of October (17 months). We have watched her blossom and she is very happy at the nursery. She moved on to the wobbler room in her own time but joined other children whom she had met in the baby room which
meant that she encountered familiar faces. There was a 1 week transitioning period during which a carer from the baby room accompanied her to the toddler room.
The staff are warm and appear attentive and affectionate with our child. I have also observed them demonstrate the same affection and attentiveness to the other children.
There are lots of activities every day (colouring, painting, drawing, making Festive decorations, outdoors and indoors play).
Meals are healthy and there is a varied menu each day. The nursery is respectful of our wishes and adheres to our dietary preferences for our child (healthier option wherever possible).
They also feed her her evening meal if we provide it which is quite helpful whenever we are held up in work or slow traffic.
The staff are also knowledgeable about common childhood rashes and ailments and they will look out for these and inform us ASAP. They are usually spot on.
Prescribed medication/antibiotics, as well as over the counter diaper rash creams are applied as per our instructions. Previously, we had a few issues regarding this but there has been a great improvement since the end of October. We felt our concerns were largely listened to.
The nursery accepts child care vouchers however, in our experience, there are a few initial hiccups in processing of payments. However, once this is sorted then the system works efficiently.
Previously we noticed a stale smell that would greet us at the door and clung to our daughters clothes when we picked her up at the end of the day. However, recently (past few weeks) there has been a great improvement and the smell has resolved.
We have not had any safe guarding issues.
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Review from Louise C (Mother of Child) published on 8 December 2015 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
I have been using Little Gems for the last five years and am extremely happy with the care and education that my children receive. The staff are professional and enthusiastic in assisting the children to learn and the surroundings are great for accommodating different types of play. I have no hesitation
in recommending Little Gems!
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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.913)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.913) out of 10 for Little Gems Private Day Nursery is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 26 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 26 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.913 for Little Gems Private Day Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (286 Excellents x 5) + (22 Goods x 4) + (1 Satisfactorys x 3) + (1 Poors x 2) ) ÷ 310 Ratings = 4.913
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Little Gems Private Day Nursery is based on 26 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 20 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews, 0.05 Points for the next five Positive Reviews, and finally 0.025 Points for the next ten Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.050, 7th = 0.050, 8th = 0.050, 9th = 0.050, 10th = 0.050, 11th = 0.025, 12th = 0.025, 13th = 0.025, 14th = 0.025, 15th = 0.025, 16th = 0.025, 17th = 0.025, 18th = 0.025, 19th = 0.025, 20th = 0.025) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 = 4
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 103 number of registered child places is 20.6, which has been reached with 26 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

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Awards / Recognitions (17)

Meet the Team (1)

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Leah Morrow

Job Title: Nursery Manager Joined: 2008

Leah Morrow has been our manager at Little Gems since July 2022 and previously held the manager position in our Greendale nursery.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Little Gems Private Day Nursery to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Little Gems Private Day Nursery has an Enhanced Service - more info.