Little Lions Nursery

Dwight School London, Woodside Park (Lower School), 49 Woodside Ave, London N12 8SY
Review Us
9.2 9 Reviews
  • Little Lions Nursery, London
Little Lions Nursery is an 'outstanding' rated (March 2022) friendly and diverse learning community full of happy children. The nursery is managed by a qualified teacher and well-qualified support staff.

Little Lions is one of the only nurseries in the area to offer an early years International Baccalaureate education alongside the Early Years Foundation Stage. Their learning is inquiry-based and very hands-on, encouraging children to be independent and be able to make choices and take managed risks. The children are taught early reading and numeracy skills through daily, playful adult-led sessions.

Being part of the wider Dwight School community means that children are able to visit specialist teachers in Music, P.E, Library, French and Forest School. They can also use the facilities such as the larger playground and the canteen where the food is prepared daily by the on-site chef.

There are flexible attendance options to suit your needs. The staff pride themselves on knowing the children really well and have positive relationships with the families. Parents can attend monthly workshops/coffee mornings and are encouraged to be involved which keeps the community active and close.

Type of Service

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

Owner

  • Little Lions Nursery
  • Privately Owned

Person in Charge

  • Sara Rushby (Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 6

Total Places for Children

  • 30

Age Range

  • from 2 years 0 months
  • to 4 years 0 months

Funding & Fees

  • Full time, year round 5 days: £1,908.00   4 days: £1,526.00   3 days: £1,145.00   2 days £763.00.


    Other options available such as term time, school days and half days subject to availability.

  • Due to the number of booking options available, please enquire with your requirements.

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-17:30
    Tuesday 07:30-17:30
    Wednesday 07:30-17:30
    Thursday 07:30-17:30
    Friday 07:30-17:30

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays, 1 week at Christmas, 2 weeks in the Summer & 3 Inset days

Parking

  • There is no parking on-site. There is limited parking available close to the school.

9.2

Little Lions Nursery has a Review Score of 9.2 (9.183) out of 10, based on 5 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Little Lions Nursery has 9 reviews.

Overall Experience
  • 8
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Date Published
  • 9
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Reviewer Connection to Little Lions Nursery
  • 5
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Total of 9, showing 1-9
Review from James B (Father of Child) published on 5 September 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Very good experience. Many thanks to the kind teachers who worked with my son to achieve such progress.
A lovely environment and excellent communication with the teachers.
An easy transition to the next stage thanks to their work.
My sincere thanks and gratitude to all the staff.
Look forward
to seeing them soon.
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Review from Michael M (Father of Child) published on 5 September 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Great experience with Dwight, our son has really thrived both socially and academically here. A great environment and I'm sure that he's much more ready for school than he would have been had we kept him in the day nursery he was in previously. Great range of activities, integration with the school
and a really thoughtful approach to teaching and stimulation at a personal level.
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Review from Derek F (Father of Child) published on 2 September 2025 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We love little lions, and will be sending our second daughter there (space permitted!). Our daughter loved it and made some very close friends, and she's received a great education and experience that will set her up for the next chapter of her life at school. She's very attached to her classmates and
the teachers. We also like that it follows school hours (if you wish).
It's also a great community of parents, mostly local, so we'll have many opportunities for play dates even after she's graduated.
My one piece of feedback is that, it feels like food quality has taken a step back in the two years that we've been here (my guess is it's just price inflation). I suspect many of the parents would prefer to pay a slight premium to cover that increase in costs, if it would guarantee healthy and delicious food for the children.
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Review from S A (Mother of Child) published on 4 October 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Little Lion Nursery is a truly outstanding place. My daughter loved every single day at the nursery as they provide a wide range of activities including forest school, music, yoga, cooking, and more. We have seen her confidence and character develop over time with an excellent support from all the lovely
staff. I was particularly impressed with the regular parent-teacher meetings to provide us our child's progress. Also, they organize coffee mornings/workshops where the manager runs a lecture on a variety of topics related to children.
Fantastic service overall! We couldn't ask for a better nursery.
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Review from A S (Mother of Child) published on 2 August 2024 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
We are very happy to have shared two wonderful years at Litlle Lions, our daughter has been very happy there where from the first day the entire team of teachers and staff have made her first experiences in the nursery all positive. Thank you for letting us go hand in hand with our daughter's education
and for all the support received. I would definitely choose you again. our daughter takes a backpack full of love, learning, and friends.
Reply from Sara Rushby, Manager at Little Lions Nursery
We will miss you all. Thank you for your lovely words.
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Review from Dejana V (Mother of Child) published on 9 October 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter was a part of Little Lions Nursery family from April till October 2023. We are very pleased with the teachers and other staff members. Our daughter had a very happy and pleasant time there. Nursery groups are small so teachers can dedicate enough time and energy to every child. They are
very kind, dedicated and caring.
Recommending!
Reply from Sara Tomlin, Manager at Little Lions Nursery
Thank you for your kind words. We miss you and hope that all is going well.
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Review from F C (Father of Child) published on 4 October 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Little Lions Nursery is an absolute wonder. Our son came out of his shell and started to develop at an exponential rate within a couple of weeks of starting here. It’s not just a place to leave your kids to play for the day; they are really engaging!
The approach and the care of the staff is fantastic
and I’d definitely recommend Little Lions to anyone. In fact, we were so impressed with the results that we kept our son on for reception.
Reply from Sara Tomlin, Manager at Little Lions Nursery
Thank you! We really enjoyed getting to know you all and are happy to see him every day now he is in reception!
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Review from Stephanie S (Mother of Child) published on 19 July 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our daughter couldn't have been happier at Little Lions Nursery. They helped to grow her confidence throughout her time with them in a caring and nurturing environment. It's like a home from home. She also loved forest school. We will miss you Little Lions!
Reply from Sara Tomlin, Manager at Little Lions Nursery
We loved having you here with us and will certainly miss you too. All the best in big school!
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Review from Nina H (Mother of Child) published on 6 July 2023 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Our child has been here since January 2022. This is one of the most amazing places you could send your child to. My child is so happy, looked after and has learned so much more than what we expected. The education around emotional intelligence and collaboration is impressive. They are all little risk
takers and the friendships that are built are beautiful. A very nurturing place with well structured and organised play. No child is ignored or left behind, each feels empowered by their own strengths. It's such a great place to start your child's social play and learning at. (We moved from another nursery that didn't have this structure where our child was scared and unhappy) He is now confident, kind and happy - not to mention the learning style is second to none.
Reply from Sara Tomlin, Manager at Little Lions Nursery
Thank you so much for your kind words. We loved working with your family so much and will miss you all.
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Current Review Score: 9.2 (9.183)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.2 (9.183) out of 10 for Little Lions 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 5 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 4.3 out of 5 from 5 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 4.850 for Little Lions Nursery is calculated as follows: ( (53 Excellents x 5) + (5 Goods x 4) + (2 Satisfactorys x 3) ) ÷ 60 Ratings = 4.85
  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 4.333 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Little Lions Nursery is based on 5 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 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 = 3.5
    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 30 number of registered child places is 6. 5 Positive Reviews ÷ 6 = 0.833
  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

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Awards / Recognitions (0)

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Meet the Team (6)

Sara

Sara Rushby

Job Title: Nursery Manager & Lower School Assistant Principal Joined: 2013

Welcome to Little Lions Nursery.


I am Sara Rushby the nursery manager at Little Lions. I am an experienced years educator with a passion for outdoor learning.


Our nursery is a warm, welcoming place where learning is personalised to suit your child. We talk about finding the 'spark of genius in every child' and we achieve this by really building close relationships, noticing interests and providing engaging learning experiences that move the learning forward.


As an International Baccalaureate nursery, we deliver an inquiry-based curriculum that centres on the child. I would love to welcome you for a tour of our homely setting and answer your questions.

Ridwan

Ridwan Abdulla

Job Title: Assistant Nursery Manager Joined: 2021

Welcome. I am the assistant manager at Little Lions Nursery and enjoy creating stimulating provocations to spark the imagination of our children. At Little Lions, we have such a warm, welcoming and diverse community. We can't wait to welcome you there.


I am a qualified ELSA teacher. This helps children with Emotional Literacy.

Carine

Carine Shuman

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner Joined: 2021

Nursery Practitioner and French Teacher.

Lesley

Lesley Coster

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner Joined: 1988

Nursery Practitioner and yoga teacher.

Anastasia

Anastasia Perkins

Job Title: Nursery Nursery Practitioner Joined: 2021

Nursery Practitioner (Nursery) and classroom assistant (Reception)

Maria

Maria Kore

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner Joined: 2021

Nursery Practitioner (2 year olds),

Frequently Asked Questions about Little Lions Nursery

What is the Age Range of Children that Little Lions Nursery accepts?

Little Lions Nursery accepts Children aged from 2 years 0 months to 4 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is Little Lions Nursery Open?

Little Lions Nursery is open: Monday 07:30-17:30, Tuesday 07:30-17:30, Wednesday 07:30-17:30, Thursday 07:30-17:30, Friday 07:30-17:30.

How many Children does Little Lions Nursery have capacity for?

Little Lions Nursery has capacity for a total of 30 Children.

How far is Little Lions Nursery to the centre of London?

8.4 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

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