Little Gems Day Nursery
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Waterlooville for babies from 3 months up to school age, open 07:30 to 18:00, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in September 2025. Open since 2009, with 40 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
15 hours free a week for children aged 2, 3 and 4 years old. 30 hours free for children aged 3 and 4 years old.
What childcare usually costs in Hampshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hampshire from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
PO8 0RYWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 2 September 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Staff know children well at this nursery and are quick to establish close bonds with them. The leadership team has designed a curriculum that focuses on children's emotional security, knowing that children learn best when they feel safe and secure. Babies who are new to the nursery receive lots of cuddles and they settle quickly with reassurance from their key person.
A key strength of this setting is its links with the local community. Managers understand the importance of helping children to learn about their local area. Staff take children to visit the elderly in a local care home, and children make poppies for Remembrance Day and take them to the church. Children go on walks and see newborn lambs at nearby farms and parents get involved too, for example, by bringing a tractor to the nursery.
Staff are positive role models and children are well behaved, polite and helpful. For example, older children enjoy helping to prepare snack for their peers. They develop good physical and independence skills as they use safety knives to cut fruit and pour their own drinks.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- improve the planning and implementation of activities so that staff focus more precisely on supporting children's learning intentions n support staff to make better use of opportunities during activities to enhance children's vocabulary and use of language.
- 2 September 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 3 January 2020Outstanding
- 20 February 2015Outstanding
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Gems Day Nursery
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.