Q&A with Little People Fulham Palace

In our latest Q&A interview with local Fulham nurseries we caught up with Katherine Schandorf, the Nursery Manager at Little People Fulham Palace.

What is the history of Little People?

Little People was founded in 1978 in Lancashire by Anne Gleasure, who was a pioneer in developing child care provision in the north west. Along with the help of her daughter (Jane), Little People became an outstanding nursery child care provider. Whilst Anne has now retired, Jane expanded the nursery group to London in 1993, initially with one nursery in Willow Vale (Shepherds Bush), and now to the larger setting of Fulham (1997), Hampton in 2019 and the newest setting, Fulham Palace, in 2025.

What is it that you offer?

We offer full day placements for 52 weeks of the year from 7:30am to 6pm. This involves high-quality care with a focus on the Montessori approach of teaching and learning and an emphasis on the importance of the outdoors for our children.

We have an extensive extra-curricular timetable as part of the children’s day at nursery, including gymnastics, music and woodwork classes. There are freshly cooked meals with a focus on family-style dishes and family-style eating, which gives the children a sense of belonging and community while building their independence.

In line with our ethos and values, we offer a conducive environment for children to learn respect for themselves and others while celebrating our similarities and differences. We also provide an environment where they can experience joy through play and achievement while also building their resilience and giving them a safe and inclusive space to approach new challenges.

As manager of the nursery, could you tell us a bit about your background?

With a Degree and a Masters in Child Psychology, my passion has always been the wellbeing of children, their neurodevelopment and how their early childhood experiences shape them later on in life. I have been working in private nurseries for 13 years and entered into management for the last four years. I believe it is so crucial that we join with parents to get these foundational years right for our children so they are set up for the best possible start in life.

Could you let us know something unique about the nursery?

With our unique focus on the outdoors, we take our children for daily Forest walks to Bishops Park where they get to engage with nature and extend their learning beyond the nursery environment. The Montessori approach is a thread that runs through the whole nursery and is evident in our environment, with lots of natural and wooden equipment and resources, as well as encouraging children’s independence from an early age and giving them a sense of self-confidence. As children progress throughout the nursery they engage in practical life activities which prepare them for the wider world and support their understanding of self-care, ownership and care for the environment. We pride ourselves on a child-led approach that involves following children’s interests to meet their needs but also acknowledging the parents as the primary care givers and engaging in effective parent partnership. This summer we had our first routine Ofsted inspection and have been graded Strong in all areas! We are really proud of this result and look forward to more future successes.

Does Fulham Palace have any exciting plans or dreams for the future?

Our hope for the future is for every family that joins our setting to experience the sense of belonging and togetherness that we aim to provide. More specifically, we have just launched some new extra-curricular activities, including Ballet and Swimming for our 2-5 years-olds, and are constantly looking for more way to enrich the children’s learning experiences.

Little People Fulham Palace

726-728 Fulham Road

London

SW6 5SF

0207 362 4969

https://littlepeople.co.uk/our-nurseries/little-people-fulham-palace/