Little Conkers Limited

Little Conkers Limited

Unique reference number (URN): 2753405 Address: Scout Association, 7th Stevenage, Nokeside, Stevenage, SG2 8EY Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 30/08/2023 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Little Conkers Limited

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders create a very inclusive culture where they identify and assess children's individual needs promptly and skilfully. They use a robust graduated approach, drawing on high-quality information from observations, families and external professionals. This ensures that support is targeted from the earliest point. Leaders are extremely passionate about inclusion and take thoughtful and strategic action to reduce barriers to children's learning and wellbeing. They use a dedicated special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) hub, ensuring that children with SEND can access the curriculum meaningfully. As a result, children participate fully in nursery life and make sustained progress.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders closely monitor children's progress, reviewing support regularly and adapting provision where impact requires strengthening. Clear systems for evaluating children's individual plans and interventions help to ensure that children continue to move forward. Leaders make sure that staff are highly trained to support children who have barriers to their learning. They also work extremely closely with other professionals. As a result, children receive coordinated and sustained support.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use additional funding effectively to enhance targeted support and enrich learning for disadvantaged children. As a result, children develop confidence, independence and a strong sense of belonging. Children benefit from opportunities that enable them to thrive and achieve their potential.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make progress across the curriculum, particularly in their communication and language. They use expressive vocabulary to describe their play and share experiences with confidence. Children benefit from purposeful questioning, responsive interactions, signing, modelling and personalised interventions. Children, including those who face barriers to learning, benefit from warm and sensitive support that helps them manage emotions and remain involved in learning. Children develop early mathematical understanding through practical play and movement activities that build their knowledge of shapes, colours and number language. Over time, older children gain some independence skills. For example, they confidently tidy their plates and cutlery after meals, demonstrating responsibility and self-help skills. However, children do not have consistent opportunities to embed self-help and life skills within everyday

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Achievement Expected standard

learning. Overall, children show confident communication, emerging numeracy and growing readiness for their future learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children show positive attitudes to learning and take part confidently in both adult-led and child-initiated activities. Leaders create a welcoming and supportive environment with clear expectations for children's behaviour. Staff reinforce these through gentle guidance. They build warm and trusting relationships with children and respond to each child's age and stage of development. As a result, all children, including children with special educational and/disabilities and those who are disadvantaged, feel safe, included and valued.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children show kindness and consideration towards others. They cooperate in their play, and learn to share and take turns. Leaders understand families' working patterns, and staff know children who attend flexibly well, ensuring they stay safe. Staff monitor children's attendance and punctuality closely. However, staff do not consistently embed structured routines to enhance children's engagement and sense of security further throughout the day.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff celebrate children's achievements, which strengthens relationships with parents and carers and builds children's confidence. For example, when children create meaningful drawings linked to familiar adults or the setting, staff positively acknowledge and share this with families, helping children to feel proud of their efforts and confident in their achievements.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff meet children's individual needs effectively through attentive and responsive care practices. For example, when children show signs of uncertainty, staff offer reassurance and sensitive choices about whether to remain in a new environment or return to a familiar space, helping children to feel safe, valued and in control. Secure key-person relationships support children to form strong attachments, seek comfort, share news from home and engage confidently with staff.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff encourage children to talk about how they are feeling and help them to recognise, express and manage their emotions. This promotes children's emotional wellbeing from an early age. For example, during self-registration, staff ask children how they are feeling and acknowledge their responses, supporting emotional awareness.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children develop an age-appropriate understanding of their physical health. They learn hygiene routines suited to their stage of development, and staff work closely with parents and carers to promote healthy eating, including offering guidance on balanced packed lunches. As a result, children feel secure, cared for and confident. However, leaders have not enhanced opportunities for children to develop their independence by embedding essential self-help and life skills from the earliest age.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have a clear and accurate understanding of the quality of the curriculum and teaching. They make informed decisions to refine practice and ensure that the curriculum offered is wide-ranging. Staff plan activities skilfully and adapt to children's interests, next steps and starting points in development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff prioritise children's language development. They build children's vocabulary purposefully throughout play, using songs, rhymes and music sessions to extend their listening and expressive skills. Staff embed mathematical concepts meaningfully across the curriculum. For example, staff encourage children to complete 12 actions during movement activities, supporting counting, numerical understanding and physical coordination.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children's physical, personal, social and emotional development is central to the curriculum design. Daily outdoor play and sensitive interactions help children to develop confidence and regulate their emotions. Leaders ensure that reasonable adjustments, such as making adaptations to the environment and targeted adult support, enable children's full participation.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff use assessment skilfully to check what children know and can do, tailoring their teaching to their developmental stages. As a result, children experience consistently high- quality interactions that build knowledge securely and develop positive attitudes to learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear vision and strong understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. They reflect effectively to feedback, making decisions that prioritise the needs of all children. Leaders maintain robust oversight of safeguarding, recruitment and staff suitability. They ensure that all staff are trained, aware of procedures and receive support in their roles.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are evaluating changes needed to strengthen routines following recent room redeployments and are identifying where staff require additional support. They actively manage staff's wellbeing, providing supervision sessions and professional development opportunities. This ensures that staff feel valued, supported and confident to deliver high- quality care and learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Strong partnerships with families enhance children's experiences. Leaders use an online learning journal to communicate effectively, offer guidance on healthy eating and provide financial support to enable parents and carers to work or extend hours. They closely monitor children's individual needs through reviews and risk assessments. As a result, the setting is well led, with secure governance, reflective practice and a culture of continuous improvement that positively impacts children, families and staff. Leaders' actions ensure that the learning and welfare of all children remain the central focus.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children achieve well because staff know their abilities and next steps in learning. The curriculum is carefully adapted to meet children's individual needs and is enriched through targeted support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those receiving additional funding. This ensures that all children develop the skills, confidence and resilience they need for a positive start in life. Children with additional vulnerabilities and those requiring emotional support are helped through sensitive, well-judged interactions that build confidence, strengthen communication and enable them to feel safe and included alongside their peers.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children feel a strong sense of belonging through secure, trusting relationships with staff. They arrive settled and eager to engage, supported by warm, positive interactions that value their ideas, emotions and home lives. Staff model positive behaviour, creating a calm, nurturing environment where children feel safe to explore, take risks and develop independence. For example, children confidently approach familiar adults to share news from home, demonstrating strong attachments and emotional security.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children enjoy learning and thrive socially and emotionally. They demonstrate kindness, cooperation and growing confidence. Staff interactions are purposeful and responsive; children's play is extended through thoughtful questioning and rich language, supporting communication, imagination and early problem-solving. During child-led play, children confidently describe their ideas, explain their creations and use mathematical language naturally, showing enjoyment and deep engagement in learning.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

The setting is safe, with robust safeguarding and monitoring systems embedded into daily practice. This ensures that children's welfare is prioritised. Staff respond sensitively to children's emotional needs, offering reassurance, choice and support to help them regulate their feelings. Leaders act swiftly to reduce barriers to learning, drawing on external agency guidance where needed. As a result, children from all backgrounds participate fully, feel valued and make progress across all areas of development.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff in consistently embedding structured routines to enhance children's engagement, learning and sense of security throughout the day. Leaders should continue to extend opportunities for children to develop their independence by embedding essential self-help and life skills from the earliest age to strengthen confidence, autonomy and readiness for future learning.

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Address:

Scout Association 7th Stevenage, Nokeside Stevenage SG2 8EY

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Little Conkers Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the nominated individual, members of the senior leadership team, the special educational needs coordinator, parents, children and staff during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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About this inspection

A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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