Abacus Day Care Limited

Abacus Day Care Limited

Unique reference number (URN): 2862346 Address: Abacus Childrens Nurserys Ltd, Kingfisher Drive, Chatham, ME5 7NX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 04/12/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Abacus Day Care 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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Achievement Expected standard

Children are provided with activities and experiences to help support them to develop age- appropriate skills across all areas of the curriculum. Children learn about their friends and their different families successfully. This supports their understanding of others and their local community. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have tailored support to enable them to make positive progress from their starting points. For example, children develop their communication skills effectively, learning to hold conversations and to make their needs known successfully.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop positive bonds with their key persons, who know their children well and help families access a range of external expertise to help reduce barriers to children's learning. This ensures children receive the necessary support to reach developmental milestones successfully. Children develop into confident communicators and are suitably prepared for their next learning stage effectively. For example, children develop firm friendships, developing positive personal and social skills. They demonstrate that they know and understand the rules and routines of the setting well to support them when they transition to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children demonstrate that they know the rules and routines well. For example, older children put bowls and cups away and empty rubbish into bins after mealtimes. Younger children know to put their own things away. These activities help children develop independence skills successfully. Where needed, staff support children to understand how their behaviour impacts on others. Staff are gentle and patient. Older children comfort their friends, demonstrating that they learn how to treat others with kindness and care.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff have high expectations for children. They are positive role models, promoting good manners. As a result, children are polite and follow instructions. All children behave well. Leaders have worked hard to establish a positive environment. They recognise the challenges they have faced and ensure children and families remain at the heart of what they do. They promote an inclusive and respectful environment where all families are welcome. Staff support families to attend, offering flexible sessions to ensure children's attendance is regular. This supports children's understanding of the routines of the setting successfully.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are successfully supported to develop self-care skills. For example, babies learn to feed themselves using spoons, developing their confidence and coordination skills. Older children learn to use the toilet independently and to wash and wipe their hands. This supports children's independence and understanding of how to keep themselves healthy. Staff prioritise children's understanding of oral health. Staff access funding to supply all children with their own toothbrushes, supporting their knowledge and understanding. Older children excitedly look forward to receiving their own toothbrushes and to starting a regular toothbrushing routine at the setting. These activities support children to learn to manage their own personal care needs successfully.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders work closely with families to support understanding of healthy eating. For example, children and families are given advice on healthy lunch boxes and appreciate the help to learn about different colours on food packets. For example, older children identify that a 'red' label is not the healthiest option when choosing snacks, and that this means foods are high in fat. Children learn that 'green' indicates a healthier choice, supporting their understanding further. This supports children's knowledge of healthier foods effectively and helps them develop healthy habits for the future.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Relationships between staff and children are warm and responsive. This supports children's emotional wellbeing successfully, and as a result, children manage their own emotions. They are confident to ask for support from trusted staff. Routines are embedded and children learn to keep themselves healthy and safe. For example, children know to put their coats and boots on when going outside, to keep them safe in the rain.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have a secure understanding of the quality of the curriculum and where they can support staff to enhance what they offer. For example, leaders are committed to ensuring staff access training and support to improve their practice and skills. They prioritise support for staff to take additional qualifications to improve knowledge and understanding. For example, staff encourage children's learning and understanding. Children enjoy learning about different colours during a matching game and learning about shapes when exploring play dough. However, at times, not all staff recognise when they could extend activities to further support children's developing mathematical understanding.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff prioritise children's language and literacy skills effectively. Babies enjoy joining listening to rhymes, supporting their engagement and focus. Older children choose stories from the 'book swap' shelf to take home, which promotes a love of reading. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with pictures to help their understanding successfully. Staff are patient and calm in their approach, supporting children's personal and social skills effectively. Staff ensure the curriculum benefits children's physical skills. For example, babies enjoy exploring soft play to help them to climb and balance. Older children use cutlery with skill, demonstrating confidence and coordination.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure staff tailor their teaching to individual needs. They reflect on assessment processes to ensure they match children's changing needs and identify specific progress. Although this is yet to be fully embedded in terms of mathematical learning, leaders are committed to ensuring staff support all children's next steps effectively.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have a sound understanding of their local area and the needs and different circumstances of the families they serve. They are committed to ensuring all children and families are provided with help where needed. For example, leaders have developed positive partnerships with external agencies, the local authority and outreach support to provide families with advice and guidance where needed. They offer personalised support to reduce barriers and ensure all children access activities. For example, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning are provided with individualised support to help them make positive progress from their starting points. For example, leaders use funding effectively to purchase specialist resources to help children listen and communicate. Children who were unable to move independently when they started now demonstrate confidence when navigating space. Leaders ensure that staff

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Inclusion Expected standard

understand the graduated approach and recognise that for some children, progress is measured in smaller steps. Staff are ambitious for all children and they work hard to ensure children are ready for their next stage in learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders recognise the journey they have been on and the significant changes to the leadership and governance of the setting. They are positive and proactive about the future and are committed to ensuring children and families receive high standards of care and education. For example, leaders identify that they could strengthen ideas for parents to ensure families know how to support further their children's learning at home. Leaders have effective plans to ensure improvements are swift and effective. For example, they have identified that information-sharing with parents about how to further support learning at home could be strengthened and have plans to do this imminently. They also recognise that, at times, staff need further support to extend children's mathematical understanding. Leaders are in the process of prioritising these areas to further benefit staff's practice and impact children's learning and development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders access effective local authority support to ensure they continue to offer quality care and education and prioritise the right areas for development. For example, staff attend training sessions on understanding children's special educational needs. This helps them understand how to meet children's individual needs most effectively. Leaders ensure staff feel valued and monitor their workloads appropriately. Staff appreciate the support they receive and the positive vision the new nominated individuals have for the setting.

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

Children are at the heart of this setting. Leaders and staff work hard to ensure all families are welcomed and included. Staff greet them at the door with smiles, supporting all children to feel safe and to settle. Staff provide experiences that build on what children know and can do. This ensures all children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning, make positive progress from their starting points. Staff develop effective partnerships with local schools and sources of support to ensure all families can access help and advice where needed. This means children develop the necessary skills and knowledge ready for their next educational stage.

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

Children benefit from a range of activities planned to support their communication, social and physical development. For example, babies listen attentively to rhymes with nurturing staff, who cuddle and comfort them. This supports their emotional wellbeing successfully. Older children independently enjoy exploring pencils to make marks, talking with staff about what they are drawing. Other children enjoy kicking balls into nets with skill. These activities support children's confidence and development effectively. Staff encourage children to develop mathematical knowledge. Younger children delight in talking with staff about the different lengths of dinosaur tails, building on their interests. Older children learn about circles as they make different play dough shapes. This helps children to develop mathematical understanding effectively.

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

Staff work closely with parents to highlight the importance of regular attendance and the positive impact this has on their children's development. As a result, children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning, and this helps them forge firm friendships. Staff are positive role models. Children respond with smiles when they are praised and encouraged to have a go by kind and caring staff. This supports all children's confidence in their own abilities and in readiness for school.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff to identify when they can extend activities to further develop children's mathematical knowledge and understanding. Leaders should enhance information-sharing with parents to enable them to support further their children's learning at home.

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Address:

Abacus Childrens Nurserys Ltd Kingfisher Drive Chatham ME5 7NX

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Abacus Day Care Limited

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Address:

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

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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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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children and the special educational needs coordinator 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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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

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Urgent improvement

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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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