The Playhouse

The Playhouse

Unique reference number (URN): 2762538 Address: 741 Wollaton Road, Nottingham, NG8 2AN Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/11/2023 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: K & A Adlington Ltd

p.1

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.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

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

p.1

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.

p.1

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour and consistently positive attitudes to learning. Older children respond promptly to visual cues to stop and listen, lining up sensibly for lunch and following routines with confidence and independence. When toddlers wake from their lunchtime sleep, other children show genuine empathy as they offer toys and gently comfort them. Children actively include one another in their play, asking, 'Would you like to play?' They demonstrate kindness, respect and a sense of belonging. Visual timetables and consistent routines help children understand what is happening now and what will happen next. This supports them to feel emotionally secure, manage transitions calmly and regulate their feelings successfully.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children show high levels of curiosity and persistence. They approach challenges with enthusiasm and confidence, developing their problem-solving skills through meaningful play. For example, during outdoor obstacle course activities, children cooperate to move large tyres safely, listen carefully to each other's ideas and work together to achieve their goal. This supports their collaboration, resilience and critical thinking.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Mealtimes are calm, sociable occasions where staff sit alongside children, encouraging conversation about healthy foods and modelling positive social skills. Children follow hygiene routines and develop independence. Leaders place emphasis on attendance and punctuality. They monitor patterns closely and work in partnership with families to support consistent attendance. As a result, children feel safe and valued and demonstrate excellent behaviour and highly positive attitudes to learning.

p.2

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children settle very quickly in this warm and friendly nursery. Staff know children and their families well and adapt care to suit health needs, emotions and home routines. For example, some children receive extra reassurance on arrival, while others quickly join in play. There is regular communication with parents and carers to share updates from home about things that children may need support with. The key-person system is well embedded and supports children in meeting developmental milestones effectively. Staff provide an individually targeted approach to intimate care routines for younger children, fostering trusting relationships. Staff treat children with respect. They talk in calm voices, seek the views of children whenever possible and show them genuine care and affection. Staff demonstrate that they are highly responsive to children's cues, providing comfort and reassurance when needed while sensitively encouraging children's independence. This contributes towards an

p.2

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

environment where children feel safe and happy.

p.2

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children are supported to understand their personal safety, health and wellbeing. For example, staff talk with children about riding bicycles safely outside and remind them to look and listen as they practise crossing the road during their play. Transitions are very supportive for all children and are adapted to their needs. Staff recognise that some children need a staggered approach to help them settle into the next room.

p.2

Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff ensure that all children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive carefully tailored support that enables them to succeed academically, socially and emotionally. Children's individual needs are identified quickly through baseline assessments, detailed observations and ongoing monitoring, allowing early and precise interventions. Leaders take deliberate action to remove barriers to learning, including providing small-group support, personalised learning plans, adapted resources and environmental adjustments that meet each child's needs. For example, children have access to quiet, cosy spaces with lights and textures to meet their sensory needs. Staff are highly trained in measuring children's progress in small steps, where needed. They work closely with families and external professionals to provide consistent, effective and coordinated support. Leaders regularly review children's progress and the impact of

p.3

Inclusion Strong standard

interventions, adapting strategies to ensure every child continues to make secure progress. Additional funding is used strategically to provide enrichment activities, additional staff training and targeted resources, enabling disadvantaged children to access the full curriculum and thrive. As a result, all children are confident, motivated and engaged. Leaders have built a culture of inclusion and high expectations where every child is empowered to achieve their potential.

p.3

Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders demonstrate ongoing commitment to providing high-quality education and care. They have an accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development and take effective action to improve provision. For example, leaders regularly review the use of additional funding to support disadvantaged children and help close gaps in their learning. They have identified areas to strengthen the learning environment and are taking appropriate steps to improve consistency in teaching and care. Leaders work effectively with external professionals and agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing barriers to their learning or wellbeing. This ensures children and families receive timely and appropriate support.

p.3

Leadership and governance Strong standard

Partnerships with parents and carers are highly positive. Parents describe the nursery as 'like a family' and praise the nurturing, welcoming staff. They value regular communication and support, including updates, lending libraries and advice to support learning at home. Parents of children with SEND say staff know their children extremely well and help them feel safe, settled and happy. Leaders support staff wellbeing through supervision, training and professional development.

p.3

Achievement Expected standard

Children generally make steady progress from their individual starting points. Their communication and language skills are well developed. Babies begin to say single words and quickly progress to combining words and joining in with familiar stories and songs. Older children speak confidently, use new vocabulary and express their ideas clearly during play and daily routines.

p.3

Achievement Expected standard

Disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make positive progress. All children develop key skills, including attention, communication and independence.

p.4

Achievement Expected standard

Children are typically well prepared for their next stage of learning, including school. They develop independence in managing personal care, following routines and making choices. Children show confidence, curiosity and resilience, providing them with secure foundations for future learning.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders design and amend the broad and balanced curriculum that builds on what children know and can do. Staff have a secure understanding of the curriculum's intent as children progress and prepare for school. Teaching is typically of high quality, with staff supporting children's curiosity, independence and engagement in learning. Staff use their knowledge of child development to plan meaningful experiences that meet children's individual needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who face barriers to learning. Staff use ongoing assessment to identify children's starting points and adapt experiences to support their next steps.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff provide balls and baskets to support babies' throwing skills, coordination, spatial awareness and control. Staff promote communication and language effectively. During story sessions, they introduce and model new vocabulary, encouraging children to repeat words and join in with familiar phrases. Babies begin to combine words as they recall favourite stories. Language is extended well through play. For example, older children learn the word 'reverse' and apply it meaningfully as they ride bicycles, calling out, 'Be careful, I am reversing!'

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, the curriculum for physical development is thoughtfully sequenced. Staff plan for children to progress from pushing along on scooters to pedalling and then riding bicycles. However, some aspects of practice limit how well this happens. For example, the environment is not always well considered to support babies' early physical development. Additionally, children wear wellies to enable outdoor play in all weathers, which restricts their movement and makes climbing and pedalling more difficult. Occasionally, resources are not prepared well enough to support the intended learning. For example, pencils are not sharpened and some children are unable to use the scissors provided. This reduces opportunities for children to fully develop the planned skills.

p.4

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

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

p.5

Register

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

p.5

Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

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

p.5

Register

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

p.5

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

Children are excited to attend this home-from-home, inclusive and nurturing nursery. Staff have created a sense of community and welcome each child and family, greeting them with a smile and opportunities to share information as they arrive. Older children enter with confidence and hang their coats on their pegs, recognising their names. They enter their room, eager to join their friends in their play. Children form secure attachments with staff, and children confidently seek out their key person for reassurance and comfort when

p.5

Inspector:

Tracy Hopkins needed. As a result, children feel secure and valued and develop a deep sense of belonging.

p.6

Inspector:

Children thrive because their uniqueness is recognised and celebrated. Children's needs are identified quickly, and strategies are put in place for support and to reduce barriers to learning. Staff work closely with other professionals to secure specialist input. Leaders ensure that funding is used and monitored effectively to enhance children's care and learning. For example, they have created calm spaces with lights and textures to support self-regulation and meet children's sensory needs. Communication and language are at the heart of the curriculum, which supports children's interests well. Children demonstrate a genuine love of learning and immerse themselves in play and exploration. Children of all ages love to read books. Older children listen attentively as staff read with animation. Staff purposefully pause while reading and children excitedly finish the sentence they have remembered. Younger children lift the flaps to reveal pictures and build on their growing

p.6

Inspector:

vocabulary as they are introduced to new words.

p.6

Inspector:

Children behave well and respond positively to staff, who are calm and consistent role models. Staff introduce clear expectations in ways that children understand, helping them to learn what is expected of them. Staff use praise effectively to recognise children's efforts and achievements. All children are well prepared for their next stage in learning.

p.6

Next steps

Leaders should strengthen the implementation of the physical development curriculum, ensuring that the environment and daily routines consistently enable children to practise and develop their physical skills. Leaders should ensure that staff consistently prepare and organise resources so that children can fully achieve the intended learning.

p.6

About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, special educational needs coordinators, staff, children and parents and carers during the inspection.

p.6

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.

p.6

Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

p.7

Address:

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

p.7

Facts and figures used on inspection

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

p.7

Exceptional

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

p.8

Strong standard

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

p.8

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.

p.8

Needs attention

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

p.8

Urgent improvement

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

p.8

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.

p.8

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 .

p.8

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 .

p.8

Urgent improvement

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Urgent improvement

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

p.8