Twisty Tails Nursery (Stanmore) Ltd

Twisty Tails Nursery (Stanmore) Ltd

Unique reference number (URN): 2712464 Address: 69 Elm Park, Stanmore, HA7 4AU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 24/01/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Twisty Tails Nursery (Stanmore) Ltd

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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 make appropriate progress from their starting points across the areas of learning. Babies and toddlers develop early communication and language skills, progressing from single words to simple phrases through consistent modelling and interaction. Toddlers demonstrate emerging mathematical understanding, such as counting and recognising patterns during practical activities. Older children build on prior learning across the curriculum. For example, they recall what plants need to grow and use specific vocabulary, such as 'scaly' and 'camouflage', when describing dinosaurs.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make steady progress due to targeted support. They develop increasing confidence, follow simple instructions and begin to use words to communicate and engage in group activities.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, children develop key skills needed for the next stage in their learning, including language, independence and knowledge of the world. However, progress is not consistently maximised, as activities are not always precisely adapted to extend all children's learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, leaders establish clear routines and expectations that support children's sense of stability and wellbeing. These are implemented across the setting and help children understand what is expected of them. Children follow daily routines, such as independently accessing tissues, checking mirrors and washing their hands, demonstrating growing independence.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children develop positive relationships with staff, who provide reassurance and guidance. For example, during a shopping role-play activity, children take turns as a shopkeeper and customer, exchanging items and play money while using simple language to communicate. This supports cooperation and developing social interaction skills. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) through consistent routines and visual supports, enabling them to participate alongside their peers.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and sustain engagement in sensory and creative experiences. Leaders promote attendance, punctuality and engagement through consistent routines and effective communication with parents.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

However, expectations are not consistently reinforced. For example, during food preparation activities involving safety knives and wooden skewers, staff do not always revisit guidance or support children to manage risks safely. As a result, children do not consistently develop a secure understanding of boundaries. Children behave appropriately. Inclusive practice supports children with SEND, including calming areas and resources that help children regulate their emotions and engage in learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that children's welfare and wellbeing are supported through secure routines and responsive care. A carefully planned settling-in process, tailored to individual needs, helps children to build trust and feel emotionally secure. Leaders monitor practice to ensure that care routines are implemented consistently across the setting.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff know children well and implement consistent care practices that support their health and development. For example, babies use steps to reach higher sinks, and older children independently manage hygiene routines, such as handwashing, and engage in toothbrushing activities that promote understanding of healthy lifestyles, including oral health and nutrition.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are generally supervised appropriately, and staff demonstrate a clear awareness of safety procedures. The environment is organised to promote independence, with accessible resources and opportunities for children to explore and take appropriate risks. However, staff do not consistently support children to understand how to use equipment safely and manage risks effectively during some activities.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Inclusive practice ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning are helped to feel secure and participate fully in routines. Children generally develop an understanding of how to keep themselves safe, although this is not always consistently embedded during some activities. Overall, children feel safe and secure, and their welfare and wellbeing are supported effectively.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have developed a curriculum that prioritises communication and language, personal development and school readiness. They have a clear understanding of what children need to learn and organise the curriculum to provide a broad range of experiences that build on children's interests and support progression over time. For example, sensory exploration with natural materials for younger children, alongside planting and role play linked to real-life contexts such as oral health for older children, help children make meaningful connections in their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, staff implement the curriculum with increasing consistency. Teaching is purposeful and supports children to develop knowledge and skills. For instance, during an oral health activity, children use real toothbrushes and are introduced to vocabulary such as 'cavities', while in a planting activity they explore what plants need to grow and use measuring jugs to develop early mathematical understanding.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff adapt their teaching to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through simplified language, visual prompts and modelling. However, activities are not consistently matched to children's starting points. At times, questioning focuses more on confident children, limiting engagement for less confident children. Opportunities to reinforce the safe use of tools are also not consistently embedded. Leaders are strengthening practice through training and monitoring, although this is not yet fully embedded.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders identify children's needs accurately and at an early stage, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who may face other barriers to their learning and wellbeing. They gather detailed information from parents and use this, alongside ongoing assessment, to shape provision. Staff use a range of strategies, including visual prompts, objects of reference and 'now and next' boards, to help children understand routines and access learning. However, these approaches are not yet used consistently to ensure that all children can participate fully.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure that children with SEND are supported to access the curriculum through appropriate adaptations. Staff adjust their interactions, for example, by using simplified language, repetition and visual cues. This enables children to engage in activities and learn alongside their peers. Leaders work in partnership with external professionals, including speech and language therapists and local authority services, to implement consistent approaches and support children's development over time.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders understand the needs of disadvantaged children and take steps to reduce barriers. They promote an inclusive environment where children and families feel that they belong. The curriculum reflects children's backgrounds and experiences, and partnerships with parents are used effectively to support continuity of care and learning. However, adaptations in teaching are not applied consistently, and not all children are supported to engage fully in activities.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders demonstrate a clear and accurate understanding of the setting's strengths and priorities. Since the previous inspection, they have taken appropriate action to improve provision, including introducing regular supervision, daily learning walks and more focused professional development. As a result, staff have a clearer understanding of the curriculum and increased confidence in delivering learning experiences.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders provide effective oversight and monitor practice regularly, using this to inform improvements and identify priorities. For example, neurodiversity training has strengthened staff understanding of children's individual needs, supporting more inclusive practice. Staff recognise differences in behaviour, communication and sensory needs, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), using simpler language, visual supports and structured routines. Hygiene practices have also improved, with more consistent reinforcement of handwashing routines.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Governance arrangements ensure that statutory requirements are met. Recruitment procedures are implemented effectively, with clear systems in place to check staff suitability and maintain compliant practice. Leaders prioritise staff wellbeing and workload through offering coaching, regular supervision meetings with staff and ongoing support. Staff report feeling supported and confident in their roles. Partnerships with parents are positive. Leaders seek parents' views and provide opportunities for involvement, including curriculum evenings. Food-tasting sessions help parents understand healthy meals and how nutritious food can be prepared without excess salt or sugar. They also work effectively with external professionals to support children with SEND.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders recognise that, while improvements have been made, there remains some variation in how consistently staff apply agreed approaches, and they are taking steps to address this.

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

Children are welcomed into a warm and inclusive environment where they form secure and trusting relationships with staff. Children who initially find separation difficult settle quickly and begin to explore the environment with increasing confidence, engaging in sensory play using herbs, citrus fruits and natural materials. Babies and children feel safe and secure, supported by consistent routines and nurturing interactions.

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

Children enjoy a range of meaningful experiences that connect learning to the world around them. They take part in activities such as Spanish sessions, music and movement sessions and visits within the local community. These experiences support children's curiosity and enthusiasm for learning.

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

Children show sustained engagement in their play. For example, they explore farm animals, make sounds and match figures during songs. They take part in activities such as making fruit kebabs, where they discuss taste, texture and shape. Through these experiences, children begin to develop early mathematical understanding, such as counting and recognising patterns. Children develop their communication skills as staff model and extend vocabulary during a tooth brushing activity, learning new words such as 'unhealthy', 'healthy' and 'cavities.' Children begin to express their ideas and engage in simple conversations.

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

Children learn alongside their peers and develop positive relationships. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported to participate in group activities and follow simple instructions. They demonstrate increasing confidence and inclusion within the setting.

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

Children are supported to understand routines that promote their health and safety, including handwashing and oral hygiene. In the main, through daily experiences and interactions, children begin to develop an awareness of keeping themselves safe. Overall, children make

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises steady progress from their starting points. Children and their families are warmly welcomed into the setting, where respectful partnerships are prioritised. Leaders and staff actively value families' contributions, recognising them as key partners in children's learning and development.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff to strengthen how they teach children about clear boundaries and how to manage risks safely, particularly when using age-appropriate utensils and equipment, such as safety knives during activities. Leaders should strengthen staff's understanding of how to plan and deliver activities matched to children's starting points, interests and learning needs to help them make the progress they are capable of. Leaders should strengthen staff's ability to respond in the moment, extend children's thinking and ensure quieter and less confident children are consistently included and supported to participate.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the nominated individual, leaders 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. Registration date: 24/01/2023

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About this inspection

Registered person: Twisty Tails Nursery (Stanmore) Ltd

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 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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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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