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Early years · Report card

St John's Sunshine Pre School

Inspected 13 May 2026 · URN 2772149

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Natalie Moir

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

  • Achievement verified

    Expected standard

  • Behaviour, attitudes and routines verified

    Expected standard

  • Children's welfare and wellbeing verified

    Expected standard

  • Curriculum and teaching verified

    Expected standard

  • Inclusion verified

    Expected standard

  • Leadership and governance verified

    Expected standard

  • Framework verified

    Report card

  • Group verified

    St John's Sunshine Pre-School

  • Inspection datesingle source

    13 May 2026

  • Inspectors verified

    Natalie Moir

  • Postcode verified

    RH10 3QX

  • Name on report verified

    St John's Sunshine Pre School

  • Safeguarding verified

    Met

  • URN verified

    2772149

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of the report

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Hollow rings show the previous inspection, 2026.

  • AchievementExpected
  • Behaviour, attitudes and routinesExpected
  • Children's welfare and wellbeingExpected
  • Curriculum and teachingExpected
  • InclusionExpected
  • Leadership and governanceExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+75Very positivemore positive than 55% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praiseeffectivehigh-qualitypositivelysecurepositiveconsistentlyfeel saferobust
Criticismnot alwaysweaknessesconcernsgapsnot consistentlyvariation

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical
  • Findings1436w+82
  • Leadership196w+39
  • Safeguarding51w−11
  • What needs to improve56w+64

Strengths

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Concerns

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Next steps

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What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages
8
Words of findings
1,736
about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level
Hard
Flesch 45, typical 43
Average sentence
16 words
Next steps
3
typical 3
Hedged sentences
4%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 68%Leadership 9%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 3%About the inspection 18%

Full report text

St John's Sunshine Pre School

Unique reference number (URN): 2772149 Address: Delmar Morgan Centre, Copthorne Bank, Copthorne, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 3QX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 13/12/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: St John's Sunshine Pre-School

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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, including those who face barriers to their learning, receive effective support which enables them to make steady progress from their starting points. Children are supported to develop a secure sense of belonging. They benefit from well-organised and familiar routines which support children's understanding of what is happening next and their emotional wellbeing. Children are excited to attend the pre-school and show enthusiasm to join in their own and adult-initiated learning experiences through play. Typically, children are supported to gain skills and knowledge across all areas of learning. However, at times, there is some variation in the quality of teaching that children receive. During these times, children are not fully supported to expand their knowledge and build on their existing skillset. Despite this, all children grow in confidence and ability. As a result, children are generally well prepared for

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Achievement Expected standard

their next stage of learning and ultimately their transition to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff have high but appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. Leaders recognise and promote the importance of children's attendance to ensure their bonds with staff and familiarisation of the daily routines remains secure. This positively impacts children's emotional wellbeing and helps them establish robust routines. Staff are positive role models and recognise the importance of children being able to understand what is expected of them. For example, during morning group time, children revisit their golden rules. Children confidently recall the rules, such as having kind hands. Staff check children understand what this means. Children take turns, explaining kind hands means they are gentle, not taking toys from one another, and no pushing. These opportunities ensure children receive clear messages of behavioural expectations, as well as supports their understanding of their own and other's feelings.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

All staff are aware of children who may need additional help to understand their growing emotions. The effective key person system in place enables these children to receive consistent support from their familiar person. This successfully supports children should they become overwhelmed. As such, they are able to manage their own emotions as they receive tailored support which quickly restores their feelings of calm. Any minor conflicts between children are generally swiftly resolved with support from staff. Typically, children play alongside and with each other well, particularly through enjoyment of their own imaginative play.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

All staff prioritise children feeling safe, secure and included. As such, they work hard to build warm, trusting relationships with all children promoting their wellbeing and sense of belonging. The key person arrangements are well thought out and effective, as children develop secure attachments. The daily routines of the pre-school are also well considered and flexible to support children's individual needs. Children demonstrate confidence and a genuine enjoyment to attend. Staff make sure children are safe and ensure their health is positively promoted. They teach children about safe screen time and oral health, supporting parents as needed. Children benefit from ample opportunities to be physically active. Staff promote positive hygiene routines which are embedded. For example, ensuring children wash their hands after using the toilet or before mealtimes. This supports children to develop healthy habits. However,

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

staff do not always teach children about why it is important to do these things. As such, children's understanding of how to keep themselves healthy is not promoted as fully as it could be.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children generally have opportunities to develop their independence skills. They skilfully use small tongs to serve a variety of fresh fruit at snack time and carefully pour their own drinks. However, leaders have not fully considered how these skills can be extended, particularly for the older children. For example, children cannot reach to hang up their own belongings. As such, they rely on staff handing out their coats and jumpers as they prepare to go outside. When coming in from the garden, children discard their coats on the floor, which staff hang up. These arrangements do not fully support children to do things they are capable of for themselves.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, leaders demonstrate an accurate view of their curriculum and the quality of their teaching. They recognise they are on a journey to embed teaching practice and delivery of the curriculum since the new leadership team were appointed this year. There is a focus on children's communication and language skills. Staff recognise each child's developmental stage is unique and as such, adapt their interactions. Younger children and those who are being supported to strengthen their verbal communication hear clearly spoken, repetitive language. Older children develop their conversational skills, sharing their ideas and experiences. Children have opportunities to learn new words and their meanings, such as 'squeeze' and 'hatching'. Staff support children with pictorial aids to ensure every child can communicate their needs and wants successfully. This helps all children to become confident communicators.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Generally, children benefit from high quality interactions and teaching. Staff talk confidently about why they have planned activities. They understand the areas of learning these promote and how activities support individual children to make progress. However, not all staff consistently recognise how to extend children's learning in the moment. For instance, not all staff pick up on children's immediate curiosities in their play or during discussions. As a result, staff do not always fully promote the extension of children's learning through consistently high-quality interactions and teaching.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Those with lead responsibility for inclusion understand their roles and responsibilities. They help provide ongoing support and guidance to other staff when they identify any gaps in children's progress. Those responsible have a secure understanding of various referral processes. As a result, children receive timely referrals to seek specialist support, and staff understand the importance of working closely with external professionals. Children who face barriers to their learning receive tailored next steps and one-page profiles. This supports staff to prioritise areas of learning they need most and understand how to personalise the support each child needs. This helps children make the individual progress they are capable of. Leaders ensure any additional funding they claim is used effectively. They spend funds appropriately to make a difference to children, monitoring the impact to ensure it is having a

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Inclusion Expected standard

positive outcome. All staff create an inclusive environment where they identify and support children's individual needs, adapting practice as needed. This supports all children to develop a positive sense of self belonging and grow in confidence at the pre-school. Leaders recognise those with lead responsibility would benefit from ongoing training to further enhance their knowledge and have clear plans in place to support their ongoing growth in their inclusion roles.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The leadership team were newly formed weeks prior to their last inspection. Since then, leaders, alongside the committee, have worked hard to address safeguarding weaknesses that were previously identified. There are clear and robust safeguarding policies and procedures in place to safeguard children. Leaders have taken action to ensure they and staff know what to do in the event of an allegation. This helps to keep children safe. The committee show an increased level of oversight and support, understanding their role to maintain the smooth running of the pre-school. Together, they have worked tirelessly to make improvements and demonstrate clear plans for the future to continually promote the best outcomes for children. In addition, leaders have strengthened the arrangements in place for the supervision of staff, promoting professional development that will support staff to continually improve their own personal effectiveness.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff report leaders are approachable, supportive, and share they have a genuine regard for their wellbeing and workload. Leader's mentor and guide staff who are working to gain early years qualifications, which in turn positively impacts children as staff are supported to upskill. Parental partnership is well considered, effective and valued by the families who attend.

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

Children are happy and content at this community pre-school. They arrive with confidence and are quick to delve into a variety of activities that staff have thoughtfully planned. These focus on children's next steps, as well as their interests. As a result, children quickly become immersed in their play and explorations. For instance, on arrival, children check in on their home-made dinosaur egg. They beam with excitement as they notice the egg has cracked overnight and eagerly talk about how it is starting to hatch. Activities spark children's curiosities and help them develop a love for learning.

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

The key person arrangements are effective. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, have warm bonds with their key person which helps them to feel safe, settled, and emotionally secure in preparation for learning. Children benefit from a broad curriculum and overall receive support through high-quality interactions to make steady progress from their starting points. Staff know what they want to teach children next and design personalised next steps that help children continually build on what they already know and can do.

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

Children benefit from regular access to the carefully planned and secure outdoor area. They enjoy time in the fresh air, eager to climb, run and practice their hula hooping skills. This supports children's developing core muscles and ensures they receive plenty of physical exercise. In addition, children develop their hand-eye coordination and dexterity as they strengthen their small muscles. Staff plan various open-ended opportunities to mark make. For instance, children persist as they use stencils to make patterns and enjoy drawing pictures of each other. Children manipulate playdough, squashing and squeezing their dough, as well as using spray bottles to squirt water as they clean their muddy dinosaurs. These opportunities help prepare children for their next stage of learning. Children's attendance is positively promoted, recognising this supports them to access the full extent of the experiences on offer.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff to consistently recognise how to extend children's learning to fully promote their development through consistently high-quality interactions and teaching. Leaders should support staff to fully promote children's age-appropriate knowledge as they learn how to keep themselves healthy. Leaders should review the arrangements in place to ensure children's growing independence is fully promoted.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, the nominated individual, staff, parents and children.

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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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Address:

Delmar Morgan Centre Copthorne Bank, Copthorne Crawley West Sussex RH10 3QX

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: St John's Sunshine Pre-School

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:45 - 14:15

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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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