Partou The Thames Club Day Nursery & Pre-School

School

Unique reference number (URN): 2712721 Address: The Thames Club, Wheatsheaf Lane, Staines-Upon-Thames, Surrey, TW18 2PD Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 26/01/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Partou UK Limited

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. The failure to follow statutory safer recruitment procedures means that children's safety cannot be assured. Leadership decisions have not consistently prioritised children's welfare, and gaps in record-keeping have significantly compromised safeguarding arrangements.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have strengthened some safeguarding systems since the previous visit, such as revisiting staff understanding of whistleblowing, respectful handling and recording processes. However, these improvements do not mitigate the serious breach identified in recruitment. However, leaders do appropriately record and review safeguarding concerns and contact relevant safeguarding agencies. Staff now complete reflective training summaries, and managers use supervision and scenario-based practice to build staff knowledge of safeguarding.

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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

Most children are making steady progress from their starting points. Many develop confidence in communicating with peers and adults, and older children show growing understanding of emotions and relationships. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from early interventions and multi-agency involvement, which is helping them make progress, particularly in emotional regulation and communication.

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Achievement Expected standard

Disadvantaged children and those who speak English as an additional language are developing well. Babies develop physical skills and engage well in sensory experiences, and older children show readiness for school through increasing independence at mealtimes and engagement in early literacy and numeracy experiences. For example, they guess how many cars they can fit into the structure they are building, demonstrating an early understanding of space, shape and measurement. All children develop the knowledge and skills they need for their next stage in learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are cared for in a generally safe and nurturing environment. Staff supervise children well, and babies sleep safely with appropriate supervision. Hygiene routines are embedded, with children washing their hands independently before meals and snacks. Staff support children's understanding of healthy routines, such as taking regular sips of water and sitting down safely to eat.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children with additional needs receive responsive emotional support. Staff working with children who struggle with emotional regulation use co-regulation effectively, helping children identify feelings and manage frustration. Where children show signs of tiredness, staff adjust routines sensitively, offering rest opportunities and comforting interactions.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

However, key-person relationships for babies are not consistently secure enough to promote deep attachment, and the quality of care varies depending on staffing arrangements. Despite these weaknesses, the fundamental care practices, such as supervision, health routines and support for emotional wellbeing, are typically well met.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have introduced a curriculum that prioritises communication and language, emotional development and physical development. Staff understand children's interests and plan activities that reflect these, such as sensory exploration for younger children and activities around feelings for older children.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching is generally purposeful, and many staff support children's developing vocabulary, particularly during small-group activities. Mathematical language is modelled well during problem-solving activities, such as building structures and counting quantities. Staff working with all ages prompt children to think, predict what might happen and extend their ideas.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

However, curriculum implementation is inconsistent. Some staff do not adapt their interactions well enough for children who have emerging communication needs. In the baby room, key persons do not always demonstrate an accurate understanding of their key children's stages of development. This leads to next steps that are not fully aligned to children's needs. In the pre-school room, staff do not consistently build on conversations to extend children's learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Despite these weaknesses, children typically remain engaged, and staff generally use assessment to inform teaching. Leaders recognise that improvement is needed to strengthen consistency in staff practice.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have taken effective steps to improve the setting's approach to inclusion. They demonstrate a secure grasp of the graduated approach. This helps them ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are identified early, assessed appropriately and provided with targeted support. Leaders hold regular review meetings with parents, key persons and external professionals, and they initiate referrals, funding applications and multi-agency involvement where necessary.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Some staff have started to receive coaching and training linked to children's emerging needs. For example, staff supporting children with emotional regulation have access to

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Needs attention

specific strategies and are now implementing these well. Improvements have been made to communication and working in partnership with parents.

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Needs attention

Leaders have improved arrangements for identifying children eligible for additional funding and consult with parents about its use. This helps provide children with additional experience to close gaps in their learning. For example, they purchase books and resources for children to share in the same home language. Children with emerging speech, language or developmental delays are now being discussed promptly, with plans for all staff to receive speech and language training to help input and support individual targeted plans.

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Needs attention

Overall, leaders' inclusive culture is strengthening, and children with SEND are generally well supported to make progress.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Expectations for behaviour and routines are not implemented consistently across the setting. At mealtimes, children often leave the table, wander around or become confused about what they are expected to do. Staff do not consistently anticipate what children will need, such as appropriate quantities of cutlery or plates, and this leads to disruption. When staff fail to support new routines, such as self-serving, children become disengaged or unsettled.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Key-person practice is also inconsistent. Some children do not benefit from warm, reliable attachments, particularly for younger children. This does not help them feel secure and support their emotional wellbeing. In the pre-school room, when children say they feel sad, key staff do not explore the reasons why, even during activities that are planned to encourage children to talk about their emotions.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children are also not consistently supported to understand the intent and purpose of new resources. For example, when new transparent coloured blocks and a light box are introduced, staff do not model how the resource should be used or explain its learning purpose. As a result, children become overstimulated and use the blocks inappropriately, and staff are unsure how to redirect behaviour. Leaders recognised that staff had not been shown how to introduce the resource effectively, resulting in missed opportunities to set expectations, demonstrate safe use or help children understand the learning behind the activity.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

While some staff use positive strategies to support children's behaviour, such as timers and verbal reminders, this is not consistent. When this happens, children do not understand the behavioural expectations of the setting. Leaders acknowledge that staff require further coaching to implement routines confidently and consistently.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders and staff work closely with families to promote regular attendance and punctuality.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders have not ensured that safeguarding requirements for safer recruitment are met. Leaders' decision-making has not ensured that children's best interests and safety are taken into account.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Although leaders have strengthened other aspects of practice, such as special educational needs and/or disabilities systems, safeguarding training, reflective supervision and monitoring of previous actions raised, these improvements do not mitigate the unsafe recruitment decisions.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders have some understanding of the setting's strengths and have begun to act on identified priorities, such as curriculum development and improvements to some elements of staff training. Staff wellbeing is considered, and support is available through the employee assistance programme. However, leaders have not monitored the implementation of routines and promoting children's behaviour and key-person practice well enough, resulting in inconsistent experiences for children.

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

Children's daily experiences are inconsistent. In the baby room, children do not always benefit from strong, emotionally secure key-person relationships. In the pre-school room, children enjoy being sociable, playing together and sharing conversations. Children also encounter new and exciting resources. However, when these are not introduced with clear modelling, children become unsure about how to use them. For example, when colourful transparent blocks and a light box are newly introduced, children become overstimulated and use them in ways that are not intended, knocking down towers and treading on blocks, because staff have not explained the learning purpose or demonstrated how resources could be used constructively.

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

Although children follow hygiene routines well, such as lining up to wash their hands before meals, they can become unsettled during daily routines that lack clear structure. At lunchtime in pre-school, children repeatedly get up from the table because they are unsure of what is expected, particularly as self-serving is newly introduced but not well supported.

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

Children experience a warm and welcoming environment where they enjoy exploring activities that reflect their interests. Babies become deeply absorbed in sensory play, such as excitedly exploring cornflour, while staff model simple language for them to repeat, such as 'stomp, stomp' as they make movements with toy elephants. Older children show curiosity during creative and emotional literacy activities, for example when they talk about feelings during a dough activity where the focus is on talking about their emotions. Across the day, children remain safe, enjoy positive interactions with many staff and engage well in play that interests them. However, the variability in staff practice means their sense of emotional security, understanding of routines and opportunities to learn from new experiences are not always consistent.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

take steps to ensure that those responsible for recruitment understand their roles and responsibilities in following robust vetting and carrying out checks to ensure that those working, and in regular contact, with children are suitable 27/03/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve monitoring of staff practice to ensure that training and development is precisely targeted to meet individual staff needs to ensure that gaps in their practice are identified and the key-person systems strengthened 10/04/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all staff receive support to consistently help children understand what is expected of them, particularly around daily routines and how to respect and care for the environment and resources 10/04/2026

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About this inspection

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

The Thames Club Wheatsheaf Lane Staines-Upon-Thames Surrey TW18 2PD

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

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

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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