Pepperberry Day Nursery

Pepperberry Day Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): EY429884 Address: Hawthorn Street, WILMSLOW, Cheshire, SK9 5EL Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 15/09/2011 Registers: EYR Registered person: Pepperberry Day Nurseries Ltd

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding. This puts children at significant risk of harm. When allegations are raised regarding the suitability of staff, the provider does not report these concerns to the relevant agencies. Additionally, the provider has failed to meet their statutory duty to notify Ofsted of any allegations raised, as required. Records are not all easily accessible or accurate. These failures are breaches to the welfare and safeguarding requirements.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders and staff attend relevant safeguarding training. Generally, staff are able to explain how they would identify and report a safeguarding issue, including whistleblowing procedures. Leaders follow safer recruitment processes when employing staff who work in the building, including those who do not work directly with the children.

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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 Needs attention

Children generally make progress, but this is inconsistent across different groups. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from tailored plans and specialist advice. This supports their interest and engagement. These children make steady progress from their starting points. However, achievement for children who speak English as an additional language is less secure. Their learning is not as sharply focused to support further learning well.

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Achievement Needs attention

Learning is not adapted effectively, and barriers to children's learning outcomes remain. For example, communication strategies are not offered to support social play. Children often become upset and frustrated, meaning they do not make the same steady progress as their peers. Children do show they are proud of their achievements.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Staff do not always manage unwanted behaviours well. For example, children sometimes need support to play well with their friends. At these times, staff kindly intervene. But some staff do not help children to understand why some behaviours are unacceptable. This means that children are not consistently learning the importance of treating their friends respectfully. Staff do not manage children's behaviour well. Children are not learning how their behaviour can affect others. The daily routine is generally planned well. Staff support children to transition through the rooms at the setting. For example, children complete visits while they get to know the staff who will be looking after them. Children are settled, and they demonstrate affectionate bonds with staff. However, staff do not organise some routines effectively. For example, during some transitions to mealtimes, children wait for long periods of time to receive their

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

meals. Children become bored, restless and noisy. This means that children are missing valuable opportunities to learn and socialise.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders and staff have implemented some strategies to support children's behaviours. For example, they encourage children to use 'kind hands' and to share resources. Staff have developed some calm spaces to help children self-regulate. Staff regularly praise children to recognise their achievements, and children show they are confident at the setting.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Staff build warm relationships with children and babies seek reassurance and snuggle with their key people. However, during care tasks, such as nappy changes, babies are picked up from their play without warning. On these occasions, children are unsure of what is happening. This means that some children do not have choices in how they play and learn.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Staff support children's wellbeing. They take part in group experiences such as yoga to promote a feeling of calm and further learning about their bodies. However, there are some inconsistencies in staff practice. Staff do not respond swiftly to children's individual needs. For example, in pre-school, children repeatedly try to gain staff's attention. But they wait too long for a response. Some wait for attention, and others wander off. This does not support all children's emotional health.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Hygiene practices are in place. For example, children understand why they need to wash their hands before mealtimes. Staff are vigilant in washing their hands after helping children with care tasks. This supports children's good health.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders are aiming for an ambitious curriculum. However, it is not effectively planned and sequenced throughout the setting. Some staff do not understand the stages of child development. They do not know what skills to teach. For example, staff offer mark making activities, but they do not understand how the activity supports children's small-muscle skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

In the baby room, staff sequence learning. They offer children who crawl opportunities to pull themselves to standing. This builds their core strength and balance to support walking. Sequencing of the curriculum is not as effective in other rooms. Children repeat tasks and skills they are already competent in. Staff do not have enough knowledge about how to help children make progress from their current ability.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Where children have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), they are supported as staff follow the suggested strategies from external specialists. This helps children with SEND to make steady progress from their starting points. Staff benefit from specific training to support their use of books and songs. This helps some children embed new language well. Staff sing number rhymes and stories to help children's early counting

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Urgent improvement

and further mathematical development. However, inconsistencies in staff's implementation of the curriculum mean some children are not supported to make steady progress in their development.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders are aware of the needs of children and how to identify these. Plans are in place to support some children with individualised targets. However, there are weaknesses in staff practice that mean children do not fully benefit from the plans in place. For example, staff do not always use assessment to help them fully understand children's individual needs. Some provision is in place to reduce barriers to learning, for example the use of basic sign language to support communication skills. However, the pre-school room is extremely busy and loud. This makes it difficult for children to concentrate, hear and be heard.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders work with specialists where children are identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff follow their advice to help children. For example, they implement strategies such as visual aids to help children follow routines. Leaders explain how they use additional funding to support children. They fund sessions to support social play and physical development. Children with SEND make steady progress from their starting points.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders demonstrate appropriate knowledge about when and who to notify if they have concerns about a child or the suitability of an adult caring for children. However, they cannot demonstrate that they have followed correct processes and procedures to make notifications to external professions when required. In addition, required records are not available. This means that relevant information that should be shared is not accessible.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders are aware of the setting's strengths and areas of development. They have plans in place to bring about improvement, for example building staff knowledge and confidence in delivering the curriculum through robust supervision and training. However, many of the planned improvements have not been implemented. There are inconsistencies and weaknesses in staff knowledge. Their teaching does not fully support children to make steady progress in their development. Leaders' plans to support staff to promote the setting's behaviour expectations are not in place. For example, staff do not have effective knowledge to help children to understand their emotions and feelings. This means children are not learning how to support their emotional health well. On occasion, staff's poor management of children's behaviour compromises children's safety.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders have not ensured that staff have purposeful partnerships with parents to enable them to gather sufficient information about each child's individual needs. This means that some children are not having their needs met. However, leaders do develop partnerships with parents, other professionals and local schools.

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

Leaders have not ensured the safety of children. They have not followed the correct procedures for informing the local safeguarding partnership of significant events. Leaders have not maintained accurate records or made records available for agencies that need them. This puts children at risk.

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

Ongoing difficulties in recruiting staff have an impact on the quality of teaching and delivery of the curriculum. Leaders have plans in place to make improvements, but these have not been delivered in a timely way. As a result, there are inconsistencies in the curriculum across the setting. Not all children receive teaching that supports them to achieve and thrive.

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

Staff do not always focus on helping children to build on what they know and can do. At times, rooms are noisy and children find it hard to concentrate. This weakens the learning experiences further, especially for children with gaps in learning and those who speak English as an additional language. Staff are not always able to manage children's behaviour effectively. For example, staff respond when children have disagreements, but they do not help children understand the expectation for behaviour. Children are not supported to manage their emotions.

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

Children typically demonstrate feeling settled, and they enjoy attending the setting. Staff form positive relationships with families, and they take the time to build loving bonds with children. Leaders have embedded a robust procedure for managing allergies. Staff follow this carefully to ensure children do not have foods that they are allergic to. Staff generally use books and songs consistently to support children's speech and language development. They extend the use of books into play. Staff encourage skills such as basic mathematics as younger children hear number language. Older children are supported to count. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified quickly, and staff work with external agencies to offer strategies and reduce any barriers to learning. This supports children's progress from their starting points.

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Next steps

The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action. We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to have taken the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

ensure safeguarding policies include who, in the absence of the manager, should act, in the event of an allegation being made about a member of staff 20/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that local safeguarding partnership procedures are implemented in the event of an allegation about staff 20/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that local safeguarding partnership procedures are followed in written records made following an allegation about staff 20/03/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure records are easily accessible and available for those who have a right to see them 20/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure staff have the necessary knowledge and support to implement effective and consistent strategies to manage children's behaviour. 20/02/2026

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Action Completion Date

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

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Action Completion Date

improve the implementation of the curriculum so that teaching and activities build effectively on what all children know and can do, including those who require further communication and behavioural support. 06/07/2026

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About this inspection

The inspectors spoke to leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator and parents during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this.

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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

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Address:

Hawthorn Street WILMSLOW Cheshire SK9 5EL

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Pepperberry Day Nurseries Ltd

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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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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

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

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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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