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Early years · Report card

Bubbles Nurseries

Inspected 6 May 2026 · URN EY494343

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Josephine Afful

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

    Bubbles Nurseries Limited

  • Inspection datesingle source

    6 May 2026

  • Inspectors verified

    Josephine Afful

  • Postcode verified

    SE9 6AE

  • Name on report verified

    Bubbles Nurseries

  • Safeguarding verified

    Met

  • URN verified

    EY494343

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of the report

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

  • 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.

+68Positivemore positive than 40% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisepositivehigh expectationsconfidenteffectivefeel safesecurerespectfulclear
Criticismgapsdelayedconcernslimiteddelaysnot effective

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
  • Findings1373w+74
  • Leadership201w+40
  • Safeguarding51w−11
  • What needs to improve92w+29

Strengths

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

Concerns

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

No strong criticism found.

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
1,717
about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level
Hard
Flesch 49, typical 43
Average sentence
17 words
Next steps
3
typical 3
Hedged sentences
4%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 66%Leadership 10%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 4%About the inspection 18%

Full report text

Bubbles Nurseries

Unique reference number (URN): EY494343 Address: 21 Shawbrooke Road, Eltham, LONDON, SE9 6AE Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 04/11/2015 Registers: EYR Registered person: Bubbles Nurseries Limited

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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

Overall, children achieve well from their starting points of entry. Children are independent, active and display a positive attitude to learning. Children develop their communication and language skills and become confident in expressing their needs and wants.

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Achievement Expected standard

Disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) typically make steady progress. For example, some children who found it difficult to self- regulate their emotions when they started at the nursery, are now able to stay calm, share and take turns as they play with their friends.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children who speak English as an additional language and those with delayed speech use sign language and picture cards to express their needs and wants. However, there have been some delays in seeking prompt intervention to further support children with SEND. This does not ensure that all children make consistently secure progress and are better prepared for their next stage of learning, including starting school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children's behaviour. Staff work closely with families to understand children's needs. They adapt their strategies to help children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to understand behaviour expectations and the daily routines. Staff use picture cards to help these children to understand the routines and know what to expect. As a result, all children, including those who are new to the setting, feel safe and secure.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Relationships between staff and children are respectful and warm. Staff are always at children's level and support children to make choices about their learning and care routines. For example, during breakfast time, staff ask children what they would like to eat and encourage them to serve themselves. Staff allow children to choose what they would like to play with after eating and join in to further extend children's learning. As a result, children show increasing independence and confidence in their play and learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders collaborate with parents to promote attendance and highlight the advantages of children attending regularly. They monitor and follow up on absences to further support the safety and wellbeing of children.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff prioritise the welfare and wellbeing of children. They implement effective risk assessment to ensure all areas are safe and suitable. Leaders deploy staff well to supervise children and meet their individual needs.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders embed inclusive practice to ensure children, including those known to children's social care and those who are disadvantaged, get tailored support to meet their care and learning needs. This support is monitored effectively by leaders to ensure all children make positive progress.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The key-person system is effective. Children have secure relationships with their key person and with other staff who care for them. Staff have a secure knowledge of children across the setting. They speak confidently about the children's interests, preferences, dislikes and the next steps in their development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff assist children in learning how to handle their own personal safety. For instance, staff explain the rules of play to children and teach younger children and those who are new to the setting how to climb play equipment safely. Staff encourage older children to think, analyse their behaviour and actions, and consider the impact this can have on their own safety as well as others. This effective way of teaching helps children to understand risks and how to stay safe.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of what they want children to learn. They ensure that the curriculum is well understood by staff. Staff plan their learning activities, taking account of children's interests and stage of development. For example, staff focus on supporting the youngest children to develop their coordination and balancing skills. They teach 2-year-old children how to climb equipment safely and develop their spatial awareness. Children learn to take age-appropriate risks and build on their curiosity while playing in the garden.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff maintain positive interactions with children. They plan learning experiences with the focus on developing children's attention, listening and speaking skills. They engage in back- and-forth dialogues with children and allow them time to think and respond. Staff adapt their teaching to meet the needs of children who find it difficult to communicate their needs and wants verbally. For example, staff teach children to use visual cues and sign language to make their needs known. This ensures that all children are able to express themselves, feel confident and make decisions about what they would like to do.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders ensure that the curriculum for mathematics is taught well across the setting. Staff develop children's knowledge in counting, shapes and measures through fun and engaging activities. For example, they encourage children to measure and compare sizes while exploring sand and tubes. Staff guide children to use dough to make different shapes, such as a circle and heart. They encourage children to learn new words, such as 'bumpy', 'knead' and 'stretch', which successfully build on children's language skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders and staff assess children's progress and development well. They have recently changed the planning across the nursery to ensure this meets all children's needs. There is scope to further review the structure of activities in the older children's room to further extend children's learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders are fully aware of the different needs of children and families within the community they serve. They have high expectations for all children's learning, including those who are vulnerable, disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use any additional funding that children receive to maximise the learning experiences on offer. For instance, leaders have utilised the early years pupil premium funding to purchase specific resources and implement sporting activities such as rugby to support children's interest as well as giving them the skills they need for their future learning. Leaders evaluate the impact this is having on children. They recognise that these children are becoming increasingly confident and independent.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff implement clear assessment processes to ensure that gaps in children's learning are quickly identified. They put support plans in place to target specific needs of children with SEND. However, at times, leaders are not quick enough to make the necessary referrals to outside agencies to seek specialist support so children get the right level of intervention to help close the learning gaps quickly.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a clear and ambitious plan for supporting continual progress. They offer a curriculum that supports children to be independent, learning through creativity and exploration. Leaders are quick to identify and put support in place to meet the needs of disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are vulnerable. This helps all children to make progress from their starting points.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Overall, leaders are effective at assessing the setting's strengths and areas to improve. They continue to address the challenges that the setting faces in relation to staff. Leaders have made improvements to the key-person arrangement and the overall quality and teaching across the setting despite the recent staff changes.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Partnerships with parents are positive. Leaders and staff keep parents informed about their children's care and learning. Parents appreciate the advice and guidance they receive to help them understand early education and to access additional funding and support.

p.4

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Generally, supervision arrangements and development opportunities are in place to identify and address gaps in staff's practice. However, support for the new management in place is not as effective as possible to help them to fully know and understand the setting's priorities to ensure better outcomes for children.

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

Children enjoy coming to nursery and settle quickly. They are happy to leave their parents and eager to play and learn when they arrive at nursery. Children demonstrate that they feel happy, safe and secure in the setting. For example, new children seek out familiar adults for comfort and reassurance, and staff are available to welcome children in and offer support. Children attend regularly, and leaders set high expectations for children's attendance.

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

Children are confident and familiar with the routines. They know what to expect and lead their play and learning. Staff are positive role models. They maintain respectful relationships with children and support them to understand the behaviour expectations. This has a positive impact on the way children behave and relate to one another. Children form positive relationships with each other and play cooperatively together. For example, children talk about their own experiences and share toys as they explore dinosaurs. Children laugh with excitement as they chase each other in the garden.

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

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with other barriers to their learning are supported well to access the curriculum. Leaders and staff work closely with parents to identify and put support plans in place to meet these children's needs. Children who speak English as an additional language and those with delayed speech have made steady progress in their communication and language since joining the setting. Some of these children now respond well to instructions and are able to communicate their needs and wants. Leaders and staff implement a curriculum with a strong focus on developing children's communication and language. They are aware of many challenges that families face, such as long waiting times to get children assessed for specialist support, and therefore do what they can to support all children, including those with SEND, to acquire the basic skills that they need for their next stage of learning.

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Next steps

Leaders should make prompt referrals and seek the right intervention to better support and meet the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as well as those with other barriers to their learning. Leaders should review and improve the structure of planned activities in the older children's room to help extend and build further on what children know and can do. Leaders should enhance support for the new management team so they are really clear about the areas they need to prioritise, to help ensure better outcomes for all children.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with staff, managers, parents, children and the special educational needs coordinator during the inspection.

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Address:

21 Shawbrooke Road Eltham LONDON SE9 6AE

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Bubbles Nurseries Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:30

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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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1 to 4

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

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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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