Ashbourne Day Nursery Sandbach

Ashbourne Day Nursery Sandbach

Unique reference number (URN): 2783428 Address: Big Hind Heath Farm, Hind Heath Road, Sandbach, CW11 3LZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 22/03/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Ashbourne Day 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 Needs attention

Generally, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children, make progress from their starting points, however, this is not sustained.

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Achievement Needs attention

Some children struggle to separate from adults. This means that they are not developing social skills, such as interacting with others and developing confidence. However, this is not the case for all children. Pre-school children in particular are confident and self-assured. They greet visitors, make them pretend drinks and food and talk about their favourite things to do at nursery.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children typically develop their independence skills. They put on their own coats and shoes, choose what they would like to eat for meals and select what they would like to play with from a range of activities. Older children confidently serve their own foods and display positive manners. Tasks, such as self-serve for younger children, are too difficult and this impacts on children's confidence and self-control during these times.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children demonstrate some knowledge about the world around them. For example, they learn to grow vegetables and understand about recycling. They are developing a thirst for knowledge.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children enjoy playing with their friends and are familiar with the setting's routines. However, at times, these routines do not meet children's needs. For example, during lunchtimes, children wait for extended periods for their food. This causes older children to leave their seats multiple times. While during snack times, younger children do not receive the positive interactions from staff that they need. This leads to children becoming distracted and impacts on their behaviour and interactions with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children generally behave well. Staff encourage positive behaviour. For example, they remind children to use their manners and to say please and thank you. Staff use specific praise for children's achievements and encourage children to keep trying when at first they do not succeed. For example, when tying bobbles to string, children receive encouragement from staff to keep trying. Strategies are in place to support children who require additional support. For example, children access 'motivation bags' containing their favourite resources. Consequently, children develop their resilience.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders and staff follow clear procedures, including welfare checks, for when children do not attend. Leaders ensure that children have access to their full entitlement. This helps to keep children safe and promotes their regular attendance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Although children build attachments with their key person, these relationships do not meet their needs. For example, staff do not support children effectively to separate from their key person, engage in activities or encourage play. This impacts on children's willingness to interact with peers and hinders their learning opportunities. In addition to this, staff do not recognise when it is appropriate to adapt individual children's routines. For example, when children are visibly falling asleep, staff do not offer them a rest. This impacts on children's wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Children develop the knowledge and skills to keep themselves healthy. They learn about healthy foods, plant their own fruits and vegetables and are offered a nutritious diet. Children benefit from access to a large and well-resourced outdoor space. They discover the importance of physical exercise.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Staff monitor and support sleeping children effectively to ensure their safety. They complete records of accidents and administration of medication, and share these with parents and families.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

While leaders have a vision for what they want children to learn, this is not yet embedded into practice and consistently implemented by all staff. Staff provide activities that do not consistently meet the specific needs of children across all areas of learning. Older children engage in activities, such as counting and comparing animals. However, young children do not routinely hear mathematical language or engage in activities that build on what they already know and can do. This means that children do not access a curriculum that promotes confidence in and enjoyment of mathematics.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Generally, children develop their language skills through back-and-forth conversations with their friends. However, staff do not help children to develop these skills further. For example, they do not consistently build on children's play, introduce new words to enhance their vocabulary or use questioning effectively. This means that children do not hear or acquire the language to build on what they already know.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Children enjoy reading books, join in with familiar songs and generally enjoy exploring their environment. They have plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills in the well- resourced and spacious outdoor areas. Children laugh as they run around playing football with their friends and throwing balls to one another.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not provide consistent support to all children, who may face barriers to their learning, including those who have previously been known to social care, or have had recent changes in their lives. Leaders gather information about children's individual home circumstances and individual needs. For example, they find out about children's individual medical, dietary and cultural requirements. However, they do not use this information to provide consistent support or to make adaptations to daily routines. This means that children's personal and emotional wellbeing are not sufficiently well supported.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Staff complete regular assessments of children's learning and the required written progress check when children are aged between 2 and 3 years. They share this information with parents and external professionals. This means that potential delays in children's development are identified and requests are made for additional external support. Staff follow the advice given by professionals. For example, following external advice, staff have implemented a now-and-next board. This helps children to understand the routines and expectations.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders make sure that the use of additional funding is monitored and invested in resources that provide opportunities for learning. Staff monitor children's attendance and ensure that children who receive funding receive their entitlement.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders observe staff's practice, provide feedback on their strengths and set actions to improve their skills. However, this has not been effective in raising the quality and consistency of teaching to a high standard. This means that not all children benefit from a robust curriculum that promotes their development.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders do not consistently implement the setting's complaints procedure. They do not consistently keep a record of the outcome or share records with Ofsted, as required. Leaders do demonstrate that they investigate complaints raised. However, their procedures are not in line with the requirements of the early years foundation stage statutory framework to maintain and share records on request.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders ensure that staff are suitable for their roles through following a robust recruitment process. There are procedures in place to ensure staff can access mandatory training, such as first aid and safeguarding.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders use additional funding appropriately to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They consider staff wellbeing and workload when making decisions. For example, leaders deploy more staff than legally required so that children benefit from increased adult support.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders and staff work positively with families, overall. For example, they provide flexible settling-in sessions and invite them to attend stay-and-play sessions. Staff keep parents informed about their child's progress through daily communications and regular parents' evenings.

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

Children receive a warm greeting from familiar staff. They are generally happy and older children are eager to join in play with their friends. However, some staff do not sufficiently support young children to settle effectively. They do not encourage children to join in with group activities or to engage in play with their peers. Consequently, children's daily experiences and opportunities for learning are variable.

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

Leaders have an idea of what they want children to learn and have taken some steps to implementing this across the setting. However, this is not embedded or monitored effectively, which means not all children benefit from quality teaching. Staff do not use the information they gain from their observations and assessments of children's development to plan and implement a range of meaningful learning opportunities across the curriculum. For example, staff do not routinely plan for or provide experiences that support children's understanding of mathematics. They do not consistently support children's early communication skills or extend their learning during activities. As a result, not all children have enough opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge and build on what they know and can do.

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

Children develop some independence skills. For example, children wash their hands, put on their own coats and serve their own foods. However, staff do not consistently consider children's age and stage of development and their expectations are too high. For example, younger children struggle to use tongs to grasp their foods. Staff expect all children to wait for their friends before they eat and younger children struggle with this concept,

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

Older children talk about their favourite foods and are offered a balanced diet. This supports children's understanding of positive hygiene practices and how to keep themselves healthy. There are systems in place to support children with allergies and intolerances. Staff ensure that there is an allergy monitor in each room and use a coloured plate system to identify children with dietary requirements. This helps to keep children safe. Children benefit from fresh air and exercise. They enjoy playing in the spacious outdoor area. This supports children's developing physical skills. Children benefit from sun safety policies that leaders implement. They know to wear sunscreen and benefit from well-ventilated rooms and shaded areas outdoors.

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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

implement a curriculum that supports the development of all children and meets their individual needs 10/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

strengthen the monitoring of staff's performance to improve their practice, increase their knowledge of the curriculum and their interactions with the children 10/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that key-person arrangements, care practices and routines are effective in meeting children's individual needs and help them to develop positive relationships and attitudes to learning 10/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all complaints and their outcomes are recorded and shared with Ofsted upon request 10/07/2026

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About this inspection

The inspectors 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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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

The inspection started on 21 April 2026, inspectors returned on 29 May 2026 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. Hind Heath Road Sandbach CW11 3LZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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About this inspection

Registered person: Ashbourne Day Nurseries Limited

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About this inspection

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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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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