Larchfield Day Nursery Limited

Larchfield Day Nursery Limited

Unique reference number (URN): 2777882 Address: The Old Library, Hardwick Road, Woburn Sands, Milton Keynes, MK17 8QH Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/01/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Larchfield Nursery 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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children behave extremely well. They listen carefully to adults and follow instructions. Staff support children to share resources and consistently model and teach good manners. This means children throughout the setting wait their turn patiently and show a good awareness of the rules. For example, in the garden, children count and check how many children are in the sandpit at one time. They do this independently, confidently monitoring the number of children allowed and redirecting their attention when the space is full. Children develop self- regulation skills through these everyday interactions.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Routines are well established but adapted in each classroom, according to the needs of the children. For instance, babies wash hands with staff help, while toddlers do so independently. Children respond well to requests for help and consistently strive to do their best. Leaders have supported parents in improving attendance. They adjust children's schedules, adding or changing days, to increase participation. Leaders have trained staff on behaviour strategies and emotional wellbeing. This has created a culture of kindness and cooperation.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are well prepared for the next stage in their education. The nursery places an emphasis on developing independence. Children practise skills and take on more responsibilities as they progress. This helps them grow in confidence and become more self-reliant. For instance, toddlers learn to put on their own shoes before going outside, with staff guiding them on what to do.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children interact well with their friends, share ideas, and sustain play together. They can explain what they are learning and talk confidently about past experiences, such as visits to the doctor. Children are familiar with books and enjoy retelling stories using familiar refrains from stories they know. The outdoor area effectively promotes children's physical development. All children spend time outside every day and often play together in the garden, regardless of their age. Children have opportunities to develop their own projects and ideas, which helps them build cooperation and social skills alongside their physical development. Children also build fine motor skills through a clear progression of activities. Babies enjoy painting, toddlers collaborate during construction play, and older children engage in mark making and early writing. These experiences help children to develop the control, coordination and independence needed for the next stage in their education.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have created a welcoming, homely atmosphere. Partnerships with parents are effective, with opportunities for everyday chats with staff at drop off and pick up times. Staff build relationships with children that are kind and caring. Staff teach children to talk about their feelings and help them to understand why they may feel this way. This helps children to recognise that feelings can change and supports them to develop strategies to manage their emotions. For example, children independently use the calming corner set up with beanbags and soft toys. As a result, they are beginning to build emotional resilience, independence and confidence.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Well-planned caring routines encourage learning. For example, children in the toddler room regularly use potties even while still wearing nappies, allowing them to practise toilet training. Children sit together to eat. They are provided with freshly cooked hot meals. While these are typically healthy, there are occasions when meals are not nutritious or well balanced. When this happens, children do not learn how to make healthy food choices.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum is well planned. Leaders have provided exciting experiences that stimulate interest and enthusiasm in all the children. For instance, children are fascinated as they watch caterpillars turn into butterflies and take their first flight. Older children in the pre- school room are encouraged to make connections in these activities by planting seeds and talking about how to look after them. These experiences help children to notice growth and change over time, to talk about what they see happening and predict what may happen next.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The toddler room is a busy and engaging space. It has many opportunities for children to learn through various activities. They can role play as doctors, explore a jungle full of small world animals, and build with construction blocks. The teaching in the room is especially effective, with exciting and interactive storytelling and spontaneous songs and rhymes to help children with transitions. Staff use their knowledge of children's interests to plan activities that spark curiosity and make learning fun. Babies have a warm and safe space where they freely explore and are happy. Staff make effective choices about what to teach and tailor this to each child's stage of development. However, teaching is not consistent across the setting. Support for the youngest children in their development of early language is less effective. For example, there is less focus on creating a language-rich environment with frequent use of back-and-forth interactions during play.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders understand children's needs and provide immediate support so each child can access the curriculum. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are happy and calm, making the most of their experiences at nursery. Although staff have the knowledge to support children's needs, they are not consistently using it to support all children's learning. For example, staff know children respond well to visual prompts, yet they are not consistently using visual aids to help them. Staff identify the next steps in children's learning. For example, they teach children to use tweezers to pick up seeds, which improves their fine motor skills. They break down skills into small, achievable steps to support future learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use early years pupil premium funding to buy resources such as sensory toys and storybooks that support emotional resilience, and children can freely access these resources. They have moments to calm and self-regulate before joining back in with more energetic play. Leaders ensure that all children, including children who experience disadvantage, have access to extra activities such as forest school, French lessons and ballet. This broadens children's experiences, boosts their confidence, and makes sure they have the same chances to learn and succeed.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have a good understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. They continually reflect and successfully adapt their practices to improve children's learning and wellbeing. For example, they rearranged the toddler room, which has made resources more accessible for the children, encouraging independence and free choice. Professional development offered for staff on behaviour and emotional strategies is effective. This has had a positive impact on children's sense of self and other people's feelings. Leaders have their staff's wellbeing at the forefront of their decision-making. Workload is proportionate, as leaders have reduced the need for unnecessary paperwork. They focus on the importance of daily, face-to-face communication with children and their parents. Staff are happy and content in their roles.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders support and monitor staff practice. However, they have not consistently identified staff weaknesses in teaching across the setting. Staff working with the babies do not consistently use interactions to promote progress. Partnerships with parents work well. Leaders help children settle quickly when they start by adapting routines and responding flexibly to parents' needs. They identify children needing extra support and make suitable adaptations for them to join in activities. However, plans and targets for children that the setting are currently monitoring, are not always recorded or monitored well enough to ensure they receive targeted support.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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

Children arrive highly motivated and keen to learn from the moment they arrive. They love exploring the environment that has been well organised and prepared for them. The relationships between staff and children are particularly warm and caring. This leads to children's confidence in their surroundings and children to have a go with new things. Staff know when to step in and help so children are supported but not frustrated. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children participate enthusiastically in stimulating activities, such as watching the hatching of ducklings and caterpillars. These moments captivate them. They watch with joy and eagerly share what they have learned. Staff create chances to build on this knowledge and deepen understanding. For instance, children decorate butterflies and discuss their symmetry. Forest school sessions help older children develop a level of risk taking and resilience as

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

activities take place regardless of the weather.

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

Children are kind and considerate to each other. Staff model good manners well. Children understand rules and follow them independently. Children enjoy hearing stories and sharing books, and the toddlers and older children have regular singing and rhyme time, building up their repertoire of songs and vocabulary. Children love role-play activities, especially when dressing up as doctors and hairdressers. They act out past experiences and develop their conversational skills. The garden is fun and well organised. It provides children with excellent opportunities to enhance their physical skills. Children use slides, swings and climbing walls to build strength and confidence. The gravel pit, with its construction vehicles, is particularly popular. It reflects children's interests and supports imaginative and cooperative play.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure all staff use inclusive strategies to support and consistently support children's ongoing learning. Leaders should strengthen teaching, particularly communication and language for the youngest children, so they learn to speak and listen with increasing confidence. Leaders should consistently provide a healthy diet to ensure children make healthy choices about food.

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Address:

The Old Library Hardwick Road Woburn Sands Milton Keynes MK17 8QH

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Larchfield Nursery Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:45 - 18:00,Friday : 07:45 - 17:00

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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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About this inspection

The inspectors spoke with leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinator, parents 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

A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection. This data is from 24 April 2026

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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. 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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