Munchkins Nursery and Pre-School

Munchkins Nursery and Pre-School

Unique reference number (URN): 2777354 Address: 23-25 Church Street, Great Baddow, Chelmsford, CM2 7HX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 27/02/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Munchkins Day Care (Baddow) 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 Strong standard

Children make sustained progress from their starting points, particularly in communication and language. Children with little or no English rapidly develop confidence to speak, interact and express their ideas. Children quickly progress from non-verbal communication to speaking in sentences and engaging in shared storytelling. Babies and younger children show secure development as they confidently explore, make choices and engage in purposeful play.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those facing additional barriers make notable progress. For instance, children with delayed physical development move from limited mobility to crawling, cruising and actively engaging with others. Those with social and emotional needs learn to regulate their feelings, seek support and re-engage in play. Children gain independence and emotional security. They engage confidently in learning and build essential foundations for future development.

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Achievement Strong standard

All children demonstrate high levels of cooperation and curiosity. They manage self-care, communicate effectively and sustain engagement in learning. Children are thoroughly prepared for their next stage, showing the confidence, language and self-regulation needed for school and future learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff establish a highly positive and consistent culture where expectations for behaviour are clear, age-appropriate and embedded across the setting. Warm, respectful relationships underpin practice. Children actively seek out adults for reassurance and confidently engage in play, demonstrating they feel safe and secure. Staff model kindness and explicitly teach positive social behaviours, such as sharing, turn-taking and helping others. As a result, children are considerate, cooperative and mindful of each other's space when navigating busy outdoor areas.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Routines are well established and support independence. Children are sensitively supported by staff to confidently manage self-care, follow hygiene practices and make choices about their learning. Those who need additional support are helped to regulate through calming spaces and consistent approaches, enabling them to re-engage positively. This strengthens their sense of responsibility and pride in their achievements.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders work effectively with families, including those facing challenges, to promote regular attendance and punctuality through supportive strategies such as telephone wake-up calls. As a result, children attend consistently, settle quickly and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. Children exhibit high levels of engagement and infinite emotional security in this nurturing and inclusive environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff create a highly nurturing and inclusive environment where children's welfare and wellbeing are prioritised. Care practices are tailored effectively to individual needs. For example, children with medical or developmental needs receive carefully adapted routines, including safe sleep arrangements and personalised care plans, ensuring they remain safe and fully included.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Well-established key-person relationships are evident. Children actively seek comfort from familiar adults, respond to soothing interactions and demonstrate secure attachments. As a result, children feel extremely safe and emotionally secure, enabling them to confidently explore their environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff support children to develop a deep understanding of health and safety through everyday experiences. They manage hygiene routines independently, learn safe use of tools such as hammers and scissors, and engage in discussions about healthy practices, including oral health and nutrition. Mealtimes are well managed by staff, with clear procedures for allergies and supervision, ensuring children eat safely.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Emotional well-being is a clear strength. Children are supported to recognise and regulate their feelings through calm, consistent approaches and access to quiet regulation spaces. Staff respond sensitively to distress, helping children to settle and re-engage. Routines are thoroughly embedded and responsive, particularly for babies. Sleep, care and feeding are managed thoughtfully, safely and consistently. As a result, children feel secure, develop confidence and demonstrate excellent emotional resilience.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders design an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum deeply rooted in children's communication, independence and emotional security. They demonstrate a clear understanding of its effectiveness and adapt provision in response to cohort needs. For example, leaders strengthen staffing and room leadership to support a younger age range.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The curriculum is implemented consistently through a highly enabling environment, where free-flow access and forest school experiences promote exploration and autonomy. For example, babies independently choose resources such as musical instruments or books and bring them to adults to share. Outdoors, they confidently explore the climbing frame and engage in sensory activities like feeling flower petals. Staff immediately respond, supporting curiosity and early communication.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Teaching is purposeful and responsive. Staff use secure knowledge of child development to adapt interactions. They adjust their language carefully during activities and follow children's interests closely. Communication is prioritised. Staff model, narrate and extend language using Makaton, songs and rich vocabulary. They embed mathematical concepts naturally through counting, comparison and problem-solving in play. For example, staff introduce concepts such as big and small during outdoor exploration.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Assessment is used effectively to tailor teaching. Staff know children very well. They plan next steps precisely, adapting provision for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or English as an additional language. The flexible teaching results in learning that is consistently relevant, inclusive and builds progressively on what children know and can do.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Staff create a highly inclusive culture where children's needs are identified early and met precisely. Robust assessments, individual plans and ongoing observations ensure emerging needs are quickly recognised. For example, staff swiftly identify delays in children's physical development and implement targeted strategies alongside physiotherapy and support from other professionals. Therefore, children make significant progress from limited mobility to confidently crawling, cruising and engaging with peers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders take decisive action to remove barriers through well-targeted adaptations and use of funding. Early years pupil premium is used effectively to provide specialist training, sensory resources and additional sessions, enabling children to regulate emotions and re- engage in learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Communication is prioritised by staff using Makaton, visual strategies and home-language support. Children who join with no English communicate confidently, demonstrating rapid progress from their starting points. Highly effective multi-agency working and essential parent partnerships underpin support. Staff work closely with therapists, social care and schools, while maintaining sensitive relationships with families. Children known to social care attend regularly, feel secure and make sustained progress.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders invest heavily in staff training and monitor the impact of provision closely, adapting strategies where needed. Consequently, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and English as an additional language, are fully included. They develop communication and independence, and thrive within this nurturing, highly responsive environment.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leadership and governance is highly ambitious, extending well beyond the immediate setting to influence the wider community and early years sector. Leaders place children at the heart of all decision-making. Children develop confidence, empathy and social awareness as they join in with acts of kindness and learn about local services such as the police. This broadens children's understanding of the world and their sense of belonging.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders demonstrate an uncompromising commitment to improving outcomes for all children, particularly those who are disadvantaged, have special educational needs and/or disabilities or are known to social care. They meet statutory requirements rigorously through robust safer recruitment, ongoing suitability checks and embedded safeguarding practice. This ensures children are consistently safe and well protected.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have an incisive understanding of the setting's strengths and drive continuous improvement. For example, they have refined school readiness support and strengthened staff training, resulting in consistently high-quality, well-matched learning experiences. Staff benefit from sharply focused professional development linked to children's needs, creating a confident and skilled workforce.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders make decisions firmly in the best interests of children and families. They use additional funding to provide children with more sessions and focused individual support. This helps children to regulate their emotions, engage more confidently, and make secure progress. Effective partnerships with schools and other professionals ensure continuity of care and smooth transitions, so children feel secure and sustain their progress. Children experience consistent support across all areas of their learning, and this helps them settle quickly and make steady progress without disruption.

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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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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

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

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary 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 confidently and quickly settle into this warm, inclusive environment where they feel safe and secure. They form meaningful attachments with familiar adults, seek them out for reassurance and respond positively to nurturing interactions. This security enables even the youngest children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to explore their environment with confidence and engage in learning.

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

Children enjoy rich, purposeful experiences throughout the day. Staff support them to freely move between indoor and outdoor spaces, investigate bugs with magnifying glasses, and experiment with textures, water and natural materials. Children show curiosity and sustained engagement when they openly discuss big and small worms or talk about changes in temperature to their hands. As a result, children develop remarkable early language, mathematical and problem-solving skills.

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

Children behave exceedingly well and show impressive levels of kindness towards others. Older children support younger peers to access equipment, share resources and take turns. Staff professionally encourage children to manage risks safely, such as using tools in forest school activities, and understand routines and expectations. Children develop confidence, resilience and positive attitudes to learning.

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

Staff are enthusiastic and support children to become highly independent. They pour their own drinks, prepare fruit, manage hygiene routines and make choices about their play. Children take pride in helping to tidy up and care for their environment, building responsibility and self-esteem.

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

All children, including those with English as an additional language and SEND, are fully included. Staff and children use Makaton consistently to communicate openly. Children quickly develop confidence and language well from their starting points as a result. Effective, tailored support from staff and leaders ensures children move from being non-verbal and anxious to expressive, sociable learners. Consequently, children make impressive progress, feel a deep sense of belonging and are well prepared for their next stage of learning.

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Next steps

Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on continuing to create a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of all children.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator, apprentices, children and their families during the inspection.

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Address:

23-25 Church Street Great Baddow Chelmsford CM2 7HX

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Munchkins Day Care (Baddow) Limited

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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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Age range of children at the time of 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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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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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