Little Red Hen Day Nursery

Little Red Hen Day Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2806409 Address: Wessex Primary School, St Adrians Close, Maidenhead, SL6 3AT Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 08/08/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Little Red Hen Day Nursery Ltd

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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

Children make good progress from their starting points. They take part in activities that challenge them and support them to move onto the next stage in their development and learning. This includes the move to school. Children explore activities with confidence and remain engaged for extended periods of time. Children are happy and play well alongside and with their friends. They build secure relationships and show an understanding of sharing and turn taking.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children learn well. They take part in activities to embed learning and extend their knowledge and skills. They respond positively to questions from staff. However, at times, less confident children are not given the time they need to think and respond. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make effective progress from their starting points. Adaptions to activities ensure that children remain engaged in learning. Children develop independence skills and manage their self-care needs well.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff have created a positive environment where children are confident to explore and show they feel safe and secure. Overall, children behave well. Staff use a range of techniques to support children to understand the expectations of the setting. Older children confidently talk about expected behaviours. For example, children explain that they must walk indoors and run outside. At times, staff do not explain to children why some behaviours are not acceptable. For example, lunch time with the older children can become disorganised and children struggle to maintain behaviour expectations. During these times, children lose focus and become restless. However, when children struggle to control their emotions, staff speak to them calmly and help them to manage these in an appropriate way.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff carefully consider children's age and developmental stages when planning daily routines and make adaptions to teaching. They understand the importance of play for children and provide long periods of uninterrupted playtime. For example, older children choose when they would like snack, meaning they do not need to stop their play or activities. Children show delight as they access outdoor activities. For example, children are highly engaged as they build and complete an obstacle course. They wait nicely for their turn and show pride as they balance along the beams. Children show they understand daily routines well.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff form secure bonds with all children, including their key children who they know well. Children seek out staff for comfort and reassurance throughout the day. Staff build positive relationships with children which helps children feel safe and emotionally secure. Babies are calm and settled and benefit from the setting's carefully considered, gradual settling-in process. Staff offer comfort to babies when required and follow baby's routines from home, such as sleep routines, which supports their emotional wellbeing. As a result, babies express their needs clearly and are confident in their environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff are respectful during nappy changing and support toilet training routines appropriately. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well cared for, and staff adapt planning to meet their needs. Leaders' weekly newsletters provide information for parents and carers about how to keep their children safe online. Physical development opportunities are effective for children as they access climbing frames, bikes and a large sandpit to build their existing skills. Babies show delight as they use a slide and, with thoughtful support from staff, take turns with their friends.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff provide children with opportunities to develop their independence skills, including managing their self-care needs. Children learn how to keep themselves safe and stay healthy. For example, children learn about the role of the dentist and the importance of looking after their teeth. Children benefit from effective supervision from staff who deploy themselves well to ensure children remain within sight or hearing. This promotes children's personal safety.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have developed an ambitious curriculum. Staff plan activities both indoors and outside to support a theme of the week and children's next steps. Staff interactions encourage children to spend extended amounts of time at activities. Staff recognise when children need further challenge and adapt activities to extend children's learning. They adapt their approach to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are included and make progress with their learning and development. During some activities, staff are not fully clear about the intent for children's learning. At these times, children do not fully benefit from high-quality teaching opportunities to extend their learning further.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff incorporate mathematical concepts well into activities, such as counting, size, shape and measurement. For example, older children use weighing scales to decide which blocks are the heaviest. Overall, staff support children's communication and language skills effectively. They use age-appropriate language with children. Staff repeat words for younger children and support them to extend sentences by adding one more word. However, at times, staff do not always give children time to think and respond when asking questions. Children show a love of books and choose books for staff to read to them. They listen well and enjoy joining in with the story.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff support children's understanding of the world around them and the wider world. They use information based on children's backgrounds and cultures to plan activities that support children to understand how they are similar and what makes them unique. For example, staff help children recognise different family structures. Previous themes helped children understand people who help us, such as, police officers, dentists and firefighters.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Children's needs are swiftly identified, and support is put in place without delay. Staff provide tailored support that reflects each child's individual needs. They work effectively with professionals to share strategies and set precise targets. Leaders and staff monitor children's progress closely through observations and assessment, using this information to inform group planning across the provision. Activities are adapted so that all children can access the curriculum and participate fully.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders engage proactively with external agencies to ensure support for children is coordinated and effective. Staff regularly review what is planned to make sure every area of learning is included in teaching. Leaders use additional funding thoughtfully to enhance the setting's provision and purchase resources that motivate and engage children. This includes the development of a sensory room to support children's emotional regulation. They work closely with the local authority to ensure that children known to social care make secure progress and receive the support they need.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff are attuned to their key children and understand how to support them effectively. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make positive progress in their development. Staff build trusting relationships with families and use the information they gather to shape personalised opportunities that help children feel secure, valued and ready to learn.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders take steps to improve the environment, including developing a sensory room and enhancing the baby room garden. They recognise that these changes will further support children's development, and this work is ongoing. Leaders address barriers to learning, for instance through flexible routines that meet the needs of families. They offer parents' evenings, stay-and-play sessions, regular newsletters and use a parent app to share daily updates. Parents and carers speak highly of the setting and feel well supported, particularly during the recent building move. They are kept informed about their children's progress and feel confident to approach staff with any questions.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff speak positively about leaders and the support they receive. They access a wide range of professional learning, including specific short courses, such as on autism and emotional regulation training, alongside longer, focused early years training courses. Apprentices value their training programme and the mentoring and flexibility provided by leaders that help them to succeed. Staff benefit from wellbeing incentives, team building activities and recognition schemes, such as employee of the month. Safe recruitment procedures are thorough, with leaders completing all required checks. New staff receive a full induction training as part of a probation process. Leaders provide all staff with regular supervision meetings that focus on wellbeing and professional development.

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

Staff are warm and kind to the children and welcome them into the setting in a way that helps them feel a strong sense of belonging. Children form positive relationships with staff and their peers. Children gravitate towards areas of interest and activities that staff plan around a theme of the week. Staff skilfully interact with children during play. This extends children's thinking and sufficiently challenges them. Children engage well with planned activities and the free play opportunities available. They are happy and proud to show their achievements.

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

Children are greeted warmly on arrival and supported with routines such as hanging coats and removing shoes. Staff work closely with parents to help new children settle and gather key information to support smooth transitions. This information is used to support staff's understanding of children's starting points and the support they may need. As a result, staff know their key children well and provide well-considered next steps. This offers personalised opportunities that help children feel part of the nursery and extends their learning and development effectively. Leaders and staff reduce barriers to learning through collaborative planning with external professionals. This ensures that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with barriers to their learning make progress.

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

Children take part in activities, such as making play dough colour monsters, linked to a book of the week and talk about what makes them happy. They have opportunities to dig in the setting's large sandpit, where they play well alongside others. Staff support children in learning to use the pedals on bikes outdoors. Children benefit from a range of opportunities to develop their physical skills on the climbing equipment.

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Next steps

Leaders should further deepen staff's knowledge and skills so that all staff offer consistently high-quality teaching. Leaders should strengthen routines, in particular during mealtimes, to better meet the needs of all children. Leaders should support staff to better understand how to support and manage children's behaviour.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, special educational needs coordinator and parents and carers 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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Address:

Wessex Primary School St Adrians Close Maidenhead SL6 3AT

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Little Red Hen Day Nursery Ltd

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 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

The inspection started on 9 March 2026. Inspectors returned on 16 June 2026 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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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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