Lighthouse Family Centre

Lighthouse Family Centre

Unique reference number (URN): 2825485 Address: Medway Community Centre, 16 Medway Road, Worcester, WR5 1LN Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 05/03/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Lighthouse Family Centre community interest company

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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 achieve highly and make steady and sustained progress across all areas of learning from their starting points. There is an extremely sharp focus on personal, social and emotional development. All children are incredibly well prepared for their next steps, including school. This includes disadvantaged children, those who may have barriers to learning and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children successfully learn an extensive range of knowledge and skills. They exude confidence as they relish the many opportunities they have to play, actively explore, investigate and persevere. Children remember what they have learned and build on their knowledge across all areas of learning. For example, babies repeatedly explore how different-sized wheels move down a grass slope, rolling them from the top of the slope to the bottom. Older children ask to sing a favourite song, 'Growing older, moving up', that they have learned to help them understand about their imminent move to school. Children's communication and language are enriched as they are immersed in a environment rich in language.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children benefit from a calm, caring and harmonious environment where staff understand their needs expertly. They are confident and fascinated learners. Children thoroughly enjoy the extensive range of opportunities to play and learn. This means that babies and children develop positive attitudes towards their learning. The provision for disadvantaged children and those where there are barriers to learning and special educational needs and/or disabilities is a particular strength. Leaders and staff are extremely attuned to children's needs and the needs of the community they support.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders have a sharply focused and consistent strategy to encourage children's positive attendance. This includes celebrating children's regular attendance. Leaders work closely in partnership with parents and carers so that they understand why regular attendance is so important for their children's future. Leaders and staff know the families and the community extremely well and provide individual support for them whenever needed. As a result, children attend consistently well, and parents are involved in children's experiences.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children develop secure and positive relationships with staff and close friendships with other children. This helps them to flourish with increasing confidence. Leaders and staff work sensitively to help children and families understand behaviour expectations. A huge emphasis is placed on the importance of routines and boundaries. Staff implement these expectations consistently. They are skilled at calmly supporting children who need additional support in managing their feelings and emotions.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders and staff carefully prioritise children's emotional wellbeing. They form secure and nurturing relationships with children, which helps children to thrive. Children benefit from consistent routines, and staff help them to know and understand what is coming next. This contributes to children developing a secure sense of belonging. Leaders and staff thoughtfully tailor settling-in sessions and are flexible in meeting the individual needs of children and families. Children smoothly transition to the next age group room only when they are completely ready to do so, alongside their key persons.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders and staff support children to consistently make healthy choices by providing a highly nutritious menu of fresh home-cooked meals. They work closely with parents and carers to help them understand the importance and impact of a healthy and balanced diet on children's health and wellbeing. Children learn about personal care as they brush their teeth. Babies help to wipe the tables prior to lunch, and staff make this fun by singing a song to encourage them. Leaders and staff monitor children closely when they rest and sleep. They carefully follow safe sleeping procedures and regularly review practice to safely meet children's individual needs.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders understand the importance of developing children's ability to be independent and make choices. They successfully do this as they offer children plenty of time to play in the interesting and exciting learning environment. Children develop these skills further as they serve themselves their lunch and pour their own drinks.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have a sharply focused and ambitious vision for the curriculum. They are passionate about providing children with a very secure foundation in early years and extensive opportunities to build on knowledge and skills. This means that children are extremely well prepared for the next step in their lives and for adulthood. Leaders and staff successfully implement the curriculum that carefully reflects children's interests, stages of development and individual needs. They understand clearly what they want children to learn. Staff successfully support children to become confident communicators and curious learners. They provide a rich and stimulating range of engaging experiences that help children to build the skills they need for future learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Children develop a love of books from an early age because staff create comfortable spaces and prioritise looking at books together. Staff revisit favourite stories regularly to help children build vocabulary and understanding over time. They introduce new language naturally during play and routines. Staff are skilled in the way they encourage children to talk about their ideas, recall previous experiences and solve problems independently. For example, they pose questions as children fill and empty water containers, mixing colours together to make green. Children use mathematical words, such as 'full' and 'empty'. They judge whether they can squeeze any more water into a bottle before it overflows.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders know their children, families and the community very well. They use their detailed and knowledgeable insight to expertly evaluate the provision. Leaders and staff carefully and thoughtfully adapt what they provide depending on the children attending. They take swift action to further enhance children's experiences. Leaders place children's best interests right at the very centre of their decisions so that all children belong and thrive.

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Inclusion Strong standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning, make excellent and steady progress from their starting points. Targeted individualised support, skilled teaching and strong collaboration with families and external agencies mean that children's needs are swiftly identified. This allows children the opportunity to make the very best progress in their individual learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders are extremely knowledgeable about an extensive range of support, advice and guidance for children and their families. They guide parents and carers to access the right support for them and their children. There are coherent and carefully considered partnerships with other professionals. This means the appropriate support, as well as any funding children are entitled to, is promptly available so that it quickly makes a difference.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders are passionate about their ambitious vision for the nursery and strive to deliver high-quality care and education for all children. They understand the strengths of the setting well. Leaders tirelessly continue to drive positive improvements that benefit all children, families, the community and staff.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders support staff very well so that they develop their skills, understanding and knowledge with the setting's priorities and children's needs in mind. Leaders lead by example as they provide ongoing guidance, coaching and professional learning to staff. As a result, staff successfully and swiftly apply knowledge gained from this learning to further enhance the experiences of all children. For example, recent training in a communication and language screening tool means that all children benefit from intensive and focused support to help develop their language skills. Staff morale is high. They say they are valued and supported very well. This means that they are fully invested in this very special community provision.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Engagement with parents and carers is caring, sensitive and constructive. Leaders and staff maintain thoughtful and meaningful interactions with parents that really make a difference. Parents say they feel lucky to have found the provision and be part of the close community. Parents appreciate the guidance that leaders and staff provide for them, including help with settling in. Leaders provide parent workshops to encourage children's healthy eating and the importance of early reading.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders work in close partnership with external partners to continually improve the provision for children and families. For example, they have formed a partnership with the local housing group, who have redesigned and developed the outdoor play area for children. This means that children can explore and investigate in a safe and interesting environment.

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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 thrive in this very special, warm, caring and nurturing environment. They form secure attachments with very attentive staff, who know them well and respond quickly to their needs. Babies settle well, with staff liaising closely with parents and carers to meet their needs and understand their individual routines. Staff understand children's cues and provide calm, consistent and safe care. Leaders and staff are very responsive and extremely sensitive to children's emotional needs. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may have barriers to their learning. Staff notice quickly when children are upset or unsettled and offer comforting words, cuddles and reassurance. This helps children to regulate their emotions and understand their feelings.

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

Children show deep involvement in their play and learning. They share ideas with friends, collaborate and sustain concentration on a variety of self-chosen play tasks. Children become completely absorbed in exploring water play in the garden. They twist taps and pour water into a wide variety of containers, carefully judging how much water will fit before a container overflows. Children develop their understanding of how things work as they mix together different quantities of coloured water to make potions. They use rich vocabulary to describe what they see and do. Staff introduce a huge variety of new words to children as they play alongside them.

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

Babies explore and deepen their understanding of how things work in a wide variety of well- planned opportunities and invitations to play. For example, older babies notice how quickly larger wheels roll down the grassy slope in the garden area. They investigate other sizes of wheels and notice that some roll quicker than others. Children show awe and excitement as they notice the shadows of paper spiders reflecting from the window onto the ceiling. They relish joining in with their favourite nursery rhymes, jigging to the rhythm of the tune as staff lead the singing.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure continued improvement in the setting's successful work to remove barriers for children who need extra help to realise a transformational impact on all children's achievement and wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinator, children 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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About this inspection

The inspection started on 19 June 2026. The inspector returned on 25 June 2026 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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About this inspection

A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection.

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Address:

Medway Community Centre 16 Medway Road Worcester WR5 1LN

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Lighthouse Family Centre community interest company

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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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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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