Sunny Days Bridport

Sunny Days Bridport

Unique reference number (URN): 2858068 Address: 1 Kings Square, Bridport, DT6 3QE Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 16/09/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Sunny Days Bridport 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 Expected standard

All children make steady progress from their starting points across all the areas of learning. They grow into confident communicators as they share their ideas, thoughts and feelings. Children show that they feel safe and quickly build secure bonds with staff. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known or previously known to social care thrive with the personalised support they receive.

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Achievement Expected standard

Across the nursery, children demonstrate high levels of engagement and curiosity. They benefit from a stimulating learning environment indoors and outdoors, where they explore, investigate and develop their creativity and problem-solving. As they move through the nursery, children become increasingly independent. They treat one another and staff with kindness and respect. These secure foundations ensure they are ready to flourish when they move on to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The nursery provides a happy environment where warm, respectful relationships help children feel secure. Children demonstrate kindness and respect for others. Staff frequently praise children for both their effort and achievement. This helps children to be resilient and motivated to learn.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders provide bespoke settling-in processes to meet the needs of individual children and families. Leaders monitor the pattern of attendance for all children and work closely with parents and carers to promote regular, punctual attendance. They take time to understand each family's context and put tailored plans in place to remove barriers. Their proactive approach ensures children benefit fully from the curriculum.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Expectations for behaviour are high for all children. Pre-school children and toddlers move around the building safely and confidently. They demonstrate that they know and understand the rules of the setting. Staff model positive interactions and encourage turn taking and cooperative play. They remind pre-school-age children of how to overcome minor disputes with their friends. As a result, these children learn about how to manage their feelings and regulate their behaviour.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children generally follow the routines of the setting. However, at times, these routines could be strengthened to help children better understand and negotiate transitions between activities in the day.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff create a nurturing environment where children are greeted by name as they arrive in the morning. This helps children to feel emotionally safe and builds warm respectful relationships. There is an effective key-person system in place. Staff know their key children well and respond to their changing needs. For example, in the baby room staff work closely with parents to achieve continuity between home and setting routines, such as the time and length of naps.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that staff implement procedures to support children's health and rest. For example, staff follow safe-sleeping procedures and check babies regularly to ensure their safety. They establish secure attachments with babies and are attentive to their needs. This supports babies' welfare.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children enjoy nutritious food. At mealtimes, staff sit with children and talk about what foods help to make their bodies strong. This supports them to learn how to be healthy. Toddlers become more independent in their personal care needs, as they are encouraged to independently wash their hands before eating. Leaders ensure there is a clear system to identify children with dietary requirements. Staff consider where children with dietary requirements should sit in order to keep them away from food that may harm them.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff focus on helping all children, including those that face barriers to learning, to become independent from an early age. Staff regularly take children out in the local area, including walks and litter-picking events. This not only helps children consider how to care for their environment but also gives them opportunities to learn about road safety and to understand risks in the wider community.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Overall, leaders have designed and implemented a well-sequenced curriculum that builds progressively on what children already know and identifies what they need to learn next. Music is placed at the heart of the curriculum, helping children to make meaningful connections in their learning and encouraging them to think independently. Leaders focus on securing children's knowledge, understanding, and skills across the prime areas of learning within the early years foundation stage framework.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Generally, staff tailor their teaching to deliver an effective communication and language curriculum for all children. For example, in the baby room they repeat words back and share books to build vocabulary. Staff engage babies in back-and-forth interactions such as 'peek- a-boo' so that babies start to develop the social interaction skills necessary to build relationships in the future.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children's physical development is prioritised through access to well-planned and resourced indoor and outdoor areas. For example, children in the toddler room enjoy singing and manipulating play dough during the daily 'dough disco' session. This playful activity helps them to build the muscle strength and control needed for writing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The teaching of mathematics is weaved through the curriculum and staff take opportunities to extend children's mathematical thinking and knowledge of number and shapes. Leaders and staff adapt the curriculum for children who face barriers to learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, at times, leaders do not ensure that routines support all children to transition smoothly between activities in the day. This means occasionally children's learning time is reduced.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Typically, staff identify, assess and meet children's needs as they emerge. This includes children who are known or previously known to children's social care, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff liaise regularly and effectively with leaders, specialists, children's social care and parents, to ensure they are responsive to children's progress and changes in need. They seek to understand the reasons for children's behaviour, and implement external guidance. Staff make adaptations so all children can access their entitlement. For example, they ensure planning is flexible enough to accommodate individual children's interests and fascinations, which supports engagement and learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Overall, these adaptations help to reduce barriers to children's learning and wellbeing. However, occasionally, staff do not ensure the structure of daily routines support all children to practise skills associated with their next steps of learning. For example, routines at tidy-up time do not yet consistently support all toddlers to participate, which means they miss opportunities to experience teamwork and collaborate with peers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Effective use and monitoring of early years pupil premium funding means leaders narrow gaps in children's learning. For example, they purchase resources that they know will motivate and engage children who face barriers to their learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The newly established leadership team demonstrate a professional and reflective approach. They understand the strengths of the setting and recognise priorities for improvement. Leaders have acted swiftly to improve the experiences and environment for younger children and babies. The positive impact of this is already evident and leaders continue to monitor and reflect on these changes to ensure the best outcomes for all children.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders prioritise staff wellbeing. They use responsive systems to monitor workloads and provide professional development that aligns with staff interests and children's needs. Staff speak positively about the supportive culture and particularly value the support for their mental health and wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are ambitious for the children who attend. They work collaboratively with all professionals and families. Leaders endeavour to meet the needs of all children and work towards ensuring they are ready for their next stage of learning. For example, leaders maintain effective partnerships with local schools. They work together to facilitate enhanced transitions for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This enables children with SEND to have their needs met swiftly at their next place of education and to settle quickly.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders build partnerships with parents and professionals. Their communication systems ensure children's learning is celebrated both at home and in the nursery. Parents comment warmly on the setting, reflecting the positive relationships that support smooth transitions and a strong sense of belonging.

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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 enjoy positive relationships with staff who know them and their families well. This helps all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who are known or previously known to children's social care, feel safe and secure. All children feel included and know they belong. They confidently enter the setting in the morning and engage in experiences that meet their needs. For example, children who are active learners, including those with SEND, can run and be energetic in the garden. Generally, this helps children to stay regulated and reduces barriers to their learning, so they are ready to engage.

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

Babies and toddlers form positive relationships with their peers and staff. Toddlers enjoy playful interactions with staff. They show excitement and giggle with delight as they join an adult clapping their shaving foam-covered hands together to create 'snow'. Babies establish secure bonds with staff. This supports babies to confidently explore the world around them. For example, babies stay close to staff while they build on their early walking skills. They show resilience and begin to take age-appropriate risks, pulling themselves up to stand at low equipment, and discovering what their bodies can do.

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registration date: 16/09/2025 Children learn important executive function skills such as patience and focused attention, as they engage in structured developmentally appropriate activities such as music sessions with a specialist music teacher. These activities help them secure the skills, dispositions and attitudes necessary for future academic success.

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Address:

Pre-school-age children, including those with SEND, learn about how their behaviour may impact others. For example, if children inadvertently upset one another, they show they are sorry and make amends. This helps them to be better prepared for their next stage of education. Children benefit from a curriculum that supports them to make friendships and feel celebrated and valued for who they are.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen practice so that transitions between routines are smooth and effective, enabling children to remain engaged in learning and further develop their independence and self-help skills.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with children, leaders, staff and parents 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. Registered person: Sunny Days Bridport 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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