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Early years · Report card

Blue Willow Day Nursery Horlicks Quarter

Inspected 4 Aug 2026 · URN 2810079

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

  • Achievement verified

    Expected standard

  • Behaviour, attitudes and routines verified

    Expected standard

  • Children's welfare and wellbeing verified

    Expected standard

  • Curriculum and teaching verified

    Expected standard

  • Inclusion verified

    Expected standard

  • Leadership and governance verified

    Expected standard

  • Framework verified

    Report card

  • Group verified

    Blue Willow Day Nursery Horlicks Quarter Ltd

  • Inspection datesingle source

    4 Aug 2026

  • Postcode verified

    SL1 3GS

  • Name on report verified

    Blue Willow Day Nursery Horlicks Quarter

  • Safeguarding verified

    Met

  • URN verified

    2810079

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of the report

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

  • AchievementExpected
  • Behaviour, attitudes and routinesExpected
  • Children's welfare and wellbeingExpected
  • Curriculum and teachingExpected
  • InclusionExpected
  • Leadership and governanceExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+68Positivemore positive than 40% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praiseconfidentpositivesecurefeel safeambitiousconsistentwarmflourish
Criticismnot consistentlyconcernsnot alwaysnot consistent

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical
  • Findings1303w+69
  • Leadership229w+71
  • Safeguarding51w−11
  • What needs to improve44w+33

Strengths

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

Concerns

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

No strong criticism found.

Next steps

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What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages
8
Words of findings
1,627
about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level
Hard
Flesch 47, typical 43
Average sentence
13 words
Next steps
2
typical 3
Hedged sentences
3%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 65%Leadership 11%Safeguarding 3%What needs to improve 2%About the inspection 19%

Full report text

Blue Willow Day Nursery Horlicks Quarter

Unique reference number (URN): 2810079 Address: 1 Memorial Avenue, Slough, SL1 3GS Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 20/09/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Blue Willow Day Nursery Horlicks Quarter 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 steady progress from their starting points, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children are confident and curious learners. They show growing concentration as they take part in a range of activities. Children demonstrate social confidence and secure relationships as they play together in imaginative games.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children generally progress well in their communication and language. They use increasing vocabulary, join simple conversations and join in with action songs. However, younger children do not consistently develop their communication and language skills.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children with SEND show sustained concentration during group times. Older children demonstrate confident mathematical understanding as they count, compare and explain the various sizes of objects. Babies crawl and develop their physical skills in readiness for later walking. They develop their small muscles in their hands as they learn to pull back and push toy cars. Older children are growing in confidence and becoming increasingly independent. All children are learning skills in readiness for their eventual move to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff create a positive environment for children to learn. Children have developed trusting and secure relationships with the staff as they give plenty of praise as children play and explore. This raises children's self-esteem. Staff are positive role models and adapt their interactions so that they are age- and stage-appropriate to support children's behaviour. As such, children understand what is expected of them, behave well and are polite. For example, children pass their friends the pegs as they take turns clipping them to a small line. Staff support children to recognise and manage their feelings. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, benefit from sensory resources and quiet spaces that help them to regulate their emotions.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff use routines of the day to typically help children develop their independence. Older children are confident and know these well. However, routines for younger children are not always consistent. This means that younger children are not sure what is expected of them. For instance, sometimes, routines are not organised to support children's self-care skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders encourage parents and children to arrive on time and attend every day, building positive habits for later life. This helps to ensure that all children benefit from the routines and learning offered in nursery.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff have a secure understanding of how to promote children's welfare and wellbeing. They get to know the families and children that attend the nursery. This helps staff to support children's individual care routines. As such, children's sleep, care and feeding are managed thoughtfully and safely. As a result, children feel safe and secure in their environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Generally, staff support children to develop personal skills, such as self-care and independence. Older children know the routines well. Staff provide them with clear expectations and guidance, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff adapt their communication and use visual prompts to support their understanding. This promotes children's wellbeing. However, some routines for younger children are not consistently embedded. This means that staff tend to do a lot for the children, rather than teaching children how to support their self-care.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff place high priority on children's emotional wellbeing. Children are supported to recognise and regulate their feelings through calm, consistent approaches. Staff respond to children who may become a little unsettled, offering them warm reassurance. This helps children to quickly settle back into their chosen play. Staff teach children how to keep themselves safe. They gently remind children of the dangers of climbing and how to carefully carry their plate for mealtimes. This helps children understand safe procedures.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders plan a highly ambitious curriculum that focuses on children's exploration and curiosity. Alongside this, staff prioritise children's physical and personal, social and emotional development in particular. They complete regular observations and assessments, particularly to monitor children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As such, teaching is generally purposeful and supports children's next steps of learning, including adaptations for children with SEND.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff typically build on children's vocabulary and communication skills. Older children are confident. They are articulate and talk about the activities they are exploring. For example, children talk about the wings on a butterfly as they take part in small-group sessions. However, leaders have not considered how to support staff to develop younger children's language skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Younger children giggle and smile with joy as they balance over a small climbing frame and play hide and seek, developing their physical skills. Older children are confident in their abilities. They run and jump in the well-organised outside environment. Staff are skilful at teaching children early maths as they play. This helps children to learn to count and recognise shapes in the environment.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff place inclusion at the centre of their practice. They create an inclusive environment where children feel valued and supported. Leaders and staff gather a wealth of information before children start. They use ongoing assessment to assess children's individual needs. This helps them identify children's needs early and take effective action to secure the support children need. Leaders work closely with external professionals, including speech and language therapists and the local authority, to plan and ensure children receive any statutory support that they are entitled to. This two-way approach provides consistency for children's development.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress from their starting points. Staff use their knowledge of each child to adapt their teaching and provide well- matched support. For example, staff provide targeted strategies, including sessions to support their communication and language development. However, leaders have not considered how to support staff to consistently adapt their teaching to support younger children to develop their language skills.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders are secure in their knowledge on how to allocate any additional funding to support children's needs. For example, leaders consider any training or resources that may strengthen children's learning and development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have accurate oversight of the strengths and their priorities for improvement of the nursery. They have a clear vision for the curriculum and what this means in practice. This helps leaders to typically evaluate and plan training and support for staff in their roles.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are proactive and work effectively with professionals and with the parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or other barriers to learning. This helps to ensure that children receive the support they need. Parents positively praise leaders and staff on the support for their children. They particularly comment on how their children's confidence and social skills have developed. They appreciate the regular communication about children's progress. These positive partnerships contribute to continuity between home and the setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff report that leaders support their wellbeing and professional development. New staff benefit from an induction to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities right from the start. Leaders have systems in place, such as regular supervisions and regular meetings. They typically identify training for staff to support children's development. For example, staff have completed training in Makaton to support children with their learning and development. Leaders also focus training on enhancing the nursery for children with SEND. However, leaders have not considered how to support staff to develop their knowledge of how to support younger children in their communication and language.

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

All children flourish at this warm and nurturing nursery, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They explore the inspiring and curious environment with ease, demonstrating that they feel safe and secure. Babies have ample opportunities to develop their physical skills as they crawl, climb and learn to walk. Older children have plenty of fresh air and exercise. Children develop the small muscles in their hands as they share one-handed tools in the sand tray. They are friendly and take turns as they learn how to use pegs to attach to a small line inside. This helps children develop their muscle groups for later learning.

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

Children know the friendly staff well. They snuggle in for stories and sing songs. Older children take part in planned daily interventions. They develop their listening skills and repeat familiar phrases. Children develop their knowledge of early maths. They count in their play and learn about the difference between big and small. This helps children, including children with SEND, make progress from their individual starting points. Children learn about the community they live in on regular trips. This helps them to learn about the wider world.

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

Children understand the importance of making healthy choices as they develop life skills in preparation for their move to school. They typically know the routines well as they settle for a healthy lunch. Children know to wash their hands and use the toilet independently. Older children help set the table for lunch. They are supported to serve their meals and learn to use cutlery. This promotes their independence. Children are kind and learning to share resources as they play. Older children make relationships with their friends as they create pictures in the outside area. Children's attendance is consistent. This helps them benefit from the ambitious curriculum.

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Next steps

Leaders should strengthen the coaching and mentoring of staff to ensure that teaching is consistent across the nursery, in particular supporting younger children's communication and language skills. Leaders should develop routines across the nursery, so that children have consistent opportunities to develop their independence.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children 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.

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Blue Willow Day Nursery Horlicks Quarter Ltd

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 19:00

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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