The Old Barn Day Nursery

The Old Barn Day Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2810842 Address: 140 High Street, Banstead, SM7 2NZ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 19/12/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Bright Stars Nurseries UK 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 benefit from well-planned and thought through transitions to support their next stage of learning. Children receive home visits before they start. This information guides planning and makes staff aware of individual likes, dislikes and preferences. Children's individual needs are consistently met by every member of the team.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children are happy and enthusiastic learners who make consistent progress from their individual starting points. They demonstrate high levels of independence as they confidently explore, investigate and cooperate with friends and adults. Children make consistent progress from their starting points, regardless of any barriers to learning. Children secure essential developmental building blocks early, ensuring they achieve long-term success.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children achieve well across all areas of learning. They start to build early social skills, as they learn to play alongside one another and take turns. Children develop a range of physical skills, such as using spoons independently and passing objects to one another during sensory play. Children build early communication skills by copying adult gestures and repeating animal sounds as they begin to learn their first words. Children are exposed to a language-rich environment, where staff provide a constant running commentary to label objects and emotions. Children are consistently well supported to become confident communicators who are very well prepared for their next stage of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders have created a calm, respectful and caring environment, where staff model positive attitudes to learning. Staff show high expectations for behaviour, and children behave exceptionally well. Staff use positive strategies, such as praise and encouragement, to help children understand expectations. Their calm approach creates a predictable environment where children are ready to learn.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Staff continuously narrate what is happening to help children make sense of their world and to demonstrate good manners. For example, at mealtimes, they model saying 'thank you' alongside the corresponding Makaton sign.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children build secure, trusting relationships with their key person and all other staff. They play games and interactive activities collaboratively with their friends. For example, they listen and interact during story time and follow peers to different areas of the room to share preferred toys.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders proactively monitor attendance and punctuality to keep children safe. They analyse information well to spot emerging patterns. Leaders use this data to initiate prompt, direct conversations with parents, ensuring children consistently attend their early years education. For example, when children's attendance drops, leaders immediately talk with parents to match nursery routines with home life. This practical help removes barriers and successfully gets the children back into a steady, positive routine.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children experience well-planned care that prioritises their welfare and builds healthy habits from the start. Trusting positive relationships with their key person helps children feel safe and enjoy frequent outdoor play. Children benefit from highly flexible routines when their family circumstances change. For example, when starting, children receive tailored settling- in schedules and personal show-arounds to protect their emotional wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children build independent self-care skills through thoughtful daily routines. They confidently use portable, child-height sinks to practise washing their hands before meals. During lunchtime, children develop small muscle control as staff encourage them to feed themselves using the appropriate cutlery. Children are very at ease and show a secure understanding of nursery routines, such as happily going to sleep without distress. There are secure processes in place to ensure children are kept safe when eating and sleeping at the nursery. Staff's calm, watchful presence supports children to independently fix problems, such as picking up a knocked over chair and pushing it under the table.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children make independent healthy choices at an age- and stage-appropriate level. They have access to drinking water at all times. Staff help them to find their own personal picture on their cup when they want a drink. Children learn social skills and early manners naturally during shared activities and mealtimes. Staff tailor these routines carefully to match the youngest children's age and stage of development. Children happily sit together with their friends, try new things and copy actions to interactive songs while waiting for food. These everyday experiences create the essential building blocks for physical and emotional health before children transition to the next stage of their education.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The quality of staff's teaching and interactions are a major strength of the nursery. Staff understand young children's development and build a secure foundation for future learning. They plan differentiated, inclusive activities around children's interests that are appropriate for their age and stage of development. Staff do not force children to stay when they lose interest. Instead, they follow the child's lead while keeping the same learning goal. For example, staff planned a painting activity to practise passing brushes from hand to hand to build hand-and-finger control. When children lost interest, staff followed them to a new area and encouraged them to pass different items from hand to hand. This adjustment kept the focus on the exact same skill.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The curriculum and teaching focuses on young children's early skills. Staff heavily prioritise communication and language during interactions. They narrate children's actions using clear, simple words. This language matches a thoughtful selection of age- and stage- appropriate books available in all activities and areas. Staff firmly understand the importance of personal, social, emotional and physical development. They interweave these prime areas into planned and free-flow play to build essential learning foundations. For example, children use garden slides for physical development. In addition, staff also provide secure emotional attachments by comforting children when needed.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use very clear systems to find all children's starting points quickly. Within six weeks of starting, staff complete a baseline check using nursery observations and information from parents. This helps leaders spot any additional needs early. Staff regularly assess children, set targets, plan activities and review progress to track development. Staff work closely with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) to ensure their expectations for all children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make the best possible progress. The SENCo uses specialist knowledge to guide staff and ensure these targeted interventions make a positive difference. Staff then speak with parents to see if they have noticed the same things at home.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Additional funding is used effectively to support each child's development. For example, after consulting parents, targeted emotional wellbeing resources were bought, and staff training for alternative communication was funded. This funding helped children improve their conversation skills, manage their emotions, and transition smoothly between rooms.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Nursery practices change to ensure every child succeeds. For example, children who struggle when starting receive highly targeted support. Staff provide these new children with extra home visits and additional settling-in sessions. Staff collaborate closely with external professionals. These include social workers, speech and language therapists, and the local authority's early years special educational needs and disabilities team. Together, they share ideas and implement targeted support for the children.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have a detailed understanding of the nursery and the needs of the specific age group of children that attend. The nursery is highly organised, and staff always conduct themselves professionally. Rigorous recruitment and induction procedures ensure that staff are suitable and well prepared for their roles.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have established strong partnerships with parents, including families who are initially less engaged. They communicate regularly through a range of methods, including digital platforms, daily discussions and regular parents' evenings. For most children, this setting is their first educational experience with childcare. Leaders recognise this and provide a well thought through, individualised and structured settling-in process to support all families.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders are highly committed to maintaining strong standards and demonstrate a clear understanding of their responsibilities. They continually reflect on practice and use monitoring systems, including supervision meetings, observations and audits, to support continuous improvement. Leaders are proactive in identifying areas for development and take effective action, such as strengthening the already strong transition procedures for when children move on to the sister site.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leadership continually review policy and practice. They ensure that new guidance and emerging best practice is researched, understood and implemented. Staff feel supported by leaders and play an important role in the culture of continuous improvement. For example, staff ask for and receive training in specific areas of interest, and staff's individual strengths are used to support ongoing improvements.

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

Children arrive happily at this nurturing setting, where wellbeing is prioritised. They are welcomed into an environment full of opportunities to play and explore. Children benefit from a wide range of personalised activities that broaden their understanding and help them learn. For example, planned activities are based on children's interests and are adapted into three distinct levels using assessment data. This allows every child to access the targeted skills at their own level.

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

Children's communication and language development is heavily prioritised by staff during regular daily interactions. For example, staff continuously narrate children's actions using clear, simple words to help them make sense of their world. Children enjoy listening to books that staff read to them. They lean into staff and explore the pictures and interactive elements on pages as staff read with expression. Children have access to resources that support their physical development. For example, they crawl through hollow cubes to practise their gross motor skills. Children build strong emotional security through consistent daily care routines that closely match their home life. For example, when children feel upset, staff provide secure attachments by comforting them and checking in on their feelings.

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

Children explore the local community through regular visits to the library for rhyme-time singing sessions and trips to a local field to explore nature. Throughout the year, they experience cultural events at nursery, such as Chinese New Year and whole-family stay- and-play events, including Grandparents' Day. Leaders understand the importance of children's attendance to ensure they fully benefit from the full range of experiences on offer.

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

Staff interactions with children are warm and respectful. Staff know children extremely well. Children play together and enjoy each other's company. For example, children willingly invite friends into their play space and readily share resources to explore toys together. Children are developing strong independence and self-help skills. For example, they confidently access child-height stations to manage their personal hygiene, using adult support as they work towards wiping their noses independently.

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Bright Stars Nurseries UK Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday : 08:00 - 18:00,Tuesday : 08:00 - 18:00,Wednesday : 08:00 - 18:00,Thursday : 08:00 - 18:00,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

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Next steps

Leaders should build on the setting's work to remove barriers for children who may need extra help to realise a transformational impact on their achievement and wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, parents and carers, and engaged with children 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 provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that the provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage. 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. 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

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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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