Westfield House Nursery

Westfield House Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2852783 Address: WESTFIELD HOUSE NURSERY, Prospect Road, Crook, DL15 8JL Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 25/07/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Westfield House Nursery 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 make consistently secure progress across all areas of learning. They develop independence, confidence and resilience. Children respond well to familiar routines and thrive within a carefully sequenced curriculum that builds knowledge and skills over time. This purposeful approach prepares children well for the next stage of their education.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children develop increasing independence in both learning and self-care. They eagerly join in with songs and shared stories, strengthening their communication and social confidence. Babies build early language as they explore books and imitate repeated sounds. Older children benefit from vocabulary-rich experiences and confidently use new, ambitious words in their play and conversations.

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Achievement Strong standard

Focused support helps to close gaps in learning, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to children's social care. Staff understand children's starting points and adapt experiences so that every child can succeed.

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Achievement Strong standard

By the time children leave the setting, they show secure knowledge, confident communication and enthusiasm for learning. This helps to prepare them exceptionally well for school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children settle quickly and behave exceptionally well in this calm, nurturing setting. Purposeful daily routines are firmly established. Babies and toddlers respond readily when it is time to tidy up or when adults help them wash their hands and wipe their noses. Older children follow familiar routines confidently, such as by lining up for lunch or moving outdoors. Staff understand that these routines develop important skills that prepare children for school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders and staff maintain very high expectations for behaviour and consistently model positive conduct. Staff demonstrate good manners, helping children learn to respect one another. As a result, children share resources willingly and show kindness and consideration.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children feel safe, secure and well cared for by kind, nurturing staff. Staff know each child well and support their social and emotional development thoughtfully. Babies are comforted through gentle rocking or soothed with familiar blankets from home, helping them form strong attachments with their key people. Staff adapt routines carefully to meet individual needs, including those of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and children known or previously known to children's social care.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children engage in activities with enthusiasm. They listen carefully, follow instructions promptly and show developing skills in turn-taking and managing emotions. Leaders work closely with parents and local schools to promote regular attendance, helping children build positive habits for future success.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's safety, comfort and emotional security are central to practice in the setting. Leaders maintain a close, proactive overview of welfare, while staff remain alert and attentive and communicate clearly. Through well-established routines and purposeful conversations, children learn to assess risks for themselves. For example, children persevere as they climb onto a tree swing, using crates to reach the seat safely. Staff prompt children to think through what they need to consider, helping them develop a strong understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children are encouraged to manage personal care independently. Accessible tissue stations and clear hygiene routines help them take responsibility for their own needs. Staff model healthy habits, such as by washing hands before meals or after muddy play, which children quickly adopt.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The setting provides strong support for vulnerable children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to children's social care. These children form secure relationships with their key people. Staff undertake additional training to understand individual needs, for example by working with a physiotherapist to support a child using a new walking frame.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders promote healthy eating through research-informed guidance and close work with parents. The cook prepares home-cooked meals such as lentil and fish curries, soups and meat with vegetables. Meals are adapted so that all children can enjoy the same options, and children have become more willing to try new foods.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Snack time is built into small circle-time sessions, where children choose healthy snacks and explore textures while discussing health. A calm, nurturing environment supports babies and younger children during sleep times. Staff follow familiar routines and offer gentle reassurance, helping children settle quickly and feel safe and secure.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders and staff have high expectations for what children can achieve, and understand their starting points well. Regular discussion and detailed planning books help staff share children's achievements and identify next steps, enabling rich, well-matched experiences across all areas of learning. For example, when reviewing mathematical confidence, staff record what children were successful in and plan progressive next steps.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The curriculum is thoughtfully designed, rooted in child development and children's interests and carefully sequenced so that children build knowledge and skills over time. Staff teach skilfully in the moment, extending learning from what children already know and can do. Detailed support plans ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to children's social care are fully included. Communication and language are prioritised. Staff use songs, rhymes, stories and high- quality interactions to build listening, attention and vocabulary. Children retell 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt' using sensory props, swishing through 'grass', splashing through 'water' and squelching through 'mud'. Babies explore 'Dear Zoo' through touch and movement, while pre-school children deepen their understanding of stories like 'Superworm'. Sensory

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

exploration, such as through retrieving minibeasts from muddy materials, further develops language and fine motor skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Mathematics is woven through daily play. Babies hear words like 'tall', and staff model counting. Older children measure worms, use positional language and apply one-to-one correspondence, building confidence over time.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have embedded a strong culture of inclusion across the setting. They work closely with parents and external professionals. This helps to ensure that every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to children's social care, receives timely, well-matched support. Productive links with the local authority and health visitors strengthen this approach. For example, staff consult with health visitors each half term. If concerns are raised, early checks are completed promptly. This demonstrates coordinated support that meets children's individual needs. Leaders also act quickly when children need additional resources, for example by securing a walking frame to support children's mobility and independence.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use additional funding effectively to ensure that children are fully included. Funding contributes towards consumables and one-to-one support for children who need it. This helps to remove barriers to participation.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff observe children closely. They track children's progress and adapt activities to meet individual needs. The broad range of opportunities at the nursery challenges children across all areas of learning. Children with SEND, disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to children's social care make excellent progress. This is because support is precisely targeted, regularly reviewed and delivered with strong professional expertise.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders also recognise the importance of inclusive mealtimes. Working with the setting's cook, they adapt meals so they are suitable for all children. This careful attention to individual needs helps children feel included, valued and able to participate fully in daily routines.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders and staff operate as a cohesive, highly committed team with ambitious expectations for every child and family. They work with passion and determination to ensure all children receive the highest standard of care, learning and targeted support.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders ensure that disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to children's social care receive help as early as possible. A skilled staffing network and exceptionally close partnerships with the local authority, health visitors, parents and professionals—including speech and language therapists and paediatricians—ensure that children's needs are identified swiftly and support is precisely matched.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders show a strong commitment to continuous improvement. They identify immediate and longer-term priorities confidently, and act quickly to strengthen practice. For example, when they recognised that staff needed greater confidence in teaching subitising, they arranged local authority training, improving staff knowledge and the quality of early mathematics teaching. Leaders also use team expertise effectively. Experienced practitioners model high-quality interactions for newer colleagues, helping them develop secure practice and a strong early years pedagogy. Newer staff quickly become confident and contribute positively to the consistently high-quality provision.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff feel highly supported and show enthusiasm for professional growth, with some pursuing higher-level qualifications. Parents speak warmly about the personalised guidance they receive and the setting's positive impact on their children's development.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders extend their influence beyond the nursery, welcoming practitioners from neighbouring settings to observe practice, share expertise and strengthen provision locally.

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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 demonstrate exceptionally calm and positive behaviour from the moment they arrive. They enter the setting feeling relaxed, content and ready for their day. They show growing independence as they wash their hands, wipe their noses and move smoothly through familiar routines, which they follow impeccably. Their kindness towards others and pride in caring for themselves contribute to a peaceful, well-organised atmosphere.

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

Children form strong, trusting relationships with staff and with one another. Warm, nurturing interactions help them feel safe, valued and secure. Staff greet families gently each morning, taking time to check in with parents and make thoughtful adjustments so that every child can settle and flourish.

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

Children know the routines well and take pleasure in joining in with familiar daily activities. Staff offer calm encouragement, helping children grow in confidence as they participate in songs, rhymes and actions. Through daily conversations, children steadily build their vocabulary. Younger children begin to copy words and phrases from favourite stories, while older children share their thoughts and ideas during circle time, helping them feel listened to and valued.

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

Children have daily opportunities to strengthen their physical skills through a wide range of thoughtfully planned experiences. They sew using child-safe materials, connect different types of construction resources and practise scooping and transferring during sensory play. Indoors, younger children explore apparatus that support climbing, balancing and coordinated movement. Outdoors, the wonderfully sloped gardens encourage children to risk assess as they move around, developing balance, core strength and spatial awareness. They enjoy using the tree swing, modelling with clay and engaging in other hands-on activities that build fine and gross motor skills over time.

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

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those known or previously known to children's social care and those facing other barriers to learning, make excellent progress from their starting points. The wealth of opportunities on offer helps children to build skills across all 7 areas of learning, ensuring they leave well prepared for the next stage of their education and for school life.

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Next steps

Leaders and those responsible for governance should continue sustaining their highly effective practice to secure ongoing improvement and maintain consistently high standards. They should also extend their outward-facing work, routinely sharing good practice with other settings to support wider system development and strengthen provision beyond the nursery.

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Address:

WESTFIELD HOUSE NURSERY Prospect Road Crook DL15 8JL

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Westfield House Nursery Limited

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Address:

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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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator, assistants 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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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

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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