Bright Horizons Whetstone Day Nursery and Preschool

Preschool

Unique reference number (URN): EY275756 Address: Grange View Road, Whetstone, London, N20 9EA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 03/11/2003 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions 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 Needs attention

Achievement is not consistent across the areas of learning and development, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Some children do not yet have the knowledge and skills expected for their age, and gaps remain in areas, such as communication, mathematical understanding, attention and managing their emotions. These gaps are more evident for some children with SEND and pre-school children, who do not always consistently sustain attention, listen to others, or take part in group learning. Therefore, children do not always have the knowledge and skills they need for their stage of learning, including when they move to school.

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Achievement Needs attention

Babies develop important early skills through everyday experiences. They build physical skills as they cruise around furniture, explore water and develop their movements. Their babbling and back-and-forth interactions support early communication and language. At times, toddlers and pre-school children develop knowledge and skills through play and planned activities. They show curiosity, independence and problem-solving skills, when building train tracks, exploring pretend animal play and using tools like scissors. Children enjoy familiar stories, recall repeated phrases and predict what happens next.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Routines are not consistently established for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), toddlers or pre-school children. Leaders recognise these weaknesses but have not yet taken sufficient action to ensure routines are consistently secure. Staff are not always clear about their roles, which affects how smoothly children move between activities and spaces. Changes in staffing arrangements and inconsistent key-person arrangements means children do not always have familiar adults to help them understand what is happening next. Consequently, during transitions between rooms, toddlers become confused and upset, pre-school children wander away from the group, and children with SEND do not receive the targeted support they need.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children's attitudes to learning are mixed. Some show deep concentration and independence in their play, becoming absorbed in using cardboard tubes to create slides and pretend flight paths. During these independent tasks, they actively solve problems, drop small toys into the play garage, and develop their own ideas through play. However, during group times, some children lose interest, talk to each other, or leave the group. Children are not always actively engaged in learning and can become distracted when activities do not sustain their interest.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Children develop positive relationships with staff and each other. They are kind and helpful and show care towards younger children. For example, pre-school children eagerly help to find younger children's missing shoes and work together to solve the problem. Children generally respond well to familiar routines and enjoy talking and playing with their friends. Children who become unsettled receive warm and reassuring responses.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Leaders understand the importance of children attending regularly. They offer flexible start times for children and families and make sure children can take part in activities they may have missed. For example, when children arrive later, staff repeat 'show and tell' so that all children can share their experiences with friends.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that children's welfare and wellbeing are supported consistently across the setting. This is particularly evident for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who face other barriers to their learning and wellbeing. Although staff recognise some individual needs, this support is not consistently reflected in plans or daily experiences, meaning children do not always receive care tailored to their individual circumstances. Furthermore, poor transitions affect children's wellbeing. For example, when moving between rooms and activities, younger children become confused and upset because routines are unclear and staff are not clear about their roles. While leaders recognise these weaknesses, they have not yet taken sufficient action to ensure all children experience consistent support.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Staff respond warmly to children and recognise when they need reassurance. Children who become unsettled receive cuddles, familiar songs and preferred toys, which helps them feel secure. Babies experience calm and attentive care during feeding and nappy changing, and staff understand safer sleep arrangements to provide care that reflects babies' individual needs. Additionally, children develop positive relationships with staff and each other. They show kindness and care towards younger children and increasingly manage some everyday routines independently. For example, mealtimes provide opportunities for children to socialise, serve themselves and use cutlery safely.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have not yet achieved consistent teaching across the setting, and teaching is less effective in the toddler and pre-school rooms. In addition, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning do not always receive the targeted support they need. Leaders have a clear understanding of the curriculum and recognise the importance of developing children's communication, physical, social and early learning skills. They identify weaknesses in teaching and reflect accurately on practice. However, they have not yet achieved consistent teaching across the setting.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Group times can be lengthy, with children spending extended periods sitting and listening. Furthermore, children's individual needs, interests and next steps in learning do not consistently shape teaching. At times, language used by staff reflects traditional gender expectations. For example, linking physical strength exclusively to boys. Consequently, children do not always receive the teaching they need to make the progress they are capable of.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The curriculum provides children with varied experiences. In the pre-school room, children take part in mathematics activities, matching numerals to quantities. The broad mathematical aim is clear, but learning is not consistently matched to individual children's next steps in learning. Activities are often general rather than closely matched to what children need to learn next. Toddlers explore pretend animals through painting and play, giving them opportunities to explore ideas and express themselves. However, changes in the staff arrangements contribute to inconsistency in how well learning is matched to individual needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Babies experience a curriculum that supports their early development through everyday play and routines. They splash in water, explore sensory experiences and cruise around furniture. Staff respond to babies' babbling and sounds, using simple words, songs and rhymes to support back-and-forth communication.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders have not yet taken sufficient action to ensure staff have the knowledge, plans and strategies needed to consistently meet children's individual needs and reduce barriers to learning and wellbeing. Leaders identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and barriers to their learning, but they are not clear on how to support them. They occasionally work together with parents, carers and other professionals to check children's physical, communication and sensory needs. However, while staff use specific strategies, such as 'now and next' boards, objects of reference and sensory play, to help children build new skills, these generalised strategies do not always work well. Staff do not implement these strategies in a way that is unique or tailored to the individual child. Support is not sharply focused on children's individual next steps in learning. Furthermore, staff are not

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Inclusion Needs attention

consistently clear on which strategies to use for each child or how to implement them, to successfully reduce specific barriers to learning.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Staff respond sensitively when children become unsettled. They provide reassurance, cuddles, familiar songs and preferred toys to help children feel secure. Children benefit from these warm relationships and develop independence through everyday routines. Some parents raise concerns about gaps in their children's learning and development and want clearer information about the support provided. Leaders recognise weaknesses in inclusive practice.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders have not taken sufficient action to address weaknesses in the quality of practice, the consistency of teaching, support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and communication with parents. Significant staffing changes and periods of staff absence have disrupted the day-to-day running of the setting. While staff brought in from other settings understand child development and the curriculum, they do not always know children's individual next steps, which negatively affects key-person arrangements. Furthermore, although leaders have plans to improve teaching, including peer observations and support from the the local authority early years teams, these actions have not yet had enough impact on the quality of practice. Staff receive supervision and leaders monitor staff wellbeing, but this does not consistently improve the quality of practice or ensure that agreed expectations are fully understood.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Communication with parents has also declined, and responses to concerns can take too long. Complaints and concerns are recorded and investigated, but outcomes are not always shared with parents promptly, leaving some parents without clear information about incidents involving their children. While leaders recognise these weaknesses and understand the action required, they have not yet consistently made the improvements, particularly in the toddler and pre-school rooms.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

In their oversight of the setting, leaders maintain an accurate understanding of the setting and actively recognise the improvements needed. They support staff wellbeing through regular discussions and targeted training. As a result, staff receive training in key areas, including safeguarding, safer working practices, and internet safety. Leaders fully recognise the importance of developing staff knowledge and expertise, and they are taking steps to strengthen practice. Additionally, leaders are beginning to work with parents and have recently introduced a parent forum to improve communication across the setting, although the benefits of this are too early to see.

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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 with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children facing other barriers to learning do not always receive experiences that reflect their individual needs and next steps in learning. This limits the progress some children make from their starting points. Teaching is inconsistent and does not enable all children to make the progress they are capable of. Children in the toddler and pre-school rooms do not always receive learning experiences that build on what they already know and can do. Staff work across different rooms and settings, so children do not always know the adults caring for them. Staff do not always know children's individual learning needs and next steps well enough.

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

Children enjoy being active and exploring the environment. In the garden, children run and jump, explore sunflowers and investigate the planted area. Some try to dig in the mud, showing curiosity about the natural world. Toddlers develop imaginative play as they wash pretend horses and pour water. Older children practise using scissors safely as they cut coloured strips to make hair for dolls.

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

Children generally feel safe and develop positive relationships with staff and make friends. Babies experience calm and attentive care and develop early communication and physical skills through babbling, back-and-forth interactions and cruising around furniture.

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

Overall, children develop positive relationships and enjoy aspects of their time at the setting, but inconsistent teaching and changes in the staff supporting them mean that not all children experience the learning they need to achieve as well as they can.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

improve the quality and implementation of teaching, so that learning builds on what children already know and can do and supports their individual next steps 30/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure arrangements for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, identified needs and barriers to learning consistently reflect and support their learning and development 30/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure effective key-person arrangements to enable staff to know each child's individual needs, interests, and development, to keep children consistently engaged and focused 30/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve partnerships with parents so that parents receive prompt responses to concerns and clear information about the support their children receive 30/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve staff supervision, coaching and professional development, so that weaknesses in teaching are identified and addressed, and that improvements in practice are sustained 30/09/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff and 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 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:

Grange View Road Whetstone London N20 9EA

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:30

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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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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