Milford Early Years Centre

Milford Early Years Centre
Unique reference number (URN): 2784515
Address: The Old Bank House, 5 High Street, Milford On Sea, Lymington, SO41 0QF
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 30/04/2024
Registers: EYR, CCR
Registered person: Milford Early Years Centre Ltd
Inspection report: 28 April 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement
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.
How we evaluate safeguarding
When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:
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.

Strong standard
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Staff build trusting relationships with children. This supports excellent behaviour during
important transitions and routines. For example, staff clearly communicate their expectations
about behaviour on trips out. Staff use a combination of rhyme, song and hand gesture to let
children know what they need to do and where they need to be. All children show they can
follow instructions to keep themselves safe, for example as they walk sensibly with staff
along the side of small village roads.
There is a high level of staff support during transition times. As younger children put on
coats and shoes, staff follow the curiosity of older children who are interested in the
resources around them. Staff teach children how to ask for help while fostering their
independence. When young children put their shoes on the wrong feet, staff take the time to
guide children to correct their mistake without swapping shoes for them. This builds
children's confidence in important self-help skills.
Staff promote extremely positive attitudes to learning. For example, children learn to develop
a 'can-do' attitude through their high-quality interactions with encouraging staff. This helps
children to develop confidence and high levels of self-esteem.
Leaders are committed to ensuring the consistent attendance of children and use effective
monitoring procedures to address any concerns.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Staff encourage children to take plenty of exercise. Leaders take full advantage of the local
countryside and ensure that daily trips provide children with opportunities to be physically
active and engrossed in nature.
Staff prioritise children's welfare when outside. Staff conduct rigorous risk assessments and
follow strict protocols to ensure that children stay safe outside. For example, leaders skilfully
deploy staff on outings so that children are well supervised. Communication between staff
on trips is superb and ensures that everyone is clear about their roles and how they can
best support children. Staff sing memorable songs with children about road safety as they
walk.
Staff have an excellent understanding of the personal needs of children. Leaders ensure
that parents and staff share detailed information about children's allergies or food
intolerances. Staff have a clear understanding of the impact of children's medical conditions.
They know what to do should children become unwell.
Staff promote healthy eating well. They talk to children about the 'yummy' green vegetables
on their plate. Leaders arrange for specialists to teach children about healthy lifestyles and
the importance of oral hygiene. This has helped children to talk more confidently about their
visits to the dentist.

Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), get
better at understanding and regulating their emotions because of highly effective staff
support. Babies grow in confidence with their use of spoons to feed themselves. Toddlers
develop their fine motor skills when using a variety of tools, such as tweezers, expertly
modelled by staff. Children listen intently to stories. Staff support children to clap out the
syllables of tricky words, such as 'anemone', which they later pronounce correctly in context.
Children with SEND take delight in talking to new people about what is important to them.
Pre-school children develop the skills they need for a secure start in school. Toddlers and
older children show perseverance in their learning, taking care and attention to paint and
thread. Children are proud of their achievements and bring their work immediately to adults
for celebration.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have devised a well-sequenced curriculum that focuses on developing children's
curiosity, confidence and independence. Staff ensure that babies are safe and settled, which
helps to improve outcomes for their social and emotional development. They use facial
expression, encourage words and use sensory resources well to stimulate connection with
very young children. Staff support children's growing independence well. For example, staff
understand the importance of helping very young children learn to walk and the skills
important for older children to successfully start school.
Staff provide high-quality interactions for children that help to strengthen their
communication skills. Staff take frequent opportunities to teach new language, for example
using new words such as 'rapid' alongside the word 'quick'. This promotes children's
widening vocabulary. Staff also support children's critical thinking skills well. When children
notice construction work on a local church roof, staff extend children's curiosity by helping
them to make links between the high visibility vests they wear and those worn by the
construction workers.
Staff explicitly teach mathematics. For example, they support children to count objects and
use the language of 'full' and 'empty' in context when using watering cans. However, at
times, most-able children are not challenged to extend their knowledge of number, for
example by counting on past a given number that they know.
Inclusion Expected standard
Staff swiftly identify children who need extra support, including those with special
educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff seek advice from professionals and
make referrals to specialist teams. These timely interventions support children with their
confidence, speech and ability to manage their emotions.

Leaders use the government's early years pupil premium funding well to extend the interests
of children, for example by improving access to specialist football sessions. Children in
receipt of this funding have embraced these sessions, which have fostered their confidence
and developed their physical skills.
There is an effective key-person system in place. Staff know the specific needs of individual
children well and have a good understanding of their lives and experiences at home. This
allows staff to help children transfer new skills between home and the pre-school.
Leaders have high expectations for all children, including those with SEND. Staff work with
families to support the language of children who speak English as an additional language.
For example, leaders share lists of everyday words in both English and the home languages
of children. However, on occasion, staff do not identify further opportunities to teach English
for children who speak English as an additional language in literacy activities, for example
by discussing the meaning of words when linking letters to objects.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders build important relationships with parents. This helps parents communicate any
changes to routine or ask for support with their children's learning. Parents praise staff for
their clear communication. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or
disabilities are extremely positive about the support for their children. For example, parents
feel their children do very well as a result of effective transition arrangements.
Leaders work well to foster connections in the local community. They arrange for special
teaching visits from the police and yoga sessions on the beach, and have permission to tend
to plants in the local meadow. People in local businesses wave to staff and children as they
walk past. There is a real sense of community in the lives of the children at this setting.
Staff wellbeing is high. There are frequent opportunities for career development. For
example, staff are able to attend courses of interest to further develop their skills. In
addition, leaders communicate regularly with their team to celebrate achievements and
create development plans that strengthen staff's practice.
Leaders prioritise a continuous strive for improvement. Where areas for development have
been identified, leaders are swift to take action. For example, following recent input from the
early years advisory team, leaders have created accessible photos of resources so that
babies can better communicate their choices. Leaders reflect well on their practice and use
this analysis to continually improve outcomes for children.

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children who are new to the setting establish themselves quickly. Committed leaders make
good use of settling-in sessions to get to know children. Staff are responsive to children's
needs, for example by making changes to the environment to ensure that babies new to the
setting feel comfortable. This helps strengthens the confidence of children new to the
setting.
Older children build confidence when talking to their friends. Staff help children share their
experiences with other children during morning group sessions. A high level of support from
nurturing adults helps children to form strong bonds of trust with their key person.
Children enjoy showing others what they have done. Staff share children's achievements
and help children to feel good about their developing skills. For example, when staff praise
children's artwork, children love the feedback they receive. This grows children's self-esteem
and encourages them to try their very best. As a result, children eagerly show their paintings
to others and say they want to take them home.
Children enjoy trips outside. Staff organise daily visits around the local village and to nearby
parks and beaches. Children relish their time outside, laughing as they run, climb, dance
and play. For example, staff take children regularly to a local meadow to paint and read
stories together. Children thrive during these outdoor experiences. Staff extend children's
curiosity and use the environment to develop children's vocabulary, for example by
investigating the plants that grow around.

Inspector:
David Watkins
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2784515
Address:
The Old Bank House, 5 High Street, Milford On Sea
Lymington
SO41 0QF
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 30/04/2024
Registered person: Milford Early Years Centre Ltd
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) show high levels of
confidence as a result of knowledgeable staff. For example, children with SEND talk to new
people about what helps them learn. Staff think carefully about the likes and interests of
their key children. This helps them to support children to remain calm during moments of
transition.
Next steps
Leaders should make sure that teaching is consistently inclusive of children who speak
English as an additional language.
Leaders should make sure to extend the learning of mathematics for most-able children to
strengthen the consistency of the high-quality curriculum further.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders and staff and received feedback from parents during the
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.

Register(s): EYR, CCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00,Saturday :
08:00 - 18:00
Local authority: Hampshire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 28 April 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
1 to 4
Total number of places
25
Our grades explained
Exceptional
Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.
Strong standard
The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of
them.
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.
Needs attention
The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary
improvements.

Urgent improvement
The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of
education and/or care.
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects
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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