Tarvin Pre-School & Day Nursery

Tarvin Pre-School & Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 305356
Address: Heath Drive, Tarvin, Chester, CH3 8LS
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 13/02/1967
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: Tarvin Pre-School Nursery Limited
Inspection report: 25 February 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
Children benefit from extremely well thought-through, established routines. They take
responsibility for themselves; lining up before playing outside without prompt and
immediately hanging their coat up after playing outdoors. Familiarity and consistency in
routines promote children's excellent sense of belonging and strong self-esteem. The
organisation of the day, through established routines, is striking & phenomenally successful.
Staff are nurturing and caring, bolstering children's confidence and sense of self-worth at
every opportunity. They offer endless praise to foster children's confidence. In turn, everyone
including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities show resilience and
an effervescent can-do attitude. For instance, when faced with challenges, children
repeatedly try until they succeed.
Children's behaviour is exemplary. They swiftly follow instructions the first time they are
asked, showing respectful cooperation. Staff often remind children about expectations and
children eagerly recite the 'rules', indicating that they know what is expected of them. In turn
they are polite, helpful and behave tremendously well. Children attend regularly and arrive
punctually, ready for the day ahead. Staff understand the value of good attendance and
quickly address any absences. They report that attendance levels are excellent, helping to
ensure that children do not experience interruptions to their learning.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Staff nurture caring relationships with children and children are very happy in this pre-
school. They benefit from plenty of attention and caring interactions from dedicated staff.
Children grow a host of different vegetables in the allotment. They taste their harvested
produce extending their confidence with new foods and fostering a positive attitude towards
healthy eating.
Staff help children to brush their teeth daily. Everyone has their own, named toothbrush and
this routine task is highly anticipated by all children. Younger children are offered
encouragement and support, while older and more-able children complete the task with
increasing independence. Children show a mature attitude to this important self-care skill.
Staff teach children about 'global recycling day' through a range of activities. Children learn
about the impact they have on the world around them, by exploring this topic. This
exemplifies how integral health and welfare is to staff and children alike.
Children's safety is heavily promoted by cautious staff. They often check the suitability of
equipment prior to children playing. Their visual checks are delivered with great care and
attention to minimise possible risks. Children's welfare and safety is given utmost priority.
Inclusion Strong standard
Despite the small size of this setting, staff and leaders alike have big ambitions to enable all
children to thrive and reach their full potential. The curriculum has been successfully

Expected standard
designed to help fulfil this vision. Every child makes continual progress from their individual
starting points and all are suitably prepared for the eventual move on to school. Staff rapidly
identify children who may need additional support, through their skilful assessment and
professional observations. They adapt the delivery of the curriculum effectively to ensure
everyone is fully included. These well-considered adaptations show that every child is
valued and supported to thrive.
Staff have developed excellent links with a range of wider professionals, such as
occupational therapists, speech and language professionals and local authority support
workers. They swiftly reach out to these specialists to benefit from their expertise and
support, whenever needed. Children benefit enormously from a highly tailored approach to
their care and learning, to meet their unique and individual needs. Staff are quite rightly
proud of the impact that they are having on all children's development, including those with
special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Achievement Expected standard
Children enjoy being creative. They giggle as they make 'potions' in the woods, developing
their ideas and playing cooperatively with peers. Children stir and pour the petal-potion into
bottles, mastering their precise hand-eye coordination. They develop their early writing skills
as they make lists of potion ingredients and recipes. The programme of play is captivating,
and children's learning is fun. Children grow seedlings and vegetables in the on-site
allotment. They nurture these growing plants, showing empathy and compassion towards
living things. They also learn where their food comes from as they successfully harvest
tomatoes and develop a positive attitude towards healthy eating.
Children often read for pleasure, independently picking up books and flicking through pages
with curiosity and intrigue. They confidently handle books and reading is familiar and
enjoyable for children. Children communicate confidently with others, expressing
themselves as they play. However, children do not always engage in discussions to extend
their thinking further and enhance their achievement language and communication.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Staff recognise that young children benefit from learning through play. The entire curriculum
is designed to facilitate play and exploration, as children are encouraged to get stuck-in,
develop ideas and play with curiosity. They move from one space to another with purpose
and remain continually busy in the stimulating environment. Staff have high expectations for
every single child. They offer children increasing levels of challenge as games and activities
progress. Children master the basics first before being challenged to extend their skills
further. Children practise their physical coordination because staff encourage them to
balance and walk along wooden beams and navigate uneven surfaces in the woods. Staff
pay careful attention to what children enjoy and incorporate specific interests into the
activities offered. For example, children show an interest in bugs and insects when playing

outside. This is quickly enhanced by magnifying glasses which help to nourish children's
enthusiasm, awe and wonder.
Children's individual assessment records are updated regularly. This helps staff to pinpoint
exactly where children need additional support. They target their teaching around what
children need to learn next, and children make good progress. Staff provide plenty of
narration as children play. They introduce new descriptive words to extend vocabulary. Staff
sing with children and use rhythm and rhyme to introduce new words and language.
However, sometimes, staff ask closed questions which prevents children from responding.
This means that children have fewer opportunities to engage in two-way discussion and
practise their emerging language skills.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Partnerships with parents are well established. Parents are often invited into the setting, to
enhance learning by sharing information about their occupations or to read to children. They
are actively engaged in children's learning. Parent evenings and regular newsletters help to
keep parents fully informed. Partnership working is excellent, and this promotes consistency
for children. Staff and leaders collectively engage in honest and thorough self-evaluation
and reflection. They have an accurate and well-informed view of the setting. Importantly,
leaders revisit these reflections often to ensure that the plans to improve reflect the unique
and ever-changing needs of the families they support. Staff and leaders alike strive to offer
families they support with an excellent service.
The teamwork amongst all staff is a notable strength of this setting. They work well together,
delegate tasks, share responsibilities and check-in on each other's wellbeing. They
complement each other and optimise talents within the team to benefit children. For
example, those with a keen interest in gardening support children to plant and grow seeds
and bulbs, to develop children's appreciation of nature and the great outdoors. This is a
talented and aspirational team who are working well together to offer high-quality provision
for the children and families they support.
Leaders are extremely hands-on in the delivery of the service. They monitor the quality of
staff interactions through relaxed daily feedback and more formal supervision meetings. This
coaching helps to maintain good standards. Staff benefit from regular training, to enhance
their skills. Further training specifically relating to interactions and communication will extend
staff's confidence and impact positively on children's conversational skills.

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
Voluntary Childcare Register requirements
This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.
How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare
Register
When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can
have the following outcomes:
Met
Not met
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Tarvin pre-school is a small, friendly and welcoming setting. Relationships between children
and staff are strong and, as a result, children are happy here. All children are lavished with
plenty of attention and caring interactions from dedicated staff. This helps them to flourish.
Coupled with this, children are actively encouraged to be independent and complete tasks
for themselves; this helps them to feel proud and fosters their strong sense of belonging. At
the beginning of the day, children skip down the path with a beaming smile, eagerly
anticipating the day ahead. They are greeted upon arrival by friendly staff who offer a very

Inspector:
Michelle Jacques
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 305356
warm welcome. Children are clearly extremely confident and show that they feel safe and
settle quickly, ready to learn.
The pre-school staff and leaders are proud to operate in the heart of the local community.
They work closely with community partners such as local schools, churches and library
provisions. They have a well-deserved, excellent reputation for their inclusive and high-
quality provision amongst local residents. This is a popular and busy community pre-school,
offering an inclusive service for all local families. Leaders stress the importance of good
attendance, and they work with parents to better understand and address any barriers to
regular attendance.
Children enjoy a rich and varied array of experiences both in the setting and wider
community. They often explore nature during woodland walks and visit the theatre to learn
about performing arts. Children speak with animated enthusiasm about these trips,
indicating that these enrichment opportunities impact on their thirst to learn. Children learn
about people, places and cultures outside of their small village environment. They celebrate
different religious festivals to extend their appreciation for the wider word around them. The
curriculum is balanced and interesting which in turn helps children to develop key skills in
readiness for school.
Next steps
Leaders should help staff to develop their questioning skills so they are more confident to
support children's conversational and speaking skills more successfully.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with children, staff and leaders 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.

Address:
Heath Drive
Tarvin
Chester
CH3 8LS
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 13/02/1967
Registered person: Tarvin Pre-School Nursery Limited
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:30 - 17:30,Friday : 07:30 -
16:30
Local authority: Cheshire West and Chester
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 25 February 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
2 to 4
Total number of places
45
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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