Flower Pots Day Nursery

Flower Pots Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2498862
Address: 188 Wycombe Road, Prestwood, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, HP16 0HJ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 13/02/2019
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Flower Pots Day Nursery Childcare Ltd
Inspection report: 18 May 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.

Expected standard
Needs attention
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Children's wellbeing is central to the setting's ethos. Staff form nurturing and trusting
relationships with children. Typically, this helps children to settle quickly and explore and
learn confidently in a safe environment. Staff show genuine care for all children and build
close attachments with them. They create a culture in which children feel able to express
themselves freely. Generally, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as
well as those who face barriers to learning, develop secure bonds with staff. For example,
staff gently reassure children who find social situations difficult and talk to them about their
feelings.
Staff actively promote health and hygiene practices, encouraging children to follow them
independently, such as washing their hands before lunch. Their interactions are supportive
and help all children to have a go at feeding themselves.
Children benefit from regular access to the outdoors and enjoy the fresh air. They
enthusiastically climb and clamber over an obstacle course, crawl through tunnels and jump
over equipment. Staff talk to children about how physical activity keeps them healthy and
discuss how their hearts beat faster as they move. Children also benefit from a healthy and
balanced menu. Staff encourage children to try new foods and talk about what they are
eating. This helps children to build positive relationships with food and make healthy
choices.
Achievement Needs attention
Some children do not extend their learning effectively due to weaknesses in practice. As a
result, although they make some progress from their starting points, opportunities to build on
what they already know are not consistent. Consequently, not all children make the progress
they are capable of.
Children are independent, happy and settled in the setting. They take part in a wide range of
activities and show curiosity and enthusiasm when sharing their ideas. For example, older
children enjoy cosy story times with adults, lying together to share a book. Babies happily
babble and practise their early walking skills as they select pretend food from the role-play
area.
Older children demonstrate an understanding of daily routines. They help to collect their
cups for snack time and wait patiently for their turn. Children develop early mathematical
knowledge, confidently counting as they build train tracks and holding up 4 fingers when
asked, 'How many?' Younger children enjoy construction activities that help them to develop
an early awareness of positional language and quantity. Overall, children develop many of

the skills they need for school. However, their achievement across the setting remains
inconsistent.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention
Children are not always clear about what is expected of them because staff do not
consistently follow through on the routines they have introduced. For example, when moving
from outdoors to indoors, staff give unclear instructions. This leads to some children ignoring
the request or refusing to follow it. As a result, routines are not established effectively, and
children do not fully understand the expectations for their behaviour.
Overall, children appear to enjoy their time at the setting. They benefit from the care and
attention they receive from staff, who are warm and supportive towards all children. At times,
some staff take children's ages and stages of development into account and support them to
regulate their emotions. For instance, staff quickly notice when babies become unsettled
and use gentle distraction techniques to help them to calm. However, this level of
responsiveness is not consistent across the nursery.
Leaders have systems in place to track children's attendance. They routinely review
children's attendance patterns and work with parents and carers to ensure information is up
to date. However, leaders do not always identify when some children, particularly those who
face barriers to learning, may benefit from adapted attendance patterns to better support
their needs.
Curriculum and teaching Needs attention
Leaders have recently introduced a new curriculum. They recognise that it is not yet fully
embedded across the nursery. The quality of teaching is variable, and inconsistencies in
curriculum implementation are evident. Some children benefit from a well-sequenced
approach. For example, staff support babies' early language development by repeating
simple words, such as 'drink' and 'finished', to help widen their vocabulary. However, other
staff do not consistently extend children's play through purposeful interactions. In the
garden, for instance, some staff wander between activities without engaging with children,
adopting a largely supervisory role. As a result, children are not consistently supported
through modelling or questioning to support their development, particularly in
communication and language.
Staff use ongoing assessment to identify children's starting points and next steps in learning.
However, they do not consistently use this knowledge to adapt teaching effectively for
disadvantaged children or those who face barriers to learning. For example, although staff
can identify when children require additional support with speech and language, they do not
have strategies in place to meet these needs effectively.
Children develop physical skills well across the nursery. Staff hold babies' hands and
encourage them to walk to the garden. Toddlers enjoy wheeling bicycles around the outdoor
track. Older children confidently run and play with friends. Children also develop secure
social skills and enjoy spending time with their peers.

Inclusion Needs attention
Leaders do not focus sufficiently on removing barriers to learning for all children. Staff do not
consistently consider each child's individual needs or provide appropriate support. This
includes adapting routines, adjusting the learning environment and tailoring teaching so that
all children can make the progress that they are capable of. For example, staff recognise
that some children, such as those who speak English as an additional language, require
support with communication and language. However, they do not consistently promote this
during children's play. As a result, these children often play alone for extended periods with
limited interaction. This does not support the development of early speech skills effectively.
Leaders acknowledge the need to strengthen the professional development programme to
ensure that timely support for children is secured and implemented well.
The provision for some children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is more
consistent than the provision for other children. Staff typically identify children's needs
through observation and carry out regular assessments to pinpoint any gaps in learning. For
these children, leaders work closely with external professionals, including speech and
language therapists and local authority advisers. They use their guidance to enhance
practice.
Overall, leaders build positive relationships with families to promote collaborative support.
However, the attendance of some vulnerable children remains inconsistent. Leaders'
monitoring and evaluation systems are not yet precise enough to demonstrate the impact of
current strategies or to ensure swift adjustments when needed.
Leadership and governance Needs attention
Systems for leadership oversight are not yet sufficiently effective in securing consistent
improvement in practice. Although leaders have a clear vision for the curriculum's intent,
staff do not consistently receive the support they need to implement it well. Leaders have
identified training needs to develop staff skills. However, they do not consistently role-model
expectations or support those staff who are still learning how to apply these in practice.
Nevertheless, some staff do access training to develop their knowledge, such as specific
training on baby development. This has had a positive impact on their understanding of
early development and their confidence in meeting babies' needs.
Leaders' supervision, monitoring of practice, coaching and wider professional development
opportunities are not yet effective. They do not strengthen staff knowledge and skills well
enough, which slows the pace of improvement. Leaders have identified some areas for
development within the nursery and have begun to take steps to address them. For
example, they have recently created a new baby room to provide younger babies with a
calm and spacious environment that supports their individual routines. However, plans for
other areas of improvement are still at an early stage and have not yet had the required
impact. For instance, the nursery's approach to establishing consistent routines for children
is not yet effective. Nonetheless, staff appreciate the support that leaders offer for their
wellbeing.
Partnerships with parents and carers are effective. Parents describe staff as friendly and
supportive. They say their children develop confidence and social skills. Staff use an online

app to share information about children's learning. Parents value the detailed handovers
they receive at pick-up time. This contributes to effective communication between home and
the nursery. It also helps parents to feel well informed about their children's experiences and
progress.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
The curriculum is not consistently ambitious enough to ensure that all children, including
those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing other barriers to
learning or wellbeing, make the progress they need in preparation for the next stage of
development. The quality of children's day-to-day interactions varies. Some staff do not
consistently use these moments to extend children's learning. Staff do not prioritise
children's communication and language development consistently across the nursery. This
means that children do not have consistent opportunities to deepen their understanding,
broaden their vocabulary and strengthen resilience in their learning. Even so, children are
happy and enjoy attending the nursery. They form warm and trusting relationships with staff,
who give them gentle cuddles when they need it.
During transitions between activities, staff do not apply their expectations for children's
behaviour consistently. This lack of consistency can disrupt routines for all children and, at
times, leads to a disorderly environment. Despite this, children enjoy exploring their
surroundings and the wide range of activities available. For example, older children
confidently build towers and measure them to see if they can make them 'higher'. Younger
children giggle with delight and babble to their key persons as they experiment with drawing
using crayons. These experiences help children to develop positive attitudes to their play.
Children enjoy spending time outdoors, where they have rich opportunities to explore, climb,
construct and engage in imaginative play. Such experiences support children's physical
development, creativity and cooperation. Many children show growing confidence and
independence as they manage self-care routines, such as handwashing, pouring drinks and,
for babies, feeding themselves with spoons.
Next steps
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the
following actions by the assigned date:

Inspector:
Mandy Cooper
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2498862
Action Completion Date
monitor and improve the delivery of the curriculum to
support staff to consistently extend children's learning
through high-quality interactions across the setting
12/06/2026
ensure that all staff undertake appropriate training,
supervision sessions and professional development so
they can fulfil their leadership roles effectively and
consistently meet all children's individual needs
12/06/2026
implement effective systems to monitor practice and
ensure that improvements are identified and addressed
swiftly, to foster a culture of continuous improvement
12/06/2026
support staff to implement routines and manage
children's behaviour more consistently to promote
children's understanding of the expectations for their
behaviour
12/06/2026
ensure that leaders support staff to swiftly identify
children's individual needs and/or any barriers to
learning and implement adaptations to ensure children
make the progress of which they are capable of.
12/06/2026
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, parents, carers and children 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:
188 Wycombe Road
Prestwood
Great Missenden
Buckinghamshire
HP16 0HJ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 13/02/2019
Registered person: Flower Pots Day Nursery Childcare Ltd
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:30
Local authority: Buckinghamshire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 18 May 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
101
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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