Country Tots Childcare NW

Country Tots Childcare NW
Unique reference number (URN): 2847415
Address: Linmoor, Ireleth Brow, Askam-in-furness, LA16 7HD
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 12/09/2025
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Country Tots Childcare NW Partnership
Inspection report: 3 June 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
Achievement Strong standard
Children make significant progress and achieve consistently well across all areas of
learning. From the earliest stages, communication and language are prioritised, with
children confidently using ambitious vocabulary. Children benefit from a consistently high
focus on personal, social and emotional development. Toddlers explore and name emotions
when exploring stories and songs, supporting early understanding of their own wellbeing.
For example, children make expressive faces in mirrors as they learn.
All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those
known or previously known to social care, show sustained focus and positive attitudes to
learning. They are polite and treat one another with respect and kindness. Children build
strong relationships with peers, playing collaboratively and cooperating harmoniously. For
example, they work together and share that they 'are making rainbow cakes' with baking tins
in the outdoor areas. Children learn to share and take turns to build excellent emotional
resilience and empathy, with careful guidance from staff who have consistently high
expectations.
Learning continuously builds on what children already know and can do. Children explore
puzzles, mark making and numbers within the provision. For instance, children sit and
explore tape measures and look for the numbers that are significant to them, proudly
naming and identifying them with friends and staff. This varied approach keeps learning
interesting and focused, ensuring children secure breadth and depth in knowledge and
skills. Children are confident and independent young learners.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Leaders have embedded a wholesome environment where all children thrive and achieve.
Children consistently reach their full potential. Leaders are finely attuned to children's
individualism and uniqueness and celebrate this through wide-ranging invitations to play.
Children are excited to attend, and leaders are proactive and quick to identify non-
attendance. They act swiftly in collaboration with parents to support them as needed. This
decisive and rigorous approach supports children and families, including those with special
educational needs and/or disabilities and those known or previously known to social care, to
establish a strong foundation for regular attendance as children move on to school.
Positive and nurturing relationships ensure children confidently follow routines that are well
rooted in high expectations. Staff are positive role models and, as a result, children
demonstrate excellent behaviour and have a strong sense of belonging. For instance, they
warmly include new adults in their play and excitedly show them resources. The children
have extremely positive attitudes to learning and, with the ongoing support of staff, children
consistently show high levels of perseverance. When children encounter problems, they
tackle them both independently and together as a team. Any disputes are promptly dealt
with. The clear boundaries set by staff offer a fair and nurturing response, which children are
highly responsive to.

Children are remarkably independent in their sleep routines, which is fostered by highly
impactful teaching and careful monitoring by staff. For example, children get into their beds,
listen to white noise and happily settle down to sleep.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Leaders are thorough and rigorous in their approach to policies, which are consistently
reviewed and refined to prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing. Leaders and staff have a
high level of understanding of these and embed them with great success in a safe
environment where all children explore and thrive.
Staff have a precise knowledge and understanding of the children. They build highly trusting
relationships and regularly ask children how they are feeling. For instance, children who are
upset are promptly given the support and care they need to recognise and manage their
emotions. Staff successfully encourage children's independence skills. For example,
children are highly self-sufficient in dressing and undressing when transitioning between
indoor and outdoor play. Older children confidently serve their own lunch meals and
proficiently use a knife and fork. While eating, staff closely supervise and help children to
understand the benefit food has for their bodies through impactful conversations. This
creates a solid foundation for adopting healthy habits. Staff vigilantly ensure children's
dietary requirements are closely followed, while ensuring a balanced diet. A coloured plate
system and individualised information cards on chairs support newer staff to learn systems
quickly and effectively.
Individualised and meticulous consideration is given to settling children. Leaders make
every effort to give them a calm and positive early experience. For example, if children
become upset, staff offer caring support and read a book until they feel more settled.
Parents express full confidence in staff's care, noting that they understand their child's
routines, preferences and needs. Leaders and staff consistently ensure that each child,
including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known or
previously known to social care, feels safe, valued and supported, reinforcing children's
deep sense of belonging.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Leaders design a highly inclusive curriculum that is ambitious, creative and decidedly
responsive to children's interests and uniqueness. Staff place a high priority on developing
children's communication and language skills. They ensure that every conversation they
have with children reinforces and extends children's vocabulary and speaking ability. Staff
give children time to practise and embed new language and skills through purposefully
planned learning opportunities. They are highly effective in every interaction and take full
advantage of every teaching moment that arises, for example, exploring movement words
such as 'jump', 'leap' and 'stretch' while some children are completing obstacle courses.
Other children can be heard using 'squeeze' and 'spray' when using spray bottles to wash
toys.
Teaching is consistently purposeful and responsive. Staff's in-depth knowledge of each
child's unique needs and stage of development allows them to plan short, sharp, impactful
sessions that spark the children's curiosity. They incorporate meaningful learning into each

invitation to play. For example, staff make excellent use of being situated on a working farm
by feeding sheep on daily field walks and exploring life cycles as they watch chicks grow.
Through high-quality interactions, leaders and staff swiftly identify gaps in learning. Staff's
clear planning creates a consistent pathway, ensuring learning is revisited and embedded
over time. The team ensures that the curriculum is adapted effectively to ensure children,
including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those known or
previously known to social care, can fully participate. Parents are very positive about staff's
support for children's bespoke needs. They state this is a true reflection of the dedication of
the team, which is finely attuned to their child's needs, and they praise its hard work.
Inclusion Strong standard
Leaders consistently consider children's uniqueness and make systematic and robust
adaptations to their curriculum to best support each child. They promptly identify children's
individual needs through clear assessment processes. Plans are continually under review
with parents, so they remain highly focused. Leaders' knowledge and understanding of how
best to utilise external professional support is evident. This builds trust, shared
understanding and support, which is significantly praised by parents.
The collaborative approach leaders take ensures all children, including those facing barriers
to their learning, can thrive. Leaders implement interventions to ensure that barriers to
learning are effectively addressed for those children with special educational needs and/or
disabilities and those known or previously known to social care. Leaders use their
knowledge of children's interests to pique their curiosity in all invitations to play. Therefore,
all children benefit from rich, tailored experiences and opportunities that are inclusive of their
individual needs.
Regular professional development and reflective practice ensure that the leaders apply
strategies consistently and impactfully. Staff skilfully apply learning from training in daily
practice. For example, enhancements added to provision linked to children's interests see
those who face barriers to learning engage with high levels of focus. Staff systematically
adapt activities to bespoke next steps, so children are successful. As a result, all children
make significant progress in communication, emotional development and independence,
reflecting the high success of this inclusive approach.
Leadership and governance Strong standard
Leaders are passionate and highly reflective. They systematically evaluate the setting's
practices and implement initiatives that drive improvement through continuous development.
Leaders have a clear action plan forecasting the goals for the coming years and are
consistently ambitious in their aspirations. This highly impactful approach reflects the
dedication to care, teaching and support for all children, their families and staff.
Through consistent and proactive supervision, leaders cultivate strong collaboration among
staff, parents and external professionals. They hold the children's best interests at the heart
of all they do and continually strive to offer them the best experiences and opportunities that
support their individual learning needs. Leaders are proactive in their approach to supporting
children with barriers to learning. For example, children with special educational needs

and/or disabilities and those who are known or previously known to social care, gain swift
support from external agencies. Interventions are promptly in place, and funding is used to
close gaps effectively. Parents are kept well informed and are consistently supported by
leaders to continue their children's successful learning and development at home. Parents
share their delight and gratitude for the ongoing support leaders provide, describing the
pivotal role they play in their child's developmental journey. This further secures
partnerships, enabling children to consistently achieve and thrive.
Leaders place a high emphasis on staff's wellbeing and professional development. Staff
report feeling supported through an open-door culture, regular check-ins and tailored
training opportunities. For example, new staff are given time to shadow more experienced
colleagues. This helps them to develop confidence and competence, ensuring all children
receive safe, attentive and knowledgeable care.
Leaders make positive links within the local area, signposting families to play groups, events
of interest and sessions that will broaden the children's experiences. They reach out to local
schools to support transitions for those children who are reaching the end of their journey
with them to ensure they have the best possible start to school. Leaders' willingness to strive
for the very best for their children is reflected in their consistent, self-evaluative approach to
leadership. This focused attitude results in securing excellent outcomes for all children in
their care.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are safe and extremely well cared for. They thrive in a nurturing environment where
they feel valued and supported. Children build highly secure relationships with staff, and
each child's success and wellbeing are at the forefront of staff's intentions. As a result, all
children demonstrate a clear sense of belonging and are confident, independent young
learners. Children are valued as individuals, and their interests are celebrated through
carefully crafted activities that pique their curiosity.
Children arrive happy and welcome peers into their play and learning. They are consistently
well supported by staff who engage in high-quality interactions alongside them. Children
form trusting relationships with staff, confidently approaching them for support and to share
learning. Children benefit from invitations to play that are purposeful, have clear intent and
offer experiences that create awe and wonder. For example, outside, the youngest children
make excited sounds as they jump up and down watching bubbles that blow in the wind.

Inspector:
Nic Henson
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2847415
Address:
Linmoor
Ireleth Brow
Children behave well and demonstrate kindness and respect towards others. The
environment is calm, purposeful and inclusive, where all children can participate. Children,
including those who face barriers to their learning, make sustained progress in speaking
clearly in well-considered sentences with expression and understanding. They enjoy rich,
engaging learning experiences that build on what they know and can do. Children access
activities that enhance opportunities to meet specific needs. For example, enhancements of
children's interests are carefully incorporated into the provision to encourage interaction and
communication. Parents share the significant impact this has had on their children's
confidence at home and in the community as it supports increasing independence. Babies
babble and speak to one another, and the oldest children read stories to one another lying in
a reading wigwam. Children enjoy mastering new words that staff systematically and
thoroughly introduce. For example, youngest children say 'drip' and 'scoop' and older
children are tackling language such as 'squash' and 'mixture'.
Next steps
Leaders should ensure continued improvement in the setting's successful work to remove
barriers for children who need extra help to realise a transformational impact on all
children's achievements and wellbeing.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs and
disabilities coordinator, children and 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.

Askam-in-furness
LA16 7HD
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 12/09/2025
Registered person: Country Tots Childcare NW Partnership
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:15 - 18:00
Local authority: Westmorland and Furness
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 3 June 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
51
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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