The Old School House Day Nursery

The Old School House Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2597717
Address: Church Lane, Middleton, Tamworth, B78 2AW
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 25/08/2020
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Middleton Daycare Group Limited
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
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Staff consistently follow effective procedures to promote children's health and welfare. For
example, staff implement effective hygiene procedures. Children wash their hands after
playing and before eating. After lunch, staff encourage children with their self-care skills,
such as wiping their faces with individual facecloths. Staff promote healthy lifestyles and
serve nutritious meals. They talk to children about the different-coloured food. Children talk
confidently about which food groups are good for their bodies and why. For example,
children say that purple food works like magic to keep their brain healthy. They know that
blueberries are purple.
Children show warm, respectful and caring relationships with their peers and staff. Families
have positive relationships with the key person for their child. Leaders and staff know the
children who attend exceedingly well. Regular opportunities to share information with
parents and carers allow them to celebrate their child's achievements. Staff are respectful
towards children and their personal care needs. They ask and encourage children to have
their nappy changed. Staff work closely with parents to ensure consistency with toilet
training, and this is started in the younger children's rooms. Leaders work hard to take steps
to ensure children's safety. Recent changes to the premises and environment ensure
children's safety and wellbeing are consistently maintained.
Inclusion Strong standard
Leaders and staff strive to continually ensure that every child is fully included at the setting.
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who may have
barriers to their learning are exceedingly well supported. All children and staff learn British
Sign Language. This is fully embedded into staff's interactions with children. This helps
children to communicate with their friends who have a hearing impairment. It also supports
staff to communicate effectively with children who may be delayed with their speech and
language. Leaders ensure that adaptations that are made to the environment are fully
inclusive for all children. For example, they are introducing physical acoustic ceiling panels
that reduce background noise to help support children who may struggle with hearing.
All children undergo regular and rigorous observations and assessments. Those children
who staff identify as requiring more help receive support by the implementation of an 8 week
specific target plan of support. This early intervention enables rapid progress in children's
learning and development. These timely observations help staff to gather early evidence to
support any referrals that may be required to obtain specialist support for children who may
need it. Highly effective working partnerships with various local authorities and agencies
from those staff responsible for children with SEND ensure that expert knowledge and
support is always available. This means all children make noticeable progress from their
starting points.

Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
Children thrive within this fully inclusive setting. All children, including those with special
educational needs and/or disabilities and who may have barriers in their learning, acquire
the skills and knowledge across all areas of learning. This prepares children well for school
and future learning. Children enjoy singing action songs with their friends or listening to
familiar stories with staff. They develop their understanding of the wider world. For example,
children enjoy finding pictures of the real animals to match with the illustrated animals of a
favourite book. Children's emotional needs and sense of belonging are supported well.
Babies enjoy looking at pictures of themselves and their families, which have been hidden in
sand.
Children learn to listen and follow instructions. They line up when asked to and help staff to
tidy up and put their toys away. Children develop their mathematical knowledge, such as
they learn about colours, shapes and counting. For example, they count while playing hide
and seek or look at numbers while playing hopscotch. Overall, all children make progress
from their starting points and become confident learners. However, the curriculum is not
consistently embedded in the rooms for younger children. Occasionally, they lose
engagement with the activities and their learning is not fully extended.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Children have a positive attitude to their learning. They are eager to try new things and
make firm friendships with others. Staff are positive role models. They have high
expectations for children and their behaviour. Staff help children to develop sense of right
and wrong. They encourage children to take turns and share with their friends. On the
whole, children behave well. Staff support children to manage any conflicts that may arise.
Some work is still needed within the younger rooms on the implementation of the curriculum.
There are times when children lose interest in their chosen activity because it does not meet
their needs. This leads to children walking from one place to another. This disrupts other
children in their learning as they take or want the same toy.
Well-established routines help children to become familiar about what is going to happen.
Staff have a consistent approach to inclusion, supporting all children, including those with
special educational needs and/or disabilities, to follow the routines alongside their peers.
They have picture boards that depict what is happening now and what is going to happen
next. This helps children to have smooth transitions from one activity to another.
Leaders promote and monitor children's attendance. Families understand the importance of
establishing positive habits in preparation for school. Strategic leadership and oversight of
routines allow staff to raise issues that impact on children and their behaviour. Recently, staff
raised lunchtime for the older children, such a large group, impacting on noise levels and
behaviour. Leaders worked with staff, and lunchtime is now in more than one sitting. This
has reduced the noise levels and unwanted behaviour. It has had a positive impact on
children.

Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum. It is sequenced to provide children with the
skills they need to succeed and be ready for their eventual move to school. The curriculum
aims are for children to be resilient, independent and confident. Staff deliver the curriculum
through planned activities following the interest of individual children. It continually enhances
and extends children's knowledge and learning. For example, younger children show an
interest in colours staff provide them with different-coloured paper for children to make
marks with crayons. Older children learn how to make different colours by mixing different
coloured paints with water. They use pipettes to squeeze and squirt the new colours they
have made.
There are times, however, during some activities where the learning intention is not fully
achieved. This is because activities are not entirely age-appropriate and children have not
yet learned some of the skills they require to participate. For example, children are provided
with crayons to draw with before they have learned how to hold them. This means children
do not consistently understand the purpose behind the activity and their current learning is
not being built on effectively.
Staff fully support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to access the
curriculum alongside their friends through high-quality interactions with staff. Staff make
adaptations to activities, so they are inclusive for all children. They sign some of the
instructions to help children know what is expected of them.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Following a difficult period for the provider, leaders and staff have taken appropriate action
to ensure that all the requirements of the early years foundation stage are fully met. Newly
fitted gates and locking systems ensure that the premises and outdoor space remains
secure. Documentation is readily available. Staff have received further training and support
for the consistent implementation of the policies and procedures to ensure children's
wellbeing. Staff deployment is effective in ensuring that children are always within sight
and/or hearing and both at mealtimes and sleep times. The management of children's
dietary requirements for allergens has been strengthened. Further monitoring and oversight
from senior room leads have been introduced. This ensures that children's safety is
maintained.
Recent recruitment ensures that staffing levels are maintained. Staff report good morale with
an open and positive culture. They are listened to by leaders, and training for continued
professional development is available. Leaders recognise that with a new cohort of staff the
curriculum needs further embedding within the younger rooms. They acknowledge that
sometimes activities are not always age or stage appropriate, which means children can
lose interest quite quickly. Effective partnerships mean that parents and carers are happy
with the care their children receive. They especially value the outdoor space and learning
opportunities within this. Staff share information through an online app. They provide
opportunities for parents to come into the setting for various celebration days. The setting
also offers a 'help yourself takeaway service' for parents. There are free drinks and
sometimes food available for busy parents on the go.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children separate with ease from their parents and carers. Those children who are unsure
receive lots of positive encouragement from staff. They receive support within the rooms as
staff complete familiar routines, such as looking at their favourite story to support children's
emotional wellbeing. Staff offer children reassurance and cuddles in abundance. This helps
children to settle and feel safe and secure.
Older children have free access to the vast outdoors area all day no matter what the
weather. There is a hive of activity as staff provide learning experiences for children in line
with their interests, which ignite a curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Children eagerly take
part in a treasure hunt. They work cooperatively together as they find hidden pictures of
insects around the garden and cross them off their lists. Children practise their physical skills
and manage taking age-appropriate risks safely as they balance on beams laid across tyres.
All children benefit from being outdoors as each age group of children has their own
dedicated garden space.
Younger children enjoy sensory play as they melt ice cubes in their hands and let the water
drip into cornflour to make gloop. Children recall past knowledge they have learned as they
remember ice is made from water. Staff support children to explore the materials and talk
about how it feels. Children squish cornflour together to make 'snowballs'. This helps to
strengthen their small muscles.
Young babies are supported to explore their environment and build on their developing
physical skills. Staff encourage babies to explore bubble wrap stuck to the floor with paint
underneath. Children pop the bubbles with their hands and squish the paint making
patterns. Those children who are more mobile receive encouragement to walk across the
bubble wrap supported by staff holding their hands. Staff are positive role models. They
praise children for their achievements and when they have worked hard. Children benefit
from support to manage and understand their own feelings and those of their friends. Staff
support children to manage conflict by talking to them calmly and explaining why we need to
share. This builds and supports children's self-esteem.
Next steps
Leaders should review the learning intentions behind activities to ensure that they are age
and stage appropriate to continually engage children in purposeful play to extend their

Inspector:
Johanna Holt
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2597717
Address:
Church Lane
Middleton
Tamworth
B78 2AW
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 25/08/2020
Registered person: Middleton Daycare Group Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:15 - 18:00
Local authority: Warwickshire
learning even further.
Leaders should continue to support staff to fully embed the curriculum in the younger
children's rooms to ensure that it meets their individual needs.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinator, parents
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.
A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection.

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
76
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
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and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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