Broughton Manor Nursery

Broughton Manor Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2865958
Address: Broughton Manor Preparatory School, Broughton, Milton Keynes, MK10 9AA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 02/10/2025
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Broughton Manor Prep School Limited
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.

Urgent improvement
Achievement Urgent improvement
Children are not well prepared for their next steps in learning. They do not make sufficient
progress from their starting points on entry to the setting. They do not develop the
appropriate knowledge and skills for their age due to poor-quality interactions and the low
expectations staff have about what children can achieve.
Leaders have not ensured that staff have an understanding of children's progress relevant to
their age and stage of development and that teaching is effective in practice. Any barriers to
learning or emerging concerns about children's development are not readily recognised by
leaders and staff. Children are not supported to develop into confident talkers. For example,
children make attempts at speech with dummies in their mouths, and staff do not recognise
the impact this has on their communication and language. During these conversations,
children's responses cannot be heard, and they cannot practise sounds and word formation.
Children are restricted in developing into confident talkers because staff do not focus on
promoting their speech well enough.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement
Leaders provide staff with training to encourage their understanding of how to support
children throughout the daily routine. However, although staff generally follow children's
home routines, especially when they are very young, they do not follow established safe
sleeping procedures during these routines. As a result, they do not promote children's
welfare well, particularly during sleep times.
Children behave well, but they lack the motivation and stimulation they need to develop
positive attitudes to learning. Activities are sometimes mundane and coupled with weak
teaching. Children do not show excitement, interest or engagement in activities. Children
form close attachments with staff, but sometimes this becomes over-reliance. As the delivery
of the curriculum is weak, children are happy to simply sit on adults' laps or be carried
around rather than taking part in learning. While this meets their basic emotional need for
comfort, it does not promote their independence and confidence or expand on their social
relationships and connections with others.
Leaders encourage children's attendance and understand reasons for absence, such as ill-
health or family holidays. Visual timetables help children to understand what will happen
next to support them during changes in the routine.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement
Despite recent training, leaders have not ensured that staff consistently follow safe sleeping
procedures. Some staff place young children to sleep on soft cushions rather than firm
mattresses. This does not comply with national guidance or the nursery's own policy and
places children's health and safety at risk.

Leaders do not ensure that staff consistently follow procedures for managing children's
allergies so that children are not given known food allergens. This weakness in practice
compromises children's health and welfare. Leaders have acknowledged these weaknesses
in practice, which have occurred since the last inspection, and have identified further training
for staff in an attempt to minimise this risk going forward.
Staff do not manage the use of dummies effectively. Children use dummies throughout the
day, and staff do not discourage their continual use, even when children do not need them
for comfort. Some children wear dummies on clips attached to their clothing. When children
play, their dummies drag on the floor and are then returned to their mouths. This is
unhygienic and poses a risk to children's health.
Staff are warm and caring. However, some have a weak understanding of children's
development. As a result, they do not always recognise or respond appropriately to
children's individual needs. Although children form close attachments with staff, some
become overly dependent on them. This limits children's independence and their ability to
explore, which restricts their progress in personal, social and emotional development.
Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement
Leaders have started to review and develop plans for embedding the curriculum. This
includes supporting staff's understanding through training. However, this has not been
effective. Leaders do not ensure that the training staff receive translates into their practice.
At times, teaching is weak. The activities are uninspiring, and not all staff can explain what
they want children to learn. Sometimes, the focus for children's next steps in learning is not
fully relevant to their needs.
Leaders have not ensured that staff have a sufficient understanding of child development.
As a result, their assessments of children's learning lack ambition and reflect the
expectations for much younger children. Staff do not have high enough ambition for what
children can achieve, and this limits their progress. Furthermore, this weakness affects
staff's capacity to recognise when there are gaps in children's learning. Assessments are
shared with parents, meaning that they are given inaccurate and unhelpful information of
what their children know and can do. This hampers their ability to support children's learning
at home.
Staff do not recognise factors that can impact on children's development. For example,
many children across the nursery use dummies throughout the day, even when content and
settled. When staff talk to children, they do not encourage them to remove their dummy. As
a result, children speak out of the corner of their mouth or in a muffled manner. This inhibits
children's ability to practise sounds and words when their speech is first emerging.
Consequently, children are not supported well enough to develop their communication and
language.
Inclusion Urgent improvement
Children with emerging special educational needs and/or disabilities do not make sufficient
progress over time. This is because the curriculum is not sufficiently known by staff.

Teaching lacks ambition and does not sufficiently take account of children's individual needs
and any barriers to their learning.
Assessments of children's learning are inconsistent and, in some cases, significantly
inaccurate. They do not reliably reflect children's current abilities or potential. As a result,
staff do not consistently plan or adapt learning experiences that build effectively on what
children know, understand and can do. Consequently, children do not make the sustained
progress of which they are capable. Furthermore, the weak assessments limit staff's ability
to identify concerns promptly or take appropriate and timely action when additional support
is needed.
Leaders implement some appropriate strategies to aid communication, which is particularly
beneficial for children who speak English as an additional language. For example, staff use
picture boards and visual timetables to help children understand routines and transitions
throughout the day. This helps them to anticipate what will happen next and provides a level
of reassurance.
Leadership and governance Urgent improvement
Since the last inspection, a new leadership team is in place. Leaders acknowledge that
there are significant weaknesses in practice across the nursery. While they have identified
areas for development and have plans for improvement, these are at an early stage. It is too
soon to see any positive impact on the quality of provision or outcomes for children.
Leaders have arranged training for staff to improve their knowledge and practice. However,
they have not monitored the impact of this training closely enough to ensure that staff apply
what they have learned. As a result, staff demonstrate a poor understanding of the
curriculum and how to implement it effectively. Staff assessments of children's development
are inaccurate and lack ambition. Leaders do not routinely review these assessments to
check their accuracy before they are shared with parents. Consequently, parents receive an
unreliable and misleading account of their child's learning, development and progress.
Leaders' monitoring of staff practice is ineffective. They do not have a clear or accurate
overview of the day-to-day experiences of children in the rooms. Aspects of poor practice,
including unsafe sleep arrangements, ineffective mealtime routines and the inappropriate
management of children's use of dummies, have become routine. These weaknesses
compromise children's health, safety and overall experiences in the nursery.
As a result of previous insufficient monitoring and limited oversight of staff practice, children
do not receive a suitable standard of care and education. Therefore, at this time, some
leaders do not demonstrate that they have the capacity needed to bring about the necessary
improvements to ensure children receive a consistently safe, high-quality and effective early
years experience.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children do not consistently benefit from teaching that helps them to make suitable progress
in their learning. This is because the curriculum is not well understood or delivered. Although
children share warm and caring relationships with staff, they do not always receive the
stimulation and encouragement they need to become engaged in activities. Younger
children's speech and language development is not consistently supported, as staff do not
always identify barriers to communication, such as children using dummies for long periods.
This inhibits children's speech.
Children do not make the progress they are capable of because staff's assessments of
learning lack ambition. As a result, children's next steps are not precise or effective enough
to promote further development. Some children do not consistently engage in activities and
can become overly reliant on staff, which limits their confidence, enjoyment and ability to
play independently and alongside others. This is particularly evident for children who speak
English as an additional language. As opportunities for learning are sometimes uninspiring,
children do not have the desire to explore and develop positive attitudes towards their
learning.
Some appropriate strategies are in place for children who need additional support. These
include visual timetables and talking boxes, which particularly support children who speak
English as an additional language. Children take comfort in pressing the button on their
talking box to hear their parent's voice. Overall, children are generally settled.
Daily routines are not consistently managed to promote children's safety and wellbeing. For
example, some children are laid to sleep on cushions, which does not support safe sleep
practices.
Next steps
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the
following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion Date
implement and monitor safe sleeping arrangements for
children to ensure their welfare and wellbeing are
promoted at all times
12/05/2026
improve staff understanding of the curriculum so they
have high ambition and are clear about what children
need to know
12/05/2026

Inspector:
Hayley Marshall-Gowen
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2865958
Address:
Broughton Manor Preparatory School
Broughton
Action Completion Date
address weaknesses in the teaching of communication
and language, so that children receive the support they
need to become confident communicators
12/05/2026
improve staff knowledge so that they understand
expectations for children's development and are
competent to assess their progress and plan relevant
next steps to support them
12/05/2026
share valid, relevant and reliable information with
parents to enable them to support children's learning at
home
12/05/2026
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with the manager, headteacher, early years and foundation lead,
special educational needs coordinator, staff, children and parents during the inspection.
Since the last inspection, there has been a significant change in the leadership team.
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.
We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we
received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information
about this.

Milton Keynes
MK10 9AA
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 02/10/2025
Registered person: Broughton Manor Prep School Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Milton Keynes
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
0 to 2
Total number of places
48
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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