Applepips Day Nursery (Heritage House)

Applepips Day Nursery (Heritage House)
Unique reference number (URN): 2813342
Address: 80-82 Woodlands Avenue, Rustington, Littlehampton, BN16 3EY
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 30/10/2024
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Applepips Day Nursery Limited
Inspection report: 13 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.

Expected standard
Achievement Expected standard
All children make progress in their learning. Overall, staff support children well to close any
gaps in their knowledge. Children are developing their independence in their play choices
and everyday routines, such as mealtimes. Babies are given praise when they attempt to
put on a bib themselves. They delight in the gentle encouragement that they receive from
staff. Older children successfully negotiate a balance beam with a little support from staff.
They persevere when tasks feel difficult and celebrate with their friends when they achieve
for the first time. Children grow into confident and enthusiastic learners. They express
themselves and their ideas through talk, gesture and play. This includes children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities. Overall, children develop the knowledge, behaviours
and skills that they need for the next stage in their education, such as going to school.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Staff build warm and trusting bonds with children. This helps children to feel safe and secure
and fosters a sense of belonging. Staff act as positive role models and offer gentle praise
and guidance, which helps to reinforce positive behaviour. They recognise when some
children find it difficult to manage their behaviour, such as those with special educational
needs and/or disabilities. They provide strategies to help children to identify their emotions
and calm themselves. Consequently, some older children manage their behaviour with
confidence and resolve conflict with some support. However, staff do not yet consistently
help some children to understand that there are consequences to their behaviour or realise
how their actions affect others.
Babies' individual needs are effectively met as staff provide a very loving and tactile
approach and establish age- and stage-appropriate boundaries. Staff are aware that
routines are very important for the very youngest of children. They gather important
information from parents, such as sleep routines. This helps to support a successful
continuity of care between home and the nursery.
Leaders monitor children's attendance and promote punctuality. This practice helps to
influence children's positive future outcomes.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders and staff form strong relationships with children and their families. They recognise
the importance of doing this from the start when a child begins at the nursery. Staff respond
to children's unique needs and provide ongoing reassurance through the key-person
system, which helps to create a secure base from which to explore and learn. There is a
strong focus on supporting children's emotional needs, which helps children to feel safe and
ready to learn. Babies settle very quickly and develop trust in the staff who care for them.
Older children regularly invite staff to play with them. They enjoy listening to staff and telling
stories about what is important to them, such as life at home.

Staff support children's personal development effectively, particularly with independence.
With support, children are gently encouraged to tackle tasks such as handwashing and
feeding. Babies use cutlery and older children get themselves ready in preparation for
playing outside. Children benefit from a range of healthy, nutritious meals and snacks, and
parents are given the option of providing a healthy alternative meal from home. Healthy
lifestyles are promoted effectively, such as the importance of looking after teeth, and staff
ensure that safe eating and sleeping practices are followed rigorously.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have implemented a broad and balanced curriculum that effectively covers all areas
of learning. Staff know children very well and use children's interests and existing knowledge
to plan a variety of activities that motivate children to learn and help them to make progress
from their starting points. Staff create an environment that is rich in language. They become
involved in children's play and narrate what children are doing, modelling new vocabulary
and providing children with plenty of time to respond with their own ideas. Staff support the
emerging language of babies as they model new language and provide names for the
babies' actions, such as 'jump' and 'splash'.
Mathematical development is well supported. Children are encouraged to count petals
floating in water. Staff teach them about concepts such as volume and capacity as they play
with jugs and funnels in the water. Children have ample opportunities to develop their
physical skills as they run and negotiate obstacles in the garden. Babies delight as they are
invited to engage in the play of others. They reach for balls and squeal with delight when
they successfully kick them. Generally, staff are able to adapt activities to enable children
who are at a disadvantage to make progress in their learning.
Following the previous inspection, leaders have worked hard to strengthen staff
understanding of the curriculum so that learning opportunities are more purposeful and well
focused. However, staff training has yet to be fully embedded. This results in times when
children do not always receive the most effective teaching that fully extends their learning.
As a result, some learning can be more incidental than purposeful.
Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders and staff work in partnership with parents and other professionals, sharing
information so that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported.
Children are well prepared for their transitions throughout the nursery. Staff spend time
getting to know them as they move between rooms. They observe children's preferences in
play to help create a welcoming play environment and provide a close staff presence
throughout so that children can be given reassurances when needed.
Leaders gather information regarding children's culture and the languages spoken in the
home. This inclusive approach helps children and families feel valued. Staff closely observe
children during activities and play. They advocate for children and identify where they may
need additional support, and they promptly share this information with families and external

services when needed. Leaders evaluate the impact of any additional funding on the
experiences of disadvantaged children.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders and staff have worked hard to make the necessary improvements since the last
inspection. Leaders have a good oversight of the nursery and have identified areas that they
need to continue to develop or further embed. Leaders use observation, supervision and
regular reflection to monitor the impact of practice and make adjustments. This ensures that
improvements are purposeful and continue to support positive outcomes for all children.
Staff feed back that they feel valued and respected. They speak positively about the hands-
on approach of leaders and the continuous improvements that are being made. Leaders and
staff have established an inclusive culture where all children, including those with special
educational needs and/or disabilities, are successfully supported to make progress.
Parents mention that their children are very happy at the nursery. They value the warmth
and kindness of the long-standing staff team. They are confident that their children feel safe
and are secure.
Leaders provide ongoing professional development for staff and, through observation and
assessment, identify areas for future training. However, recent adaptations and staff training
have yet to be fully established throughout the nursery. This means that the areas that
leaders have recently identified for improvement and necessary consequent actions have
not yet been fully embedded throughout the nursery.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are confident and happy while they learn and play in this nursery. They
demonstrate that they feel safe and secure, and they show curiosity and a keenness to
explore new experiences. Children develop very positive relationships with other children.
They learn how to share and support one another. Older children nurture younger children,
who respond positively when they are included in games and play. All children make sound
progress from their starting points, including those with special educational needs and/or
disabilities. Leaders work well with external agencies and families to ensure that children
receive targeted support.

Inspector:
Tina Lambert
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2813342
Staff work hard to help children to develop a sense of belonging. They are warm and kind
and highly responsive to children's individual needs. Staff know children well and take time
to listen to what the children have to say, valuing their opinions. This approach helps
children to feel confident that they belong. The nursery's well-established routines contribute
to a calm atmosphere. Children are aware of what will happen next and are fully supported
through transitions. This successfully considers children's emotional wellbeing. Staff are
skilled at engaging in children's play to enhance and extend their learning. They
continuously offer praise, which builds children's self-esteem and confidence.
Children enjoy taking ownership of their environment, and they are confident to make
choices about where and what they want to play with. They are developing high levels of
independence. Older children put on their own coats, and younger children are learning to
use cutlery while eating. This growing independence boosts children's confidence and self-
esteem. They are developing skills that are needed for the future. Leaders monitor and
promote children's regular attendance. Parents are provided with information to support this.
As a result, children attend regularly and separate from parents quickly and with ease.
Next steps
Leaders should strengthen opportunities for training, coaching and monitoring of
individual staff's teaching skills to improve their knowledge of how to consistently
maximise children's learning experiences.
Leaders should support staff to consistently help children understand behavioural
expectations and learn that there are consequences to their actions.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke to leaders, practitioners, 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.

Address:
80-82 Woodlands Avenue, Rustington
Littlehampton
BN16 3EY
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 30/10/2024
Registered person: Applepips Day Nursery Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00
Local authority: West Sussex
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 13 February 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
25
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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