Voyage @ Flash Ley

Voyage @ Flash Ley
Unique reference number (URN): EY423177
Address: Flash Ley Cp School, Hawksmoor Road, STAFFORD, ST17 9DR
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 20/05/2011
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Flash Ley CP School Governing Body
Inspection report: 12 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.

Strong standard
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Leaders and staff have created a calm, harmonious environment with clear and consistent
expectations for behaviour. Routines are well embedded, and staff model kindness with a
gentle, calm approach. They encourage children to try new things. For example, offering
support and praise as children use balance bikes. This helps children feel proud and eager
to learn. Babies and children enjoy playing with friends, sharing, taking turns and helping to
tidy up. Staff manage behaviour sensitively and understand each child's individual needs
extremely well. Consistent strategies across the setting help children manage their feelings,
make positive choices and learn how to get along with others.
Children benefit from nurturing and trusting relationships with their key persons. They feel
motivated and excited to learn as staff provide frequent praise. Babies and children seek
cuddles and reassurance, which strengthen their emotional wellbeing and security.
Attendance is rigorously monitored. Leaders promote punctuality and regular attendance to
help families establish excellent habits that support children's learning.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Leaders and staff consistently prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing. They have a sharp
focus on strengthening policies, procedures and practice. Staff fully understand children's
individual needs. This includes those children with special educational needs and/or
disabilities, disadvantaged children and those children facing other barriers to their learning
and/or wellbeing.
Care practices are respectful, consistent and well embedded. Sleeping, feeding and toileting
practices are adapted to meet all children's needs. Secure, responsive relationships support
children's emotional wellbeing. Children are encouraged to develop independence through,
for example, handwashing, accessing drinking water and wiping their own noses.
Mealtimes are enriching social experiences. Children form warm friendships and babies and
older children are supervised extremely well. Babies are encouraged to feed themselves,
while older children independently serve their own fruit and drinks. Children enjoy healthy,
nutritious snacks and meals, such as oranges, bananas and cheese and potato pie with
peas. They comment on flavours, saying the orange tastes sour and link their learning to
familiar stories, like 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'.
Staff promote physical development effectively. Children enjoy fresh air outdoors and learn
about the importance of being active. Babies and children are supported to recognise and
express their emotions, while older children talk about their feelings and use stories to help
them understand and manage them.

Expected standard
Inclusion Strong standard
Leaders and staff have embedded an inclusive culture across the setting. They are highly
knowledgeable and build secure relationships with families. Staff identify children's needs
swiftly and work consistently to remove barriers, ensuring children and families receive the
support they need.
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those facing other barriers to
their learning and/or wellbeing, receive exceptional support. Close partnerships with
parents, the on-site school and professionals, such as speech and language therapists,
enable children to access personalised provision. Staff make thoughtful adjustments, offer
quiet spaces, deliver targeted language interventions and provide fine motor activities.
Timely referrals and staff training on the graduated approach further ensure children's needs
are met.
Leaders and staff carefully consider how to use additional funding to benefit each child. For
example, they provide enhanced 'wow experiences', such as visits from the animal man and
opportunities to watch chicks hatch. Children also visit the school library and explore the
local community, helping them broaden their knowledge beyond their everyday environment.
Achievement Expected standard
Generally, all children are developing age-appropriate knowledge and skills across all 7
areas of learning and development. Children have learned new vocabulary, such as full and
empty. Babies babble with enjoyment, and toddlers use new words in their play. Children
enjoy stories, songs and rhymes, and talk about pictures in books. As a result, all children
are becoming confident communicators.
All children typically demonstrate a readiness for their next stage of learning and
development. Babies and children show curiosity, confidence and increasing independence.
They follow routines, work well with their friends and manage tasks, such as toileting,
handwashing and feeding themselves. However, staff do not always focus their teaching
and interactions consistently enough to help babies and children make even more progress
in their learning and development.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have designed an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum across all 7 areas of
learning. Staff understand this curriculum and use children's interests and information from
parents to plan effectively. Through ongoing observation, staff identify next steps for learning
and development. The children benefit from a tailored approach that supports their age and
stage of development.
Communication and language are a key focus. Staff model language, comment as children
play and introduce new vocabulary, such as squeeze, splat and stretch during play dough

activities. They also introduce concepts like 'under' and 'behind'. However, staff do not
always extend children's ideas through, for example, open-ended questions to support their
understanding even further.
Children are developing a love of books. They independently select books and engage in
story time. Babies and younger children enjoy singing songs and rhymes. For example,
'Round and Round the Garden' and 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and joining in with smiles
and actions. This contributes to children's developing communication and language skills.
Leaders and staff prioritise children's personal, social and emotional development. Children
are supported to manage their feelings, including children with special educational needs
and/or disabilities. They are developing strength and coordination through mark making with
chalk and paint, crawling through tunnels, climbing slides and enjoying outdoor play.
Building towers with bricks and using balance bikes help children develop balance and
physical confidence.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Since the last inspection, leaders and those responsible for governance have taken clear
steps to drive significant improvement. They are passionate and committed to giving all
children, including disadvantaged pupils, those with special educational needs and/or
disabilities and those facing other barriers, the best start to their education. Collaboration
with the on-site school has contributed to improving practice.
Leaders have an understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement. Typically, they
use ongoing evaluation and feedback to improve practice. When concerns about children's
learning arise, leaders act quickly. They work closely with staff, other professionals and
external agencies to ensure children receive the right support. Staff feel supported by
leaders. Regular supervision helps staff to reflect on their practice and identify any further
support needed. While leaders have identified and planned for professional development, it
has not yet had a maximum impact on staff practice.
Communication with parents is effective. Parents value the support offered and the progress
their children have made, in particular with speech and language. They also appreciate the
personalised settling-in routines that help children adjust quickly.
Transitions to and from the nursery are well managed. Leaders and staff share information
effectively, work closely with the school nursery and welcome visits from teachers to ensure
continuity of care. This helps to prepare children for their next stage of education.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are nurtured and well cared for by warm and thoughtful staff. Babies benefit from
calm, gentle interactions and they explore their environment with curiosity. They settle
extremely well and form trusting relationships. Staff greet parents and older children at the
door. They support children to hang up their coats and bags, find their photographs to
register and settle quickly to play and learn. These consistent, well-established routines help
children feel confident and ready to learn.
Children develop secure relationships with their key person. They approach staff for cuddles
and confidently share their experiences. Staff know children extremely well and genuinely
care for them. They expertly identify and remove barriers to learning so all children can join
in. For example, they provide visual cues and quiet spaces when needed. This helps every
child feel valued, included and able to thrive.
Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged
children and others who face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, enjoy their learning.
Babies confidently crawl in and out of tunnels, go up and down the slide, and laugh during
hide-and-seek games, such as peekaboo. Children work together as they take turns on the
stepping stones, showing control and balance.
Older children take part in sound bingo, matching animals by listening for initial sounds.
Staff support them by modelling clear language, for example saying 'd-d-d' and children
responding 'dinosaur'. Children identify the correct picture on their board with delight. Staff
continue to model language throughout play, helping children copy new words and build
their vocabulary. As a result, all children make progress from their individual starting points
and are well prepared for their next steps in learning and development.
Leaders and staff work closely with parents to promote excellent attendance and punctuality.
Robust systems are in place to ensure children attend regularly.
Next steps
Leaders should support staff to extend and develop children's ideas by, for example,
asking open-ended questions to support their understanding even further.
Leaders should support staff to embed consistently high-quality interactions to build on
children's knowledge and skills to help them make even more progress.
Leaders should strengthen professional learning opportunities for staff to enhance their
teaching practice.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinator, the
nominated individual, parents and children during the inspection.

Inspector:
Reena Rai-Aheer
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY423177
Address:
Flash Ley Cp School
Hawksmoor Road
STAFFORD
ST17 9DR
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 20/05/2011
Registered person: Flash Ley CP School Governing Body
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 17:30
Local authority: Staffordshire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 12 February 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of 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.

0 to 4
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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