URN 2792988 · Inspected 2026-06-24 · Published 2026-08-07 · Inspector: Natalie Moir
Cherry Pie Day Nursery Unique reference number (URN): 2792988 Address: 151 Eastern Road, Brighton, BN2 0AG Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 21/06/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Cherry Pie Day Nursery Limited Inspection report: 24 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 Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard Leaders establish and embed routines in a well-structured environment. Staff clearly understand the expectations for children's behaviour and consistently apply these. They are extremely positive role models and provide consistent guidance. This enables children to develop secure social skills and positive attitudes to learning. Relationships between staff and children are warm and responsive. Staff know children extremely well and provide reassurance and support. This helps children to feel safe and develop high levels of self- confidence. This is particularly effective for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who require additional emotional support. Staff support children very well in working together, taking turns and helping each other during play and routines. They consistently encourage independence and resilience, and children develop a 'can-do' attitude. Children play harmoniously together. They engage confidently in activities as well as independent play. Leaders understand and promote the importance of children's attendance. They work closely with families to establish consistent routines and address any barriers. This ensures children attend regularly to fully benefit from the range of experiences on offer. Staff skilfully adapt their expectations and support in line with children's age, stage of development and individual needs. Children receive supported to understand their own and others' emotions as they grow. This enables children to show high levels of kindness and empathy. Children develop a deeper understanding of social connections, and learn courtesy and respect as they develop successful relationships. Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard Children's wellbeing is at the heart of everything staff do at this nursery. Children's welfare is promoted through effective and respectful care practices. Routines are adapted and flexible. For instance, staff tailor babies' milk times, weaning stages and sleep times to fully promote consistency between home and nursery. Staff know children, including those who may face barriers to their learning, very well. They adapt the provision and levels of support to ensure that children's physical and emotional needs are consistently considered and met. Secure attachments are a key strength. Key persons, as well as other staff, build close and responsive relationships with children. This enables children to feel safe and emotionally secure. As a result, children engage confidently in their learning, and form positive and inclusive relationships with others. Children receive support to develop an understanding of their health and wellbeing. Snack and mealtimes promote healthy eating and independence, and are a social time. Children learn how to keep themselves healthy. For example, older children learn how to brush their teeth and why this is important. Children develop positive hygiene routines from a young age. They receive support to think about the consequences to their actions as they learn to be safe. Staff actively teach children how to be safe in the sun and the importance of staying hydrated. Staff positively teach children about their differences and what makes them and others unique. These opportunities foster a solid foundation for children as they learn to be safe, and develop healthy habits and inclusivity. Staff support children to recognise and manage their emotions extremely effectively. Through consistent, familiar routines and targeted strategies, children develop skills to regulate their emotions and confidence. Routines and transitions are carefully planned and responsive. This enables children to feel secure and develop a solid sense of wellbeing, giving them confidence to succeed their next stage in learning. Inclusion Strong standard Children with special educational needs/and or disabilities, as well as those who face other barriers to their learning or wellbeing, are incredibly well supported. Leaders, alongside their staff team, are committed to ensuring these children are fully included and supported to make their best possible progress. Those staff with lead responsibility for inclusion have a robust understanding of their roles and responsibilities. This includes supporting the team to promptly identify any children who may need some extra support. They provide valuable training, guidance and ongoing advice to support staffs' knowledge in order to support children as unique individuals. In addition, there is a collaborative approach to supporting children. Staff working closely with specialists and other agencies, as well as parents and carers, to identify and respond to children's needs. This actively promotes continuity in children's care and learning. Staff's robust knowledge of children's needs, as well as any specialist advice, form personalised support plans. These focus on what matters most to help each child to succeed. This is shared with the entire team to ensure children receive bespoke support consistently. For instance, children who are yet to develop their spoken language benefit from highly effective signing and use of visual aids. This helps them to understand and prepare for what is happening next. In addition, older children independently use signing alongside their spoken words, which enables communication with all their friends. Staff facilitate a fully inclusive environment for all. Leaders carefully consider any additional funding that children are entitled to, ensuring it is best spent to make a difference. For instance, they use funding to provide children with additional sessions, reduce ratios to promote intensive support and provide access to a range of extra-curricular activities. There are rigorous monitoring systems in place to ensure the use of funding is having the desired impact on children's development, as well as their progress. Leadership and governance Strong standard The leadership team is dedicated, and drives continuous improvement. Since the nursery opened, leaders have continuously reflected on their provision. They have taken time to thoughtfully expand their staff team, adapt routines and are responsive to feedback from staff and parents and carers. Leaders demonstrate an accurate and perceptive understanding of the nursery's strengths. They quickly identify areas for ongoing development through their regular time spent in the rooms and work quickly, but diligently, to address them. Leaders work together, creating a positive working environment that is well established and fosters a culture of continuous improvement within the entire team. Leaders continue to support staff develop, and embed their teaching practice and high-quality interactions. They recognise that the high level of teaching and interactions they strive for Expected standard are not yet consistently embedded. As such, they are providing targeted mentorship, guidance and support to raise this over time. This is already having a positive impact. Staff receive effective supervision sessions, coaching, training and ongoing mentorship. As a result, they comment that they feel valued and very happy in their roles. Staff that share leaders are approachable and highly supportive, which complements staff's dedication. Leaders understand the importance of establishing and maintaining positive and collaborative partnerships with parents and other professionals. They establish effective and positive two-way flow of information-sharing, personalising support and guidance as needed. Ultimately, this hugely benefits children. Parents are highly complimentary of the care and learning their children receive. They report positively on the progress their children make, particularly in their communication skills and self-confidence, which they attribute to the nursery. Parents of children who face barriers to their learning particularly value the targeted support their children receive, and the guidance through referral processes. They report that the nursery is instrumental in children receiving specialist support. Achievement Expected standard Children make secure progress from their starting points. They benefit from activities that support their ongoing development and achievement, even when things are trickier. For instance, babies develop their core strength in the carefully considered environment as they pull themselves up and enjoy exploring age-appropriate physical play equipment. Children learn to manipulate play dough as they push, squeeze and roll the dough. They enjoy a range of sensory exploration that supports their persistence. For example, children take time to twist and turn pretend fish as they remove them through narrower tops in various vessels. These opportunities enable children to develop secure physical skills, as well as improve their dexterity, hand-eye coordination and resilience. Children independently turn pages in books, develop early understanding of mathematical concepts and enjoy imaginative play with their friends. Children receive support to be curious and show high levels of focus in all that they do. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who face barriers to learning or wellbeing, make sustained progress due to highly effective targeted support and tailored teaching. For instance, children who are learning to speak English as an additional language now engage in interactions. They use language and participate confidently in group activities as they demonstrate a secure sense of belonging. Overall, all children gain secure skills and make progress in their all-round development. At times, they do not always benefit from teaching and interactions that fully stretch their skills to ensure they are consistently supported to develop deeper knowledge. Despite this, all children are sufficiently prepared for their next stage in learning. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard The leadership team demonstrates an accurate and reflective view of the quality of its curriculum and teaching practice. Leaders understand the importance of spending time in the rooms reflecting on the experiences children receive. This gives leaders effective oversight and enables them to prioritise areas for continuous improvement promptly. For example, leaders continually reflect on the abilities of their growing staff team since opening. They recognise that staff with less experience and those working towards early years qualifications need ongoing support. They provide coaching and mentorship to ensure staff are equipped to broaden their knowledge, raise the effectiveness of their teaching practice and deliver the curriculum successfully. Much of the teaching is highly effective. However, leaders recognise that teaching practice is not yet consistently embedded to the high standards they desire to achieve. The curriculum is well considered by design, ensuring it is broad, ambitious and impactful for children. Leaders ensure that children's progress is monitored effectively, and staff plan appropriate next steps to help children build on their existing skills over time. Children's communication and language skills are a focus throughout all age groups. Generally, interactions from staff support children's developing language well. Babies hear clearly spoken and repetitive words, and begin to learn new words, such as 'sprinkle' and 'bounce'. Older children develop their descriptive language as they carefully think about how their emotions make them feel. For instance, children think curiously about what excitement feels like, indicating it makes them feel 'wobbly'. Children develop conversational skills as they engage in back-and-forth purposeful discussions. Children who receive additional support to develop their communication skills benefit from tailored support, including consistent signing alongside spoken words. All children receive support to become confident communicators. What it's like to be a child at this setting Children, including those with barriers to their learning, show a genuine enjoyment in their time spent at this nursery. They arrive full of enthusiasm and excited to see staff. Children quickly greet their friends before delving into a range of play experiences, such as sensory ice exploration, interactive story times and imaginative play. Staff welcome children with friendly smiles and words of encouragement as they swiftly settle in to start their day. Staff establish warm and nurturing relationships with children. They provide kind and sensitive support. Children grow in confidence rapidly as they receive support to belong and thrive. All children benefit from an array of carefully planned activities which are designed to capture their individual interests. This means children are keen to be involved and quickly become engrossed in what they are doing. Children's enjoyment of the activities and play experiences on offer mean they are highly focused. This helps children to develop extremely positive attitudes as they learn. All children benefit from a broad and ambitious curriculum that captures all areas of learning. Leaders know their cohort of children well, and as such, Inspector: Natalie Moir About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2792988 develop a curriculum around what children need, such as having a keen focus on children's personal, social and emotional development as a foundation. Staff's comprehensive knowledge of children means they know what children can do and what they need to learn next. This supports children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as those who face barriers to their learning, to make their own individual, steady and sustained progress from their starting points. Children's attendance is recognised as key to developing consistency in attachments. This helps children to benefit fully from the range of experiences of offer. Staff are extremely positive role models. As a result, children's behaviour is excellent. Younger children, as well as those who need some additional support, receive gentle but consistent support as they learn to take turns. Older children develop empathy and kindness as they receive support to recognise their own and each other's emotions, as well as when others may need help. For instance, children independently hold out their hand to others as they recognise they need help down a small step into the garden. Staff reinforce this positive behaviour with lots of praise and encouragement, which children delight in. These experiences enable children to develop secure social skills and prepare them to become positive members of the community. Next steps Leaders should continue to support staff to raise the quality of teaching and their interactions even further, so this is consistently embedded to a high standard. About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, parents and carers 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. Address: 151 Eastern Road Brighton BN2 0AG Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 21/06/2024 Registered person: Cherry Pie Day Nursery Limited Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Brighton and Hove Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 24 June 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 68 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. 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