URN EY563109 · Inspected 2026-06-16 · Published 2026-08-04 · Inspector: Dani Taylor
Nellie's Day Nursery Unique reference number (URN): EY563109 Address: Church Street, Shildon, Durham, DL4 1DU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 20/09/2018 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Nellie's Day Nursery Limited Inspection report: 16 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. Expected standard Achievement Expected standard All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, develop well across all areas of learning. They demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of what has been taught. For instance, they use their knowledge of the focus story to inspire and extend their independent play. Children develop a range of skills that help to prepare them for moving on to school. For example, they calmly move from the pre-school room to the dining hall and eat their meal with lovely table manners. Children develop positive social skills and interact confidently with adults and with their peers. They remember and share their learning. For instance, they explain that there are 'zero' speckled frogs left after they have all jumped into the pool, referring to number songs they have practised during circle time. All children, including babies and toddlers, are confident in accessing resources with independence. For instance, babies show high levels of interest and physical skills as they pull sensory items from a basket to explore the different colours and textures. Toddlers focus carefully on stacking small blocks to successfully build a tower and show pride in their achievements. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard The support provided by leaders has raised the expectations for children's behaviour and ensured that the nursery has made particular progress in this area following the last inspection. The high-quality approach to the curriculum and teaching supports children's good behaviour, as they are stimulated and engaged in their learning at all times. Staff fully understand and implement the positive behaviour policy, and children understand what is expected. They move harmoniously from one activity to another, and instances of poor behaviour are extremely rare. Children are consistently kind to each other, and this is promoted through staff modelling positive behaviours and establishing warm and trusting relationships with children. The improvements to the routines and behaviour at mealtimes are particularly significant. Mealtimes, both in the inviting new dining room and in the baby and toddler room, are a very calm and enjoyable experience for children and staff. Children show they fully understand the routines and behavioural expectations. They happily eat their meal, showing wonderful table manners. They are well supported by their familiar members of staff in understanding what to expect next during transitional moments in the day. This communication is further enhanced for children who need additional support to understand the routines. As a result, all children are supported to understand what is happening throughout the day. Leaders actively promote the importance of attendance and punctuality. They make reasonable adjustments where families may be struggling to attend, with the aim to ensuring the best attendance possible for all children. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Leaders ensure that policies and practices are inclusive and support children's welfare and wellbeing. They ensure that staff receive the right training and support to carry out care routines. For instance, nappy changing routines and nap times are well embedded and are carried out sensitively and with care. Staff understand how to ensure children's safety when eating and sleeping and are vigilant in ensuring that these safe practices are consistently applied. They support children to carry out personal care independently, including handwashing routines. However, there is some inconsistency in helping children to understand the importance of these routines and communicating why they need to take part in them. Leaders and staff work hard to create a safe welcoming space for children. They warmly greet children and their families when they arrive, helping children to settle in calmly and happily. Throughout the day, interactions between staff and children are cheerful, and staff show they are interested in each child's contribution. As a result, children feel valued, and they enjoy their time at the nursery. When children need support to manage their emotions, staff are swift to provide comfort. In the pre-school area, children make use of a cosy nook, specifically designed to help them explore and regulate their emotions. Children enjoy their mealtimes. For example, they enthusiastically tuck into a pasta bake at lunchtime. Recent improvements to the outdoor area support children in their physical development. Children thoroughly enjoy using this space to climb and explore how to move their bodies in different ways. This supports them to develop healthy attitudes towards movement, fresh air and exercise. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders undertake ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the quality and impact of the curriculum and teaching and have an action plan to bring about further improvements. Teaching is typically effective across the setting. Key persons adapt activity planning to reflect the needs of each child. Overall, the curriculum is carefully planned to ensure that all areas of learning are covered. There is a clear focus on supporting communication and language, for example through stories and conversations as children play. However, this aspect of the curriculum lacks detail to guide staff to consider the words that they want children to learn during activities. This does not provide children with the best possible support to develop a broad vocabulary to further enhance their knowledge and understanding. A love of books is thoroughly promoted in this nursery. Children join in with familiar stories with high levels of enthusiasm and take part in lively discussions about the story. Children use their knowledge of the story to happily develop their own independent play and are well supported by staff as they take part in activities. Staff consider ways to best support children's mathematical knowledge and understanding. For instance, children start to learn about the concept of subtraction through number rhymes. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders have high expectations for all children, including those who may be more vulnerable than their peers. Where children may have barriers to their learning, such as showing indications they may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), staff and leaders are swift to respond to these and put support into place. This includes sharing concerns with parents in the first instance, before implementing strategies to support children. Support strategies include following individual learning plans, which help staff to break their planning down into clear, achievable steps. Children receive bespoke teaching, such as one-to-one time with their key member of staff to focus on these targets. Leaders and staff carefully assess the progress children make through these plans, and, if required, they contact external professionals for further support. Leaders have a clear knowledge of the external support available. They work closely with the local health visiting team, speech and language therapists and the local authority early years SEND service to access advice and support as needed. Through their discussions with health visitors and parents, leaders have a good understanding of the needs of individual children and their families and use this knowledge to ensure that the support is effective. Parents speak very highly of the additional support their children receive and praise the nursery's communication and collaborative approach. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders understand the needs of the community and use this information in order to provide appropriate support for children and families. Leaders have worked hard following the previous inspection to significantly raise standards and have an action plan in place to improve the quality of provision even further. Leaders respond positively to implementing change and making the improvements required. They make use of support from the local authority early years team and access further training for staff. The impact of the strengthened leadership is evident in the substantial improvements in all areas, identified at this inspection. Staff report they feel well supported by leaders and have found their ongoing supervision to be an enjoyable and supportive experience. They are enthusiastic about the training opportunities they have received and articulate the positive impact of training on their practice. Partnerships with parents are a strength in this setting. Families feed back that their children settle in very well at the setting and that they make good progress. They are particularly pleased with the speech and language development that children make during their time at the nursery. Leaders ensure that children receive the support they need when moving on to school, including accessing additional support for transitions for children who have barriers to their learning. Compulsory Childcare Register requirements This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met Voluntary Childcare Register requirements This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met What it's like to be a child at this setting Leaders and staff have implemented significant improvements to the nursery, following the previous inspection. As a result, children are happy, well cared for and supported in their ongoing learning and development. Children are progressing well in this nursery. They achieve a broad range of knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. This prepares them well for the next stage of their education, including school when the time comes. Overall, staff understand what it is they want children to learn and know how to plan and deliver their teaching to best support Inspector: Dani Taylor About this setting Unique reference number (URN): EY563109 children's progress and enjoyment of learning. Where children have barriers to their learning, staff are careful to adapt the planning and activities to ensure that their needs are well met and that they continue to progress in their development, particularly in areas that need greater support. The positive and happy atmosphere in the nursery helps children to feel valued and safe. Staff warmly welcome children and parents when they arrive, and these positive interactions are sustained throughout the day. Children benefit from nurturing and caring interactions from staff. They show positive behaviours at all times. For instance, older children walk smartly to the dining room and show their beautiful table manners as they share a meal together. Children happily play together and show kindness and respect as they invite others to join in with their games. Children recognise when they need support. They are confident to approach members of staff for help and consistently receive the attention they need in a kind and caring manner. The nursery has very positive relationships with the families who attend, and this is a strength of the setting. Good attendance is actively promoted by the nursery, and the positive relationships with families support this. Next steps Leaders should further enhance the curriculum to focus more specifically on what they want children to learn, particularly in relation to communication and language. Leaders should further support staff to recognise how to extend children's learning during their interactions, including during self-care routines. About this inspection The inspector spoke with 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: Church Street Shildon Durham DL4 1DU Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 20/09/2018 Registered person: Nellie's Day Nursery Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:30 - 18:00,Friday : 07:30 - 17:00 Local authority: Durham Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 16 June 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 1 to 4 Total number of places 75 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. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk. This publication is available at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn. Piccadilly Gate Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted © Crown copyright 2026 © Crown copyright