URN EY493523 · Inspected 2026-07-02 · Published 2026-08-24 · Inspector: Katarina Hustava Brad Flavien
Bright Horizons West Dulwich Day Nursery andPreschool Unique reference number (URN): EY493523 Address: Old Church, 226c Gipsy Road, London, SE27 9RB Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 29/09/2015 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited Inspection report: 2 July 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Needs attention 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. Achievement Needs attention Children are not supported to develop good communication and language skills. Their early mathematical skills are also not well supported. Children, including those who face other barriers to learning, generally enjoy the learning environment available to them. For example, they explore natural materials outdoors and use their imagination while they make different constructions. Children develop age-appropriate physical skills. For example, they master their physical skills using bicycles and wheelbarrows. Children build on their physical skills during obstacle courses, and this supports their balance and coordination. Young children learn to use cutlery during mealtimes and connect the train track with enjoyment. Children typically develop the confidence and independence needed for the next stage in learning. For example, young children take themselves to wash their hands before mealtimes and after messy play. They learn about the importance of good hygiene routines. Older children develop social skills as they form friendships with their peers. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention Leaders and staff do not implement effective teaching and do not have high expectations of what individual children can achieve. As a result, not all children are supported to develop positive attitudes to learning. There are occasions when young children wander around aimlessly and do not benefit from purposeful learning experiences. Leaders and staff set age-appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. They respond calmly to any incidents of unwanted behaviour. For example, staff go to children's level and explain to them to use gentle hands and share with their friends. As a result, all children, including those who face barriers to their learning and those previously known to children's social care, learn positive behaviour and how to negotiate with one another. Staff encourage children to tidy up after activities. This routine helps children take responsibility for their environment and cooperate with one another. Leaders have effective procedures in place to monitor children's attendance. They work with parents to reduce barriers to regular attendance. Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Leaders identify what they want children to learn. However, some staff lack skills to support children and help them build on what they already know and can do. They carry out regular assessments and identify children's next steps in learning, but do not use these when planning for children's learning. For example, leaders are working on developing children's vocabulary, but staff do not know how to support this. Some staff do not know how to model language clearly to help children develop secure skills in their communication and language development. Leaders do not ensure staff are deployed effectively to support children's learning. Staff do not plan activities effectively to reflect the learning needs and developmental stages of all children. They do not use opportunities during play to build on and extend children's learning. Staff are not skilled enough to build on children's early mathematical skills. As a result, children do not develop the secure foundations for mathematics they need for the next stage of learning. Inclusion Needs attention Leaders and staff do not provide consistent support to all children, including those who may face barriers to their learning and those who have been previously known to social care. They share information about children's changing circumstances and about learning with parents. However, they do not use this information well enough to support children's achievement. This means that learning and development opportunities for all children are not sufficiently well matched to their needs. Staff complete regular assessments of children's learning, including the required progress check for children between the ages of 2 and 3 years old. They share children's progress with parents and seek advice from other professionals, if needed, to support children with gaps in their learning. This helps them to arrange for early intervention when they decide it is necessary. Leaders know how to apply for additional funding, if needed, and explain how they will monitor the impact this will have on children's learning and development. Urgent improvement Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement Leaders do not ensure that staff are deployed effectively during activities to promote children's health and safety. For example, staff do not notice when children are unsafe, such as when they chew chunks of paper. This compromises children's health and wellbeing. Leaders' risk assessments during activities are poor. They do not identify potential choking hazards and infection risks. This compromises children's welfare. Generally, staff are responsive to children's care needs. For example, they recognise that children are tired or need a nappy change. Young children show willingness to manage their personal care needs, such as by imitating handwashing. Leaders work with parents to keep up to date with their family's changing circumstances and provide access to early education. They know how to remove some barriers to learning, such as by providing children with emotional support and encouragement. This helps children develop confidence and join in play with their peers. Children develop positive relationships with their key person, who gathers appropriate information from parents before children gradually start to attend. This helps children settle quickly, when they first start. All children, including those who face barriers to learning, develop a sense of belonging in the setting. Leadership and governance Urgent improvement The inspection identified breaches of the early years foundation stage requirements, specifically in relation to staff deployment, risk assessments, staff training and skills and learning and development requirements. Leaders are not successful in fully understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the setting. They failed to identify poor staff deployment and risk assessments during activities in the baby and toddler rooms, which compromised children's health and safety. Leaders do not adequately assess the quality of the curriculum and teaching practice and the impact this has on children's learning and development. Consequently, children's individual learning needs are not always met. Leaders do not have effective arrangements in place to identify individual staff's training needs. Typically, staff do not access support and training to improve their teaching skills to ensure quality learning and development experiences for children. Leaders do not consider how staff are deployed when temporary staff work in the rooms. For example, staff who know the children very well complete tasks, such as preparing the room for lunch, while unfamiliar staff try to read stories to a group of children who they do not know and have difficulty engaging with. Despite this, staff experience manageable workloads and personal support from managers, whenever they need it. This has a positive impact on staff's emotional wellbeing. Leaders take steps to ensure staff are up to date with their safeguarding training and regularly check their knowledge and understanding of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about children or staff who work with children. Leaders support parents with their child's move on to school. They welcome teachers into the setting and share effective information about children's progress to ease the change. Compulsory Childcare Register requirements This setting has not 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 not 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 Breaches of the statutory requirements of the early years foundation stage have a significant impact on children's welfare and wellbeing. Children are left to explore some activities without close staff supervision. As a result, they engage in unsafe behaviours, such as eating chunks of paper as they explore. This compromises children's health, safety and wellbeing. Children do not benefit from experiences provided to promote their learning, because not all staff plan and implement the curriculum effectively. As a result, children do not develop the positive attitudes to learning required to build strong foundations for their future learning. Consequently, they are not making the progress they are capable of. There are occasions when children get bored and wander around the room without purpose, or tip up the boxes containing resources, because some staff are not skilled enough to provide high-quality engagement and interaction. Staff do not consistently support children's early communication and mathematical skills or extend their learning during activities. Children settle in quickly when they first start to attend. They develop positive relationships with their key person and staff, and seek their attention when they are tired or distressed. This supports their emotional wellbeing. All children, including those who face barriers to their learning and those who are previously known to children's social care, develop a small number of skills needed for the next steps in learning due to incidental learning. For example, children develop a good level of social skills. They make friendships, learn to share and negotiate with one another and respect each other's differences. Children regularly play in the fresh air and master their physical skills outdoors, for example, on age-appropriate bicycles. Children manage their own personal care routines with confidence. They have opportunities to make marks with different media. Children develop a love for books. They enjoy story time and share books with their friends. This supports their early literacy development. Children's attendance is robustly monitored by leaders, who work with parents to ensure children regularly attend. Next steps The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action. We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to have taken the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date ensure staff are deployed effectively to supervise children and ensure their safety 20/07/2026 Inspectors: Katarina Hustava Brad Flavien About this setting Action Completion Date take steps to ensure children are not exposed to hazards during play 20/07/2026 provide effective arrangements for staff support and training and ensure it is tailored to meet individual staff members' needs to provide high-quality learning experiences for children 20/07/2026 To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date plan and implement a curriculum to improve children's learning opportunities and increase their progress 02/10/2026 provide an educational programme to support children's communication and language development 02/10/2026 provide an educational programme for mathematics to ensure that children gain skills for future understanding of numbers and other mathematical concepts 02/10/2026 About this inspection This inspection was carried out following the risk assessment process. The inspectors spoke with the managers, leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, staff, parents 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. Unique reference number (URN): EY493523 Address: Old Church 226c Gipsy Road London SE27 9RB Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 29/09/2015 Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00 Local authority: Lambeth Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 2 July 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 76 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. 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