Key Steps Day Nursery

Key Steps Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2630882
Address: 25 Ashcroft Road, Cirencester, GL7 1QZ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 02/09/2021
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Key Steps Day Nurseries Limited
Inspection report: 4 June 2026
Exceptional
Strong standard
Expected standard
Needs attention
Urgent improvement

Expected standard
Safeguarding standards not met
Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding
that adequately protects children from harm. Breaches to the requirements regarding child
protection practice and procedures puts children's safety at risk. Staff understand how to
identify concerns about children's welfare and make records of this. However, leaders do not
monitor this information closely enough or make timely referrals to external safeguarding
agencies. These weaknesses impact the setting's capacity to safeguard children effectively.
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 Expected standard
All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, gain the skills that they need
for the next stage of their education. Children demonstrate that they are happy and
confident, and develop relationships with their peers and the staff caring for them. Children
develop their physical skills well. They enjoy using the resources in the garden as they learn
to take risks and develop their coordination and balance. Older children confidently climb
and practise how far they can jump. They use bicycles as they ride around the track,
avoiding obstacles. Younger children enjoy playing with balls, eagerly practising kicking and
throwing. Throughout the nursery, children enjoy listening to and taking part in stories. They
join in with familiar stories and demonstrate good listening skills as they sit and focus as
staff read to them.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Children form warm and trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. Older
children build friendships with their peers, while younger children are beginning to follow
some routines. Leaders are working with staff to develop further consistency in behaviour
management strategies. Staff have completed training on children's behaviour, which on
most occasions helps them understand how to respond to situations that arise. They
recognise that, due to children's age and stage of development, behaviour can be
challenging at times. Staff monitor this closely and look for patterns to help prevent
situations from occurring. However, staff do not always take the time to explain routines and
expectations to younger children. As a result, children do not always understand what is
expected of them or why. For example, staff sometimes pick up and move children away
from the table when there is no space, without explaining to the reason for this, which can
cause children frustration.

All children demonstrate a positive attitude to learning. They are eager to explore and be
involved in activities, and, overall, children follow instructions well. Leaders promote regular
attendance and punctuality. They work with families when children struggle with their
emotions, adapting sessions where needed so that children can benefit fully from their time
in the nursery.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders and staff provide children with a welcoming and well-organised environment where
they can explore, play and learn with confidence. They place an emphasis on promoting
children's health and wellbeing. Staff implement clear and consistent procedures to teach
children about hygiene practices. As a result, children understand the importance of washing
their hands before eating and after using the toilet, and older children do this independently.
Leaders promote healthy eating effectively. Children benefit from nutritious meals made with
locally sourced ingredients, which supports their understanding of where food comes from.
Children enjoy visiting the local market to buy their snack, giving them meaningful
opportunities to be involved in making healthy choices and developing their independence.
Leaders also share recipe ideas with parents so that children can enjoy familiar meals at
home, helping to strengthen the link between nursery and family life.
Children have lots of opportunities to be outdoors and to take part in physical activity.
Leaders have invested in developing the outdoor area so that it provides rich and engaging
learning experiences. Children climb, run and explore with enthusiasm. The outdoor
environment is used purposefully to support all areas of learning, and children benefit from
the space, fresh air and freedom to move. This contributes positively to their physical
development, confidence and overall wellbeing.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have a clear and ambitious vision for what they want all children to know and learn
throughout their time in nursery. Leaders and staff work closely with parents to gather
information on children's interests and to build their curriculum around the needs of the
children. They offer advice and suggestions to help children develop their knowledge and
skills. For example, they have created a school readiness programme that is shared with
parents. This helps parents support their children to develop the independence and early
skills they need as they prepare to start school.
Leaders build effectively on children's experiences and knowledge by inviting a diverse
range of visitors into the nursery. These visitors help to broaden children's understanding of
different communities and ways of life, exposing them to experiences they may not
encounter in their everyday environment. This supports children to develop respect, curiosity
and a positive awareness of the diversity within the wider world. Leaders and staff assess
children's progress closely to identify any emerging gaps. Some staff use strategies such as
signs and gestures to support younger children who are not yet confident in using language
to communicate their needs. These strategies are also shared with parents so they can
continue to support communication at home.

Urgent improvement
Overall, staff engage children well. They encourage children to take part in activities and
explore the resources available. However, staff do not always extend children's learning as
far as they could. For instance, when staff encourage children to play a number game with
numerals and dice, children are keen to join in, but the activity is too basic because children
are already confident with the low numbers used. Although children remain focussed, they
are not motivated by staff to stretch their mathematics skills further.
Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders and staff monitor all children's progress closely. This helps them to identify any
emerging gaps in development quickly. They work with parents and other professionals to
provide the individual support children need to make the progress they are capable of. For
instance, they use strategies to assess children's communication and language
development to allow them to provide additional support when needed.
Leaders ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills they need to meet children's needs.
Staff access additional training to help them reflect on and develop the environment, so it
supports children effectively. They use a range of strategies to help children learn in ways
that suit their learning style. For instance, some children benefit from the use of pictures to
help them understand routines and feel secure as they understand what is coming next.
Leaders work with staff and parents to ensure that additional funding is directed to the
children it is intended for. For example, children have access to a range of books and
learning bags that reflect different families and support various developmental stages, such
as oral health and toilet training. This helps to raise outcomes for children and close gaps in
their development.
Leadership and governance Urgent improvement
Leaders do not maintain effective oversight of all areas of the provision, which results in
weaknesses in safeguarding practice. Although there are procedures in place to safeguard
children, they are not consistently followed. When staff appropriately identify and report
concerns about children's welfare, leaders do not act on these concerns in line with the
procedures in a timely manner. Furthermore, leaders have not ensured that their
safeguarding policy aligns with the expectations of the local safeguarding partnership,
including the specific requirements for safeguarding non-mobile babies.
Although leaders reflect on their practice and make changes to benefit the children, they
have not identified the weaknesses to their safeguarding practice and procedures. Despite
this, leaders remain ambitious in their aspirations for children's learning and development.
Staff report that leaders support them well, both personally and professionally. Leaders
provide staff with relevant professional development opportunities that help to strengthen
their skills and enable them to meet the needs of the children in their care.

Overall, most parents are happy with the care and support that their children receive. They
report that they are well informed about their children's learning and feel included in their
child's experiences. Leaders and staff work with other professionals to access support and
guidance for children, putting appropriate plans in place to meet children's individual
learning needs.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Weaknesses in child protection practice and procedures mean that children's safety is
compromised. Although staff make records of concerns about children's welfare, they do not
make appropriate referrals to external agencies to help ensure children's wellbeing.
Despite these concerns, children clearly enjoy their time at nursery. They arrive happily and
separate from their parents with ease, as friendly, welcoming staff greet them warmly. The
key-person system is effective. Staff know children well and work closely with parents to
gather meaningful information about children's routines, preferences and needs. This helps
staff to build secure relationships and tailor care to each child and reduce barriers to
learning. Staff working with the youngest children are nurturing and attentive. They follow
children's individual routines closely, helping them to settle and feel safe. All children are
well supported as they move between rooms in the nursery. Transitions are calm, planned
and sensitive to each child's stage of development. As a result, children show that they are
secure and confident as they grow and progress through the setting.
Children demonstrate confidence in making their own choices about where and how they
play. Older children particularly enjoy the new freedom of accessing the garden
independently, following the recent introduction of free flow access from their room. They
understand and follow the rules and they tell staff when they want to go outside, so they can
be supervised to use the stairs independently. Children engage enthusiastically in creative
activities, such as exploring colour through painting. They choose their own materials and
experiment with mixing colours, showing curiosity and developing their early artistic skills.
Children benefit from a wide range of experiences that help them learn about their
community and the wider world. They enjoy regular walks to local parks, visits to museums
and the library, and trips further afield to nearby woodlands. These opportunities enable
children to explore the natural environment, develop their curiosity and broaden their
understanding of the world around them.

Inspector:
Victoria Nicolson
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2630882
Address:
25 Ashcroft Road
Cirencester
GL7 1QZ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Next steps
To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the
following actions by the assigned date:
Action Completion Date
ensure that all staff, including those with additional
safeguarding responsibilities, have a good
understanding of the procedures to follow when
concerns are identified about a child's welfare
12/06/2026
ensure that the safeguarding policy and procedure is in
line with the guidance and procedures of the relevant
Local Safeguarding Children's Partnership, with
particular regard to procedures to follow regarding
concerns around non-mobile babies.
12/06/2026
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, the designated
safeguarding lead, 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.

Registration date: 02/09/2021
Registered person: Key Steps Day Nurseries Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Gloucestershire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 4 June 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
79
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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