URN 2878016 · Inspected 2026-07-09 · Published 2026-09-02 · Inspector: Jan Batchelor
Saints in Light Nursery School Unique reference number (URN): 2878016 Address: Emmanuel Church, Hudson Road, Sunderland, SR1 2AQ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 25/03/2026 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Saints in Light Nursery School Inspection report: 9 July 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 Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well and generally develop a broad range of skills to support them to be ready for their next stage in learning. They become familiar with the daily routine which, for older children, helps prepare them for transition to school. They look for their friends and show disappointment if it is not their day to attend. Children demonstrate high levels of concentration as they play. They learn to share and take turns. New starters show increasing confidence as they explore the environment. Children typically learn to become increasingly independent, for example when using the toilet and washing their hands. However, occasionally, they do not have opportunities to do things for themselves, such as helping to prepare snack, tidying up for themselves or putting on their shoes, as staff intervene too quickly. This means that children do not consistently use their independence to undertake tasks that they are capable of. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Leaders have created an environment where all children and families are welcome. Staff form warm and trusting bonds with the children in their care. They are attentive to their needs and are always on hand for a cuddle or words of reassurance and encouragement. This typically helps create a calm and productive atmosphere, where children are confident to have a go and try new things. Staff are positive role models, which helps children to understand what is expected of them. On the rare occasions where children start to test the boundaries of what they can and cannot do, staff gently support them to engage in something more purposeful. The approach to promoting positive behaviour reflects individual children's ages and stages of development. Leaders fully recognise the importance of working with parents to promote regular attendance. Leaders have established a daily routine, which provides an appropriate balance between times when staff lead children's learning and times when children engage in independent play. Regular snack times and outdoor play opportunities are incorporated into each session. However, sometimes, staff are not quick enough to adapt the routine. For example, when children start to get a bit restless, staff do not consider shortening the story time or taking children outside earlier. This does not consistently support children's positive engagement in the activities available. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Children are supervised vigilantly at all times, including when eating. Leaders explain arrangements for supporting children's safe sleep. Appropriate risk assessments ensure that the environment is safe and secure. Staff collect a range of information from parents before their children start attending. They find out about any languages spoken at home, children's families and their interests. This helps them to be responsive to individual needs right from the start. Staff typically find out about any additional needs or barriers to learning children may have. Children are encouraged to express how they are feeling during circle time. Pictures on the wall are available to help children start to recognise and understand different emotions. Staff typically promote healthy lifestyles effectively. They explain to children how the fruit they eat for their snack is beneficial. Parents receive information to help them to provide nutritious packed lunches for their children. Children also learn about oral hygiene. Leaders recognise the importance of working with parents to support their children's toilet training. Parents report they are delighted with how effective this has been and the progress their children have made since starting to attend. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders have a secure understanding of all the areas of learning within the early years curriculum. They use regular observations and assessments to help them to identify what individual children need to focus on next. This includes identifying children who may face barriers to their learning. All staff understand the intent behind the activities they plan and how their teaching is adapted to support each child's learning. They are skilled at knowing when to stand back and let children play independently and when to intervene to offer support and to introduce new skills. Books, songs and rhymes form an important part of the nursery's daily routines. Children typically enjoy story time. They demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of favourite books by pointing to pictures or answering simple questions, such as showing what food the hungry caterpillar has eaten. However, at times, staff do not provide children with opportunities to extend their thinking or communication skills, as they ask too many questions requiring a single-word answer. During these occasions, children are not consistently encouraged to use their full breadth of vocabulary to explain their ideas. Children's physical skills are generally promoted well. They have regular opportunities to dance to music, use ride-on toys outdoors and develop their small-muscle skills by taking part in interesting craft activities, such as creating collages by picking up and sticking small squares of coloured paper. Inclusion Expected standard The nursery is highly inclusive. Leaders understand the different factors that may result in children facing barriers to their learning, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They ensure that staff have access to appropriate professional development opportunities so they can develop effective strategies to help children to overcome these barriers. The manager has recently attended a training programme to support children's communication and language skills, as she has recognised that several children are not reaching their developmental milestones in relation to their speech. She is now ensuring that her expertise is shared with the staff team. However, this practice is not yet fully embedded so there are some inconsistencies in how staff support children's communication skills. For example, some staff use simple signs and refer to pictures to help children understand the daily routine, but this is not always the case. Consequently, some children do not build understanding, vocabulary and confidence at the same pace as their peers. Leaders have established links with the local authority SEND team and welcome their support and advice. They communicate effectively with parents to ensure they are fully involved in any discussions about their children's learning and development. Links with other professionals, such as health visitors, are being developed. Leaders have a secure understanding of how they might use any additional funding in children's best interests. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders demonstrate passion for and dedication to providing a high-quality nursery. They have invested considerable time into considering how to best serve the local community, recognising the challenges that many families face. Leaders have established a new staff team. Staff say they feel valued and enjoy working at the nursery. Leaders have ensured that staff have access to a broad range of professional development opportunities, alongside attending mandatory training. Systems are in place to make sure that staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. Leaders have ensured that there are highly robust arrangements in place to monitor and review the work of the nursery. They spend time with the children and staff every day. They recognise that further work is needed in some areas to strengthen practice even more. For example, they have plans to develop links with local schools. They recognise this will strengthen transition arrangements. Leaders welcome support and advice from the local authority. Partnerships with parents are highly effective. Parental feedback is very positive and recognises how much difference the nursery has made to their children in a short period of time. Parents value the very regular updates they receive about their children's learning and development. They also explain how staff support them to extend their children's learning at home. 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 Children receive a warm welcome when they arrive at nursery. Staff support children who are new to the nursery to separate from their parents. They are delighted when these children demonstrate they feel settled and secure in their care. Parents receive plenty of reassuring updates and photos so they can see their children having fun as they take part in a range of interesting activities. Children become engrossed in their play as they explore the different toy animals set out for them. They confidently pour and transport water so they can wash the animals. Outdoors, on a hot day, water play is also popular as children fill and empty different containers. Staff support children's communication and language skills as they narrate what the children are doing and encourage them to repeat familiar words. Children are introduced to a wealth of mathematical vocabulary as they hear staff counting and using words such as 'full' and 'empty'. Children are cared for by staff who know them very well. Staff are generally quick to identify children who may face barriers to their learning in order to put in place strategies to support their development. Children typically make effective progress from their starting points. Leaders have worked hard to establish this new nursery and to ensure it meets the needs of families in the local community. They have worked with the staff team to provide a stimulating learning environment with a wide range of resources well-suited to children's ages and stages of development. Children also benefit from visits to places of interest, such as the library and the park. These experiences help to enhance the curriculum and often provide opportunities for children to do things they may not be able to do at home. The manager also provides frequent newsletters for parents that contain excellent information to enable parents to support their children's learning and development at home. For example, Inspector: Jan Batchelor About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2878016 Address: Emmanuel Church Hudson Road Sunderland SR1 2AQ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 25/03/2026 Registered person: Saints in Light Nursery School a recent communication has explained to parents the dangers of young children having too much screen time. This advice is welcomed by parents. Next steps Leaders should work with staff to develop the teaching of communication and language, so practice is more consistent in supporting children to make progress. Leaders should support staff to consider how daily routines can be adapted to ensure children remain even more engaged and motivated in their learning. Leaders should consider how to provide children with even more opportunities to develop their independence in preparation for their next stage in learning. About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, 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. Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00 Local authority: Sunderland Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 9 July 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 2 to 4 Total number of places 25 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. 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