Little Robins Day Nursery

Little Robins Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2806763
Address: 119A Cobden street, Stoke-on-trent, ST3 4EZ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 14/08/2024
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: Little Robins Childcare Ltd
Inspection report: 24 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 generally achieve well from their individual starting points. They develop the
knowledge, skills and attitudes they need to participate confidently in nursery life and
prepare for their next stage of learning. Children who face barriers to their learning and/or
wellbeing generally make positive progress. For example, children become increasingly
confident to play alongside others, develop their communication and language and grow in
confidence to express their ideas and make choices independently.
Babies develop the foundations for communication as they increasingly respond to familiar
adults through sounds, gestures and eye contact. They engage in early back-and-forth
interactions. Toddlers build on this as they using an increasing range of vocabulary and
begin to use language to express their ideas, make requests and talk about their play. Older
children generally demonstrate the knowledge and skills they need for their next stage of
learning. They ask questions, make predictions and test out their ideas. Children sustain
their concentration as they work towards achieving what they set out to do, for example
when collaborating with friends in the sand.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Leaders typically establish clear expectations for behaviour and attitudes. Staff use calm,
positive approaches to help children understand what is expected. For example, they use
stories to help older children explore emotions, understand why characters feel the way they
do and make links between events and feelings. Staff provide warm, gentle reminders, such
as saying 'no thank you' when babies reach for another child's food. They help babies
understand boundaries while maintaining positive relationships. Staff support children to
understand how their behaviour affects others. For example, explaining how throwing sand
could hurt a friend's eyes. They praise positive choices and kind behaviour.
Staff generally establish effective routines that children understand and respond to
confidently. Children recognise familiar signals to stop what they are doing and calmly move
on to the next part of their day. Leaders have adapted routines to meet the needs of children
who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff provide quieter outdoor
experiences with fewer children, enabling them to concentrate and sustain their self-chosen
play. Leaders monitor attendance closely and work proactively with families to reduce
barriers so children benefit from the experiences the nursery provides.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders generally ensure children's welfare and wellbeing are promoted through
personalised care that reflects children's individual needs and routines. Staff gather detailed
information from parents and carers before children start and routinely adapt care as
children's needs change. For example, they work closely with families to support babies
through the weaning process. They adapt food textures as babies develop and make

thoughtful adjustments to care routines and the environment for children with specific
medical and physical needs.
Leaders have created a caring environment that typically supports children's emotional
wellbeing. Staff provide nurturing interactions that help children feel safe and secure while
developing their ability to regulate their feelings. Leaders have designed calm, welcoming
spaces where children can seek comfort, regulate their emotions and regain their emotional
balance before returning confidently to their play. Staff adapt care and support for children
who face barriers to their learning and wellbeing, ensuring they are fully included in
everyday experiences.
Leaders generally promote children's physical health and wellbeing through thoughtfully
planned daily experiences. They ensure children enjoy regular outdoor play and have
continual access to drinking water. Children benefit from visits within the local community
that encourage physical activity and support their overall wellbeing. However, leaders do not
maximise opportunities to develop children's understanding of healthy food choices through
the meals and snacks they provide.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have designed a curriculum that generally builds progressively on children's
knowledge and skills from babies through to preschool. They make appropriate adaptions to
support children who face barriers to their learning. Staff support babies to develop their
physical skills and growing sense of self as they strengthen their core muscles for sitting,
explore their reflections in mirrors and investigate sensory resources. As children move into
the toddler room, staff help them to build increasing control and coordination as they use
tools to roll, shape and chop playdough. However, the layout and organisation of the pre-
school indoor environment do not fully support children to access well-defined learning
experiences that build progressively on what they already know and can do.
Staff typically deliver the curriculum through purposeful teaching that responds to children's
interests and stages of development. They make effective use of the learning environment
to encourage children to explore together, solve problems and develop their thinking.
Outdoors, staff help older children investigate cause and effect as they roll cars down ramps
and compare which travelled furthest. They extend children's mathematical understanding
through discussion and questioning. Across the nursery, staff naturally weave
communication and language into children's play, helping children to extend their language
skills.
Leaders generally use assessment effectively to monitor children's progress and identify
their next steps in learning. Staff regularly review children's development and use this
information to plan experiences that reflect children's interests and individual needs.
However, staff do not always identify and use children's next steps precisely enough to
ensure staff teaching consistently builds children's learning across all areas of development.
Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders generally take the necessary steps to provide an inclusive provision for children.
They identify children's needs early and work closely with parents and carers and other

professionals. Leaders put timely support in place to help reduce barriers to children's
learning and wellbeing.
Leaders typically use additional funding purposefully to provide targeted support and
experiences. For example, they bring in outside professionals and activities, such as dance
workshops to help build children's confidence. They buy tailored resources and experiences
that reflect children's individual interests and needs that help to reduce barriers to their
learning. Staff generally understand children's individual needs well and make thoughtful
adaptations to routines, the learning environment and teaching. Leaders have recently
enhanced the way they use the nurture room to meet children's individual needs. They have
refined the daily timetable, adapted routines and introduced smaller group experiences so
that children who need additional emotional or sensory support can access nursery life more
successfully.
Leaders generally use a range of assessment, screening and monitoring arrangements to
identify children's needs early and review the impact of support over time. They use
information from the progress check at age 2, regular tracking and individual eight-week
target plans to adapt support and interventions as children's needs change. Leaders make
timely referrals to other professionals and use their advice to further enhance the support
children receive.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders have established a clear vision that typically promotes children's learning and
wellbeing. They know their community well and use their understanding of children's
changing needs to adapt the provision, staffing arrangements and daily routines to support
children effectively. Leaders generally monitor the quality of the provision and use their
findings to make improvements. However, their monitoring of teaching is not always precise
to identify where practice, particularly in the preschool room, needs further refinement.
Leaders generally develop a knowledgeable staff team through regular supervision,
professional discussions and targeted professional learning. For example, they have
recently focused on extending staff's knowledge and understanding of supporting children
with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This has helped staff to respond more
confidently to children's individual needs.
Leaders support staff wellbeing and have created a positive culture where staff feel valued
and able to contribute to the continual development of the nursery. They place a clear focus
on ensuring staff workload is manageable.
Leaders have established positive partnerships with parents and carers that extend
children's learning and development beyond the setting. Staff regularly share practical ideas,
strategies and resources that help families continue 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 benefit from warm, nurturing relationships with staff who know them well. They
confidently explore the nursery, secure in the knowledge that adults understand their
individual interests and routines. Babies happily seek cuddles and reassurance when they
need them. From the outset, children benefit from partnership working between staff and
their parents and carers. They is a clear focus on helping children settle, supporting their
regular attendance, sharing information about life at home and providing continuity in their
care and learning. Children who need additional support receive timely help to reduce

barriers to their learning and wellbeing, enabling them to play alongside their friends and
make progress from their starting points.
Children enjoy purposeful experiences that reflect their interests and stage of development.
As children move through the nursery, they typically benefit from learning environments that
build on what they already know and can do. Babies explore safely in environments
designed to encourage their curiosity and developing physical skills. They pull themselves to
standing, practise sitting independently, negotiate steps and explore different levels both
indoors and outdoors. Older children become increasingly confident communicators who
readily share their ideas, experiences and imagination. They talk enthusiastically about
family holidays and special events, explain the models they are creating and confidently use
new vocabulary in their play. They are well prepared for the next stage of their learning
including the move to school.
Children are well supported to behave well and understand the nursery's familiar routines
and expectations. Toddlers develop their concentration, listening and communication skills
during carefully planned small-group activities that capture their interest and encourage
them to take an active part. Children are encouraged to make independent choices
throughout the day, whether selecting resources, deciding how to develop their play or
managing everyday routines.
Next steps
Leaders should strengthen opportunities for children to develop their understanding of
healthy food choices.
Leaders should refine the outlining and use of children's next steps in learning to ensure
they precisely inform staff teaching and progress children's skills across all areas of
development.
Leaders should strengthen the monitoring staff's implementation of the curriculum so they
identify where children's learning can be enhanced further, particularly within the pre-
school provision.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, special educational needs coordinator,
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.

Inspector:
Anne Dyoss
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2806763
Address:
119A Cobden street
Stoke-on-trent
ST3 4EZ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 14/08/2024
Registered person: Little Robins Childcare Ltd
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 17:30
Local authority: Stoke-on-Trent
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 24 July 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
40

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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