URN EY319453 · Inspected 2026-07-27 · Published 2026-09-10 · Inspector: Natasha Jarvis
Bright Horizons Southampton Nursling DayNursery and Preschool Unique reference number (URN): EY319453 Address: c/o David Lloyd Leisure , Sports Centre, Frogmore Lane, Nursling, SOUTHAMPTON, SO16 0XS Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 15/12/2005 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited Inspection report: 27 July 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Expected standard 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 Expected standard Children, including those who face barriers to learning, make steady progress in their learning and development. Children gain the age- and stage-appropriate skills that they need to be prepared well for their next stage of learning, such as the transition to school. For example, children learn to take care of their self-care needs independently. Children are able to communicate their thoughts, ideas and wants in a variety of ways. This includes using nonverbal methods to make their thoughts known, depending on their ages and stages of development. Children learn to take turns as they patiently wait for their turn at a game. At times, children have inconsistent opportunities to extend their ideas and interests to further encourage their progress. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Leaders and staff have established a positive environment with high expectations for children, including those who face barriers to learning and their behaviour. Staff ensure their expectations are age- and stage-appropriate for each child. They work closely with external partners to ensure adaptations are in place to support their high expectations for all children. Children develop warm and trusting relationships with the kind and caring staff. Staff regularly praise children for their efforts, which supports their self-esteem and self- confidence. Typically, children behave well, and staff act as positive role models. For example, staff model how to take turns while playing tabletop games. However, at times, delays in routines, such as transitioning into a mealtime, have a minor impact on children's behaviour and engagement with learning as they become restless. Children play collaboratively together and invite others to join in their play. For example, children proudly create a puppet show together. Children are kind and caring towards each other and staff. For example, children show empathy and include each other in their play. They recognise similarities and differences and adapt their play to ensure all children can be included. Leaders work closely with families to promote the importance of attendance and punctuality. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Children, including those who face barriers to learning, have secure attachments with their key person, who knows them well. This helps them to feel safe and secure at the provision. This also encourages children to take on new challenges, such as learning to walk, as they feel well supported by staff. Staff support children as they learn to understand and regulate their emotions. For example, they label their emotions to help children as they learn to recognise these. For instance, they label the emotion 'surprised' when the pirate pops out of their game. Staff teach children about healthy habits and provide support as they start to manage these for themselves. For example, staff encourage children as they learn to wash their own hands ready for mealtimes. Overall, routines meet the needs of the children. However, occasionally, there are delays in the routines and transitions of the day. For example, the transition into and out of mealtimes is delayed as staff are not fully prepared for the next part of the routine, which has a minor impact on children. This is because, although their needs are met, such as by staff preparing a space for them to rest, on occasion, these are not met swiftly. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders understand the quality of teaching and staff's curriculum knowledge within the provision, and there are clear plans in place to develop the quality of teaching further. Overall, staff have a clear understanding of the curriculum aims. For example, a key aim is to develop children's independence as they progress through the nursery. Staff use assessment well to identify children's next steps and build on children's knowledge as they progress through the nursery. For example, children progress from using bottles to open cups for their drinks. However, at times, there are inconsistencies in staff's understanding of how to extend and challenge learning further, in line with the curriculum aims. Leaders have already identified this as an area for further development and are taking steps to strengthen this further. For example, leaders role model high-quality teaching and different approaches that staff can take to develop practice further. The curriculum has high expectations for all children and has a consistent focus on children's personal, social and emotional development as well as children's communication and language. Staff support communication development in a range of ways, including modelling vocabulary and repeating words back with clear pronunciation for children to hear. Children frequently listen to stories and sing songs, which helps to develop their language skills further. Inclusion Expected standard Staff have high expectations for children, including those who face barriers to learning. Staff regularly and effectively use assessment to quickly identify any emerging needs in children's learning and development. Leaders then work with staff to implement strategies to support children's needs. For example, staff use 'Now and Next' boards to support children to understand the routine of the day. Staff use a cycle of observe, assess, do and review to identify whether strategies in place are effective in reducing any gaps in learning or whether they need further review. This helps to ensure children's learning is supported effectively. Leaders work closely with external agencies to ensure children receive the support they need. They implement strategies from external agencies, such as speech and language therapy, into daily practice. This helps to ensure a joined-up approach to supporting children's learning and development. Leaders ensure additional funding is used to support the needs of individual children, such as purchasing resources to further support their development. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders and staff have worked hard to meet the actions raised at the last Ofsted visit. They have ensured that they are able to identify any weaknesses in practice and that they provide effective coaching and mentoring to staff. This supports staff with their professional development as well as raising the quality of the provision. Leaders ensure that requirements around children being in sight and hearing during meals and children being appropriately supervised are now being met. Leaders and staff now show a secure understanding of the signs and symptoms of choking and how to minimise the risk. Leaders have developed staff's understanding of risk assessment policies and procedures to ensure that risks are appropriately identified and mitigated against. Leaders have developed their understanding of the strengths and areas for development within the provision. They are able to accurately reflect on the provision and put appropriate strategies in place, such as training and coaching to continue to strengthen the quality of the provision. Staff are supported well with their wellbeing and workload and are keen to continue their professional development. Leaders build effective partnerships with parents and external agencies. This helps to ensure they can support the family as well as the child. For example, they have set up a 'swap shop', which enables parents to access clothing and shoes should they need to. 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 happily come into the provision and demonstrate they feel safe and secure as they settle quickly. They build warm and trusting relationships with staff and their peers. Children are eager to share with staff things of importance to them. For example, they eagerly show staff their family picture on the wall. Children demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. For example, children are curious and keen to explore the world around them, such as exploring what happens when they pop bubbles. Children giggle in delight as they play with the bubbles. Inspector: Natasha Jarvis About this setting Unique reference number (URN): EY319453 Address: c/o David Lloyd Leisure , Sports Centre Staff take pride in children's achievements and praise their efforts. For example, they beam in delight when younger children try and stand independently, and this encourages children to have another go. Children, including those who face barriers to learning, are offered similar opportunities in play, with adaptations being skilfully woven in. For example, staff provide chunkier paintbrushes for children who are beginning to develop their physical skills and provide thinner paintbrushes for those ready for the next challenge in their development. Children learn to take turns as they play games with their peers and staff. Children develop their vocabulary as they play. For example, they learn to label actions, such as 'pouring' and 'mixing' as they pour water between different containers. Children enjoy taking part in music and movement sessions and eagerly sing along as they play their instruments. This helps to develop their listening and attention skills as well as their social skills. Staff encourage children to engage and listen to one another as they play. For example, children suggest different foods to each other to sing about in their songs. Next steps Leaders should continue to develop staff's understanding of the curriculum to enable them to challenge and extend learning further. Leaders should strengthen transition times and routines to further encourage children's positive engagement and behaviour. About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, staff 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. Frogmore Lane, Nursling SOUTHAMPTON SO16 0XS Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 15/12/2005 Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Southampton Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 27 July 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 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. 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