Mini Merrys Private Day Nursery

Mini Merrys Private Day Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2774104
Address: Mini Merrys, 37 Hepscott Drive, Whitley Bay, NE25 9XJ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 01/02/2024
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Mini Merrys LTD
Inspection report: 28 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.

Strong standard
Achievement Strong standard
Children are curious and excited about learning. They actively explore the learning
environments, both indoors and outdoors, and confidently talk about what they are doing
and what they notice. They seek out adults and ask questions, request resources and offer
suggestions about activities and experiences to help them clarify their thinking and
understanding.
Children develop problem-solving skills through everyday routines, such as sharing out tools
during activities so everyone has what they need. They become increasingly independent
and feel a sense of pride in their achievements. For example, younger children are
supported and encouraged to crawl and then walk independently to seek the resources they
want, and older children are supported to independently kick, throw and use rackets with
balls. This helps children develop secure physical skills.
Children concentrate for increasing amounts of time and build their resilience when facing a
challenge. For example, when using masking tape to create a picture, children are
determined to find the end of the tape and then practise using scissors to cut the tape at the
right length they need.
All children leave the setting ready for the next stage of their education, including those
children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with other barriers to
their learning and/or wellbeing.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Leaders create a warm and friendly 'family' atmosphere across the whole setting. This helps
children and families to feel valued and included. Leaders and parents value the positive
relationships between the setting and their families. They recognise how this helps staff to
support children.
Staff act as role models and treat children with kindness and respect. Children consistently
behave well because staff have very high expectations of their behaviour.
Routines are established and give children the confidence to explore the environment. Staff
ensure that all children have the support they need to develop their independence and
thinking skills, particularly those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
and other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. Children have consistently positive
attitudes and are excited to learn new things.
Children build positive relationships with staff and get on well with their friends. They enjoy
playing games together, where they share and take turns. This helps them to develop skills
in negotiating and communicating. Staff praise and encourage children's efforts, which
supports them to develop secure personal, social and emotional skills.

Leaders have a secure understanding of their responsibilities and they monitor attendance
closely. They work proactively with families to support attendance.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
The curriculum at this nursery is exciting, and staff are highly effective at ensuring that
learning opportunities are based on children's interests. They consistently support children
to explore themes that excite them, and this helps children to develop a sense of belonging
and an understanding of themselves and the world around them. Staff help children to
celebrate what makes each of them unique.
Leaders ensure that communication and language is a central part of the curriculum, and
staff consistently demonstrate a clear focus on developing children's language skills by
modelling the use of vocabulary and encouraging children to repeat and use this in their
play. Children of all ages enjoy stories, books and songs as part of their everyday routine.
Staff understand the developmental stages of all children and adapt their communication
and responses to meet individual needs, particularly for those children with special
educational needs and/or disabilities and those with other barriers to their learning and/or
wellbeing.
Staff plan mathematical learning systematically to ensure children have secure knowledge
and understanding, and it is also embedded into the daily routine. Younger children hear and
are encouraged to use mathematics vocabulary as they explore the climbing frame, such as
up, down and through. Older children help staff to prepare and count snack to make sure
that everyone has the same amount. Staff encourage and support children to develop their
problem-solving and independence skills through the everyday routines.
Children have daily access to the large outdoor learning environment, and they engage in a
wide range of activities to support and strengthen their physical skills, such as digging and
planting seeds in the garden, learning how to use a ball and racket to play tennis, throwing
and kicking balls, and using large-scale mark-making tools such as brushes and chalks.
Inclusion Strong standard
Leaders create a highly inclusive culture in the setting, where all children are fully involved
and access the full range of experiences. Leaders swiftly identify children's emerging needs
and take decisive steps to implement targeted strategies. Robust assessments, individual
plans and ongoing observations ensure that progress is tracked effectively. Staff review
plans regularly in response to the progress children make. They adapt approaches quickly
to maximise learning.
Leaders work closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure a collaborative approach
to supporting children, proactively seeking out specialist advice appropriately. Leaders
ensure staff have access to training, which helps them support children's individual needs.
For example, staff effectively apply their learning from recent training in using 'objects of
reference' to support understanding and communication and language skills for those
children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Expected standard
Staff have a thorough understanding of child development, and they also know children
extremely well. They combine this knowledge to effectively adapt their teaching to meet
children's needs in the moment and ensure that learning is based on children's interests. As
a result, all children, particularly those with SEND and those who face other barriers to their
learning and/or wellbeing, have a very positive attitude to learning and their progress is
sustained over time.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders prioritise creating positive relationships with children and their families. Children are
happy when they attend the setting, and all staff know children well. They quickly establish
attentive and supportive relationships with their key person. This means that children feel
safe and secure.
Staff use robust information gathering systems. This enables them to gather all the
information they need to care for individual children. In addition, this helps them to meet the
care needs of children, including sleeping, weaning and managing personal needs. While
practices relating specifically to mealtimes are generally positive across the setting, leaders
have not sufficiently evaluated some mealtime routines. This means that staff do not always
adapt practice quickly enough to support some children as they transition into a new room.
Staff consistently model kindness and cooperation. As a result, children learn to get along
well with each other. Staff skilfully use characters from well-loved stories to support children
to develop their knowledge and understanding of emotions. Staff talk about emotions and
ensure that children have the vocabulary to name them. They have strategies to help
children manage their own feelings, particularly for those children with other barriers to their
learning and/or wellbeing.
Children enjoy healthy, nutritious meals and develop a secure understanding of a balanced
diet. They talk about the healthy vegetables they have grown in the garden and enjoy eating
the produce. Children talk about their favourite recipes, and the setting shares these recipes
for families to use at home.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders have an appropriate understanding of the context of the setting, and they use this
information to ensure that the curriculum is based on the needs of the children and
celebrates the uniqueness of the local area. They have established suitable arrangements
for children's daily routines and transitions. However, they do not precisely identify where
these practices need to be further strengthened. For example, leaders do not ensure that
mealtimes are consistently high-quality experiences where children are fully engaged and
that children are better prepared when transitioning into an older age-group room.
Leaders ensure that staff access appropriate training to meet the needs of the children. For
example, staff use their recent training in sensory circuits to support children with special

educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to regulate their emotions. Staff also use
training in 'objects of reference' to support children with SEND to develop their
understanding and communication skills. Leaders use funding effectively to support the
individual needs of children, for example, purchasing specific resources, staff training and
facilitating focused one-to-one support.
Staff recognise the support they receive from leaders and feel appreciated and valued.
Leaders are mindful of workload and work with staff to effectively manage this and positively
support wellbeing.
Leaders are firmly committed to fostering close, positive relationships with parents, and this
supports the collaborative approach when meeting children's individual needs. Leaders are
proactive in seeking support appropriately and engage well with other professionals.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children feel safe and secure when they arrive at the setting. They are confident and excited
to learn. They form meaningful attachments with familiar adults and respond positively to
nurturing interactions. Children seek and receive reassurance and kindness from their key
person, and this relationship enables all children, including those with special educational
needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with other barriers to their learning and/or
wellbeing, to explore the environment with confidence, engage in learning and make
progress.
Children lead the learning and enjoy a range of rich and purposeful experiences throughout
the day. They share their ideas, and adults ensure that learning experiences reflect the
interests of children. Children explore the indoor and outdoor environments confidently and
with curiosity. They independently organise the resources they need to support their
learning. As a result, they develop resilience and problem-solving skills. Children become
skilful communicators and use a wide range of vocabulary in their play.
Children's behaviour is extremely positive and they treat each other with kindness and
respect, developing their self-esteem. They learn from each other, with older children
supporting their younger peers to share and take turns and understand routines. Staff
support and encourage children to safely manage risks, work cooperatively and understand
expectations.
Staff help children to become active, independent learners. For example, children talk about
attending local events such as festivals, and staff then recreate this within the setting to

Inspector:
Vanessa Foster
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2774104
Address:
Mini Merrys
37 Hepscott Drive
Whitley Bay
NE25 9XJ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
further embed learning and skills. Children independently access the resources they need
and take pride in helping to tidy up when they have finished, building their sense of
responsibility and confidence. Children are encouraged and supported to manage hygiene
needs independently and build a positive attitude to learning.
All children, including those with SEND and those with other barriers to their learning and/or
wellbeing, are fully included and feel a deep sense of belonging. All children make
impressive progress and are well prepared for their next stage of learning.
Next steps
Leaders should review routines, specifically mealtimes, to ensure they are consistently
effective, particularly as children transition into new rooms.
Leaders should support all staff to develop the skills and confidence to quickly adapt their
practice during mealtime routines, specifically supporting children as they transition into a
new room.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, the 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.

Registration date: 01/02/2024
Registered person: Mini Merrys LTD
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: North Tyneside
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 28 July 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
1 to 4
Total number of places
43
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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