Meli Poppins Childcare

Meli Poppins Childcare
Unique reference number (URN): 2840521
Address: David Lloyd Tennis Centre, Ashton Road, Bristol, BS3 2HB
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 04/06/2025
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Meli Poppins Childcare Limited
Inspection report: 6 August 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 enthusiastic learners who make excellent progress from their starting points,
especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They demonstrate high
levels of independence as they confidently navigate their time at the setting alongside their
friends. For example, children are highly confident in getting themselves ready for a sleep or
serving themselves lunch at the table.
Children demonstrate excellent listening and attention skills. They listen intently to staff
when getting ready and walking over to the nearby forest, ensuring they keep themselves
safe. These skills ensure that children are well prepared for the next stage of their learning.
Children are confident communicators. They develop excellent physical skills as a result of
the high-quality teaching and well-considered environment. Older children speak confidently
in the forest about how to keep themselves safe while using wooden mallets, as they bang
stakes into the ground to see if the worms will pop up. They use these with precise control,
demonstrating excellent hand–eye coordination and muscle control.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Leaders and staff support children's behaviour by using positive praise, encouragement and
setting clear expectations. Children behave extremely well as a result. Staff create calm and
inclusive environments where children thrive. Children are clear about what is expected of
them. Staff remind them how to keep themselves and their friends safe. On occasions,
where children do have minor disagreements, staff respond immediately to support children
to resolve any conflict. They ensure that relationships remain positive by continuing to
support children after this time and being a positive play partner.
Children invite staff to regularly engage in play with them. Staff respond consistently to
children in a warm and nurturing way. Staff use a short-group activity that uses an exciting
bucket of toys to help children build focus, attention, and communication skills. Children
giggle with delight and excitement as they await the next surprise object that is shown to
them. They show genuine joy in their learning. Children benefit from a highly tailored
approach to their age and stage of development. Staff consider children's individual needs
and adapt their teaching, so that children get the very best out of experiences. For example,
when children use interaction strategies that may not be readily understood or accepted by
others, staff respond promptly and sensitively. They offer positive alternatives, such as
encouraging children to give their friends a high five, so that everyone can take part in the
activity. Staff also explain this to the other children, helping them understand that children
are interested in playing with them.
The baby room is unhurried. Babies benefit from plenty of enriching activities and learning
experiences. They excitedly dance and move their bodies and ribbons to upbeat music with
staff. Babies and children benefit from highly tailored care needs through trusting
relationships. Staff ensure that children get quality one-to-one time during these times.

Leaders encourage positive attendance and follow up on absences with parents and carers
and monitor this.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Children's wellbeing is at the heart of the setting. Children benefit from the warm and
trusting relationships that they have with their key person and other staff. As a result, they
thrive at the setting. All staff know children exceptionally well and this enables children to
feel safe and secure. Children receive reassurance where needed, either through positive
touch and cuddles or verbally. Staff suit this to children's individual personalities.
Children receive consistent support to develop a sense of personal safety and how to keep
themselves safe in numerous situations. For instance, toddlers receive support to safely use
the climbing bridge. Staff remind pre-school children how to keep themselves safe during a
walk to the forest and why this is important. Children receive comfort from trusted staff if
they have any accidents at nursery. Staff acknowledge how children might be feeling, which
supports children to recognise these emotions for themselves.
Opportunities for children to develop their independence skills are consistently embedded
through the daily routines. Children are often involved in preparing lunch for the nursery,
where they talk about the importance of eating vegetables, so their bodies are healthy. Staff
have a robust process to ensure that all children's allergies and dietary requirements are
safely catered for. Children with medical conditions are well cared for by the knowledgeable
team and have individual care plans in place.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Leaders and staff have created an ambitious and inclusive curriculum for all children across
all areas of learning. Leaders and the staff are relentless in their approach to evaluating the
curriculum and their commitment to continuous improvement. Teaching is of a consistently
high standard across the setting. Staff use their expert knowledge of each individual child to
bring the curriculum to life in a meaningful and impacting way. For instance, staff provide
opportunities for toddlers to practise sharing. They plan learning experiences that are
tailored to each child's individual needs and shared interests. Staff demonstrate a deep
knowledge of each child by using precise judgement about how long they can wait for a turn,
helping children to be successful. Children of all ages develop a love of reading. Babies
invite staff to read interactive stories with them. Staff read in a way that builds suspense and
captures babies' interest, encouraging them to wait eagerly before lifting the flap to discover
what is hiding underneath. This builds on their wealth of vocabulary and communication
skills as they joyfully read books and call out new words.
Children benefit from a motivating forest area, where skilful staff weave through plenty of
rich learning experiences while being immersed in nature. For instance, 2-year-old children
develop their understanding of number through a dice-rolling game. They search for the
correct number of sticks for the number they roll. Pre-school children excitedly revisit their
learning, such as the animals they have seen on their woodland wildlife camera. This helps
them to consolidate their learning. Staff offer children a wide range of highly stimulating
learning experiences. They are on hand to develop children's ideas, and learning and

thinking skills. Staff are highly skilled in adapting their teaching in the moment to respond to
children's thinking.
Inclusion Strong standard
Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as those
who face other barriers to their learning or wellbeing, consistently. Leaders, alongside their
staff team, are wholeheartedly committed to ensuring these children reach their full
potential. Leaders and staff have a robust understanding of their role for inclusion. They are
quick to identify children's individual needs. Leaders and staff then act on these needs
swiftly. They do all they can to ensure that children get the right support in a timely manner.
Staff have a deep understanding and knowledge of children's needs. Along with other
professional advice, they form tailored support plans, so children make speedy progress
from their starting points and succeed. For example, children who are not yet able to
communicate verbally benefit from signing, which helps them to know when an activity is
finished and that it is snack time. Staff have implemented visual aids to support children with
transitions. This has supported them to feel better prepared when moving from one part of
the routine to another. Children receive a bespoke approach to their learning journey by
staff, including where children have had significant barriers to communicating. Staff have
thoroughly worked to build children's confidence in talking in small groups, through carefully
increasing group times, ensuring they set children up for success.
Leaders and staff rigorously monitor children's progress. They are extremely thorough in
reviewing the support and the impact this is having on children. Staff create an inclusive
environment for all children, including those who may face barriers to their learning. They
work tirelessly to ensure partnerships with parents and carers and professionals, to help
offer tailored support, opportunities and experiences.
Leadership and governance Strong standard
Leaders and staff have a highly accurate understanding of the setting's strengths. They
have taken prompt action when they identify any areas of improvement or where children
need additional support. Leaders speak ambitiously about how they plan to make the setting
even better in the future, by building on the secure foundation of what they have achieved
already. Leaders and staff are passionate about children being part of the local community.
For example, they often take buses to visit local shops or visit a local school for their
Christmas performance.
Staff work in close partnership with parents and carers and other professionals to ensure
that every child meets their full potential. Leaders take swift strategic action to reduce any
barriers to children's learning and ensure each child's needs are met. There is no delay in
leaders and staff putting new or adapted approaches in place where they believe they will
benefit children's development and wellbeing. Leaders and staff have developed positive
and effective partnerships with parents, who speak very highly of the setting. They report
how well they are listened to and supported. Parents value the electronic communication
they receive throughout the day and the detailed conversations at the end of the session.

Robust recruitment procedures are in place. Staff feel equipped and highly supported to fulfil
their roles. They report they feel like their wellbeing is a priority at the setting. Staff are very
well supported to excel in their roles. Staff attend a variety of professional training courses
and are able to instantly put their learning in to practice. For example, most recently, they
have attended training around how children's brains develop and what they as educators
can do to support this. Staff speak proudly about how this has influenced the way they
interact with children. It has strengthened their understanding of how to support brain
development through learning experiences that not only extend children's learning, but also
help to consolidate it.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children flourish in this caring setting. They benefit from staff carefully considering and
meeting their individual needs. Children arrive happy and eagerly reach out to their key
person to start their day. They are welcomed into a calm and nurturing environment, where
they feel settled, safe and secure. Children benefit from close partnerships between staff
and their parents and carers, through meaningful information-sharing about their learning
and development, or any other matters relating to their wellbeing.
Children are absorbed in rich learning experiences. They have helped to create an awe-
inspiring forest area, where they are immersed in the natural world. Children are highly
motivated to learn and are resilient when they face trickier tasks. For instance, when
children are initially unable to get something out that is stuck in the ground, they try and test
different tools until they find the one that works and do not give up.
Children receive support to navigate risks confidently, such as using tools, climbing trees or
practising their physical skills to climb a slide. Staff are highly responsive to children's
individual learning needs. They use the rich experiences they provide to skilfully weave
through development opportunities. For example, when children show an interest in bugs
hidden on the forest floor, they are offered mark-making opportunities to record what they
have found. Younger children receive increased support from staff. Children get the
opportunity to have discussions about how many legs a bug has, and they also talk about
which one was 'bigger' or 'smaller'. This helps all children to make excellent progress from
their starting points.
Children are very well behaved. They develop deep friendships with others, where they can
share ideas and thoughts with one another. Children seek each other out for play
experiences. For instance, they pretend to make drinks for one another with fresh herbs and

Inspector:
Tia Claridge
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2840521
Address:
David Lloyd Tennis Centre
Ashton Road
Bristol
BS3 2HB
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 04/06/2025
Registered person: Meli Poppins Childcare Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 17:30
water and hand them out to their friends. Babies sit together, joining in with a story that they
can be involved in.
Next steps
Leaders should continue to develop their successful work to realise a transformational
impact for all children so that they continue to meet their full potential.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinator, parents
and carers and the designated safeguarding lead 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.

Local authority: North Somerset
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 6 August 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 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.

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and regulates services that care for children and young people.
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