URN 2805672 · Inspected 2026-08-17 · Published 2026-09-17 · Inspector: Chelsea Woollard
Puddleducks Day Nursery Amesbury Unique reference number (URN): 2805672 Address: Kitchener Road, Amesbury, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 7AX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 30/08/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Puddleducks Early Years Ltd Inspection report: 17 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 Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard Leaders and staff place high priority on the welfare and wellbeing of all children. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who face barriers to learning and those known to social care. A firmly embedded settling-in process and key- worker system support all children to develop feelings of security and safety. Staff are meticulous in ensuring that they meet the individual care routines of babies and demonstrate confident knowledge of safer sleeping and eating procedures. Staff value children's individual backgrounds and celebrate culture and diversity throughout the setting. This helps families feel welcomed and valued, building trusting partnerships. Staff celebrate children's achievements. For example, they clap and cheer babies that have recently started walking to build their confidence. This creates a supportive culture for both staff and children. Children learn how to lead healthy lifestyles. They have daily access to outside, supporting their physical development alongside their emotional wellbeing. Babies enjoy healthy snacks, and staff monitor lunchboxes to ensure that they meet expectations of the setting's newly revised lunchbox policy. Children develop independence as they chop their fruit, wipe their own face, and babies happily wash their hands. Staff promote the importance of oral hygiene and share information and tips with parents to support this at home. This provides continuity in children's learning. Staff support children to begin to recognise their emotions. They use visual cards to help children label their feelings. Staff validate children's emotions and provide empathy and reassurance when needed. Children access quieter spaces when they are tired, and babies enjoy 'baby massage' as part of their routine. This builds on attachments and helps babies to relax in their environment. Inclusion Strong standard Leaders have created a highly inclusive culture that helps staff to form robust partnerships with children and families from the start. For example, they offer home visits before children begin at the setting, as well as a flexible settling-in period. Detailed information gained from these visits helps staff to form precise starting points for children. Leaders work closely with other settings children attend during transition periods to share information on children's learning and development. Alongside this, staff visit these settings to ensure excellent continuity of learning. This approach is particularly supportive for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to ensure the implementation of tailored support and strategies, such as the use of visual cards are consistent and effective. Leaders provide effective oversight across the setting, helping staff embed a structured approach to additional support. Staff understand their roles and quickly identify emerging gaps in children's learning. Leaders support staff to implement personalised routines and targets and make prompt referrals to external agencies when needed. As a result, staff are confident in adapting practice, making reasonable adjustments and monitoring children's progress. Children receive timely support, meaning staff meet children's individual needs consistently. Leaders and staff work closely with parents, carers and external agencies to Expected standard ensure a collaborative approach to supporting children's ongoing learning and development. Leaders make decisions based on the best interests of children and use additional funding to positively impact children's learning and development. This helps all children, including those with barriers to their learning and those known to social care, make secure progress from their starting points. Achievement Expected standard Children make steady progress from their starting points. They gain important skills to support their next stage of learning, including school. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those with barriers to their learning and those known to social care. Older children test their own ideas, share their thinking and enjoy developing their imaginations as they build boats using sticks and corks. They explore new concepts, such as floating and sinking, and show great pride when their boat floats. Babies demonstrate emerging physical abilities as they climb and pull themselves up to access resources. New walkers proudly build on their stability and coordination as they eagerly explore their environment smiling. Younger children develop a love of stories and enjoy listening to staff read their favourite books. Children learn about the natural world as they excitedly talk about the frog in the setting's pond, using words such as 'tadpole'. Babies explore using their senses as they touch and feel paint on their hands. Younger children strengthen their finger muscles as they stretch and poke dough with their fingers. Babies begin to use sign language to communicate 'more', and younger children begin to use short sentences to communicate their needs. At times, staff's interactions do not consistently build on children's knowledge. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Relationships between staff, children and families are respectful and caring. Staff provide children with lots of encouragement and praise, helping children to develop curious attitudes towards their learning. Older children demonstrate deep concentration when carefully adding feathers and leaves to their boats. Babies develop their focus as they place bangles onto a stand, stacking them together gently. Leaders and staff have created a calm and welcoming environment for children. Children are generally familiar with routines, such as tidying before mealtimes and placing their belongings away. However, lunchtime routines are not as well organised as other daily routines, and children become distracted. For example, staff begin other tasks before all children have finished eating, such as changing the nappies of children who have finished their meal. Consequently, some children need reassurance from staff as they do not fully understand what is happening next. Leaders and staff use calm and gentle approaches when managing children's behaviour. They use gentle reminders and adapt strategies to suit the needs and ages of children. For example, leaders have recently introduced a 'calm box' to help children begin to regulate their feelings, supporting their emotional security and positive behaviour. This ensures that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, begin to understand what is expected of them. Staff encourage older children to tell their peers what is upsetting them, and they find a solution together. This equips children with the skills they need to begin to manage their own conflicts. Leaders have effective procedures in place to monitor absence and are aware of barriers that may affect children's attendance. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders have created a varied, broad and well-sequenced curriculum. They place a clear emphasis on helping children to gain fundamental skills across all areas of their learning. Staff use their professional knowledge and observations to find out what children know and can do and need to know next. Staff provide varied opportunities for children to explore and develop their curiosity, creativity and independence. Children access extra-curricular activities, such as forest school, cooking and music and movement. This enriches their learning experiences. Staff use targeted support purposefully, including tailored strategies for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children have access to an inclusive and ambitious curriculum that is adapted to suit their individual needs and abilities. Overall, staff promote children's communication and language well. This is evident through day-to-day opportunities for children to engage with books, rhymes, songs and interactions with staff and their peers. Staff repeat key words, and babies begin to copy these. Babies babble happily as they explore the smell of lavender with encouraging staff. Younger children enjoy stories with staff and discuss the pictures they see. Staff introduce new vocabulary such as 'buoyancy' as older children create their own boats during a Forest school session. However, staff do not always make the most of their interactions during children's play to further widen their knowledge. This does not help children to consistently build on their skills and engage fully with learning opportunities. Staff help children to develop their early maths skills. They weave mathematical language through children's play to develop various mathematical concepts. For example, younger children use language of size and enjoy number rhymes. Older children recognise 2D shapes, such as a circle, and begin to explore measurements. Staff place an emphasis on children's personal, social and emotional development from the start. They get to know children and their families and create a nurturing, calm and supportive learning environment. Babies laugh as they enjoy playing 'peek-a-boo' with staff, and older children engage in collaborative working with their peers to develop their social interactions. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders place high regard to staff's wellbeing, creating a positive working environment. As a result, staff report they are happy in their roles and feel valued. Leaders provide regular supervisions and check-ins with staff to monitor their practice and identify training needs. For example, all staff have completed '5 to thrive' training to place deeper focus and understanding when supporting children's emotional development. Alongside this, staff have completed Forest school training that has positively impacted on children's problem-solving, creativity and thinking skills. However, leaders have not yet identified that staff would benefit from further support on their interactions with children to help them to excel in their learning and development. Leaders use self-reflection daily and understand the setting's strengths and areas for improvement. However, leaders recognise that they need to take positive steps in improving the organisation of lunchtime routines to help children to know what is happening next. This will support more seamless transitions. Relationships with external professionals, including local schools, are effective to ensure supportive moves on to school, including for children who have barriers to their learning and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders adjust arrangements for transition to ensure that they meet children's individual needs. Consistent and meaningful engagement with parents and carers ensures that they feel part of their child's learning, for example the sharing of 'book packs' between home and setting to promote a love of reading as well as supporting communication and language. This results in trusting, open communication that helps children succeed. Parents report positively on the kind, attentive and caring staff. They deeply value the support offered and comment that their children 'genuinely enjoy their time at the setting'. What it's like to be a child at this setting Children demonstrate they are happy, settled and secure. They arrive full of excitement and separate confidently from their parents and carers. Attentive and caring staff welcome children and parents into the setting with a smile. Children benefit from the warm and caring interactions between staff, themselves and their families. This helps all children to settle quickly. Babies eagerly explore their environment with anticipation, and older children find their names and hang their belongings on their pegs. This supports their confidence and independence. Staff know children extremely well, and this contributes to the trusting and nurturing bonds they have formed with children. Babies seek out staff for comfort, and younger children enjoy cuddles from staff when they need a little reassurance. Leaders work with parents to promote the importance of regular attendance and closely monitor absences effectively. Children typically enjoy their learning. They experience a sense of freedom as they move freely between inside and outside when exploring the opportunities on offer. This benefits children who prefer to learn outside, reducing barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. Inspector: Chelsea Woollard About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2805672 Address: Kitchener Road Amesbury Babies explore using their senses as they happily splash in the water, and younger children begin to take risks safely when climbing up and over apparatus. This supports their self- confidence in challenging their own abilities. Older children explore and experiment with floating and sinking; they enjoy sharing their thoughts and ideas with their peers. This helps children to process their thinking and make connections in their learning. Children demonstrate positive attitudes and motivation towards their learning and development. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those with barriers to their learning and those known to social care benefit from knowledgeable staff who prioritise their needs and put into place appropriate support and intervention. This helps all children to succeed alongside their peers. Leaders ensure that, overall, teaching is responsive to meet the needs of all children. This effective inclusive practice makes a clear difference to children's experiences, participation and progress. It helps all children to achieve well across all areas of learning and feel well prepared for the next stage of their learning journey. Next steps Leaders should continue to support staff to further develop their interactions with children to help children to consistently build on their knowledge and skills. Leaders should review the organisation of lunchtime routines to help to create smoother transitions for children. About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children, parents and carers 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. Salisbury Wiltshire SP4 7AX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 30/08/2024 Registered person: Puddleducks Early Years Ltd Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Wiltshire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 17 August 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 72 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. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk. This publication is available at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn. 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