YMCA Nursery at the Village

YMCA Nursery at the Village
Unique reference number (URN): 2839722
Address: YMCA Newark & Sherwood, Community & Activity Village, Lord Hawke Way, Newark, NG24 4FH
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 20/05/2025
Registers: EYR, CCR
Registered person: YMCA Newark and Sherwood
Inspection report: 27 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
Expected standard
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Leaders and staff offer children a wide range of exciting and well-structured routines and
activities that foster solid foundations to motivate children to develop long-lasting and
healthy habits. This includes taking children to use facilities at the host leisure centre to
learn how to promote their physical health. Pre-school children follow a progressive
programme each week to extend their physical strength and abilities of using a climbing
wall.
Leaders and staff provide children with motivating opportunities to make decisions about the
food they eat. For instance, when children arrive, they invite parents and carers to support
their children to choose what lunch they would like from a nutritious menu. Staff use
children's interests effectively to help them understand about the benefits of healthy food on
their bodies. For instance, when children talk about dinosaurs, staff help them to understand
that some dinosaurs ate vegetables to make them strong. Staff support children to
understand what they use their teeth for, such as incisors for cutting food and molars for
chomping the food. Children have daily opportunities to brush their teeth to promote their
oral health.
Children who face barriers to their learning are supported extremely well to be emotionally
ready for changes they may face in their lives, such as new siblings in the home. This
includes staff helping children to understand the experiences of other children who have
siblings.
Achievement Expected standard
Overall, children progress well from their starting points in learning. Generally, this helps to
prepare them for their move on to school. For instance, babies develop strength in their legs
as they access low-level equipment where they walk up steps and down a ramp. Toddlers
develop their balance as they splash in puddles outdoors. Pre-school children learn how to
move their bodies in different ways when they access the leisure centre gym. They play
team games where they begin to understand rules of a game and resilience when they do
not always win. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn how to use
tools to help develop the strength in their fingers. They use brushes to paint their hands
different colours and learn how to mix colours as they are supported to rub their painted
hands together. Pre-school children build and construct for a purpose. They show their
imaginations as they work together to move large blocks to make obstacle courses and
pretend to race cars.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Leaders support staff to attend training courses to help develop their knowledge of how to
support children's behaviour. From this, staff implement 'golden rules' in the toddler room.
This includes staff reminding children to walk indoors and to help them understand the
possible consequences of their behaviour. For example, staff explain to toddlers the need
for them to sit down when they eat, or else they may choke. Staff reward toddlers with
stickers when they show positive attitudes to tidying away toys. This helps to raise their self-
esteem. Staff ask pre-school children to show their peers how to complete tasks, such as to
use tools and liquid to create bubbles. This gives children a sense of responsibility and
encourages them to show kindness to others.
Overall, staff embed routines during the day effectively. Children show they understand
these. This includes children who face barriers to their learning. For instance, they sit on the
floor when staff ask them to join group times. Toddlers tap their knees in preparation for
singing nursery rhymes. Children show positive relationships with staff as they listen and
follow instructions.
Leaders and staff monitor children's attendance. They understand that regular attendance
helps children to develop their social skills, learning and to prepare for their move on to
school. Leaders use additional funding for some children to support regular attendance.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Staff gather information about children's achievements from parents and carers when their
children first start attending. They use this, along with their own observations, to identify
what children need to learn next. Overall, the curriculum supports children to progress well.
When staff use bubble mixture to create bubbles, babies feel the texture as the bubbles land
on their hands and face. This helps to build on their sensory development. Babies reach up
high to pop the bubbles, developing their physical skills. Occasionally, staff do not support
babies to develop their early speaking skills. For example, they do not consistently identify
when to remove barriers to communication or read stories to enable babies to identify key
words for them to copy.
Overall, staff support children to develop their social skills during their play. This includes
asking pre-school children to work as a team to attach puzzle pieces of a car track together.
Sometimes, staff do not support children, including those who face barriers to learning, to be
fully involved and benefit from the learning offered during their self-chosen play. This
sometimes results in children disengaging and not learning as much as possible from the
experiences offered.
Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders and staff spend additional funding that some children receive to meet their
individual needs effectively. This includes providing some children with additional physical
exercises to strengthen the muscles in their bodies. For others, extra staffing allows for one-
to-one support to help children develop their communication skills. Additionally, staff take
children to a sensory room which helps them to regulate their emotions.

Staff observe children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They work
in partnership with other professionals to help identify how to support children's individual
needs. Generally, when necessary, staff make adaptations for children with SEND and those
who face barriers to their learning. For example, they provide additional equipment to
support their safety. Staff help children to understand similarities and difference in people.
This includes helping them to develop their knowledge of different cultures people celebrate
and disabilities.
Staff gather information about children's home languages from parents and carers of
children who speak English as an additional language. This information enables staff to use
key words in children's home languages to help them follow routines and develop a sense of
belonging in the nursery.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Staff attend appraisal meetings with leaders where they reflect on their practice and discuss
their wellbeing. Staff complete training courses to secure their knowledge of child protection
to promote children's safety and how to support children's behaviour. Leaders celebrate
staff's achievements and provide team-building activities to keep staff morale high.
Leaders reflect on the experiences staff offer children. They identify further changes they
intend to implement to enhance children's experiences. This includes sourcing funding to
provide arts projects that will introduce children to different ways of being creative. However,
they have not identified how to further support staff to develop their interactions with children
during self-chosen play and to build on their early speaking skills.
Leaders and staff work closely with other professionals and the local authority to help
support children who face barriers to their learning. This support helps staff to provide
tailored care to meet children's individual needs. Staff invite community facilitators to provide
additional activities for children. For example, babies engage in music sessions to support
their understanding of songs, how to use musical instruments and sensory development.
Staff keep parents and carers informed about their children's day. For instance, they use an
app to share children's care routines and talk to parents about their children's development.
Staff offer parents ideas and suggestions about how they can continue to support their
children's learning at home. This includes encouraging parents to read to their children to
support their communication and literacy skills. Staff invite families in the community to
attend special events throughout the year. They offer stay-and-play sessions, where parents
and children can learn and play together as they engage in story times and messy play
activities.

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
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are keen to explore and investigate the resources offered. They make choices that
allow them to follow their interests. Children have experiences to support their emotional
wellbeing and to develop a sense of belonging in the nursery. For instance, staff ask parents
and carers for photos of family members. They use these to make books to share with
children when they first start attending and when they transition to the next room. This helps
babies to begin to name familiar people in their lives and to settle. Children show positive
relationships with their peers and staff. Babies sit with staff during group times and to listen
to stories. Older children confidently play games with their peers, learning rules and how to
take turns in conversations.
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive support to be safe and
progress in their learning. This includes staff providing equipment to support their physical
safety and ensuring that children can hear instructions and conversations to build on their
understanding and concentration. Overall, the curriculum helps children to progress in their
development from their starting points in learning. Pre-school children develop their
knowledge of how to create different colours. They paint one hand blue and the other yellow,
and rub them together to create the colour green. Children receive support to understand
that if they add white, they can make the green a lighter shade.
Children's safety is promoted well. When children leave the nursery to access the host
leisure centre, they wear high-visibility vests so they can easily be seen. Children
understand that they need to hold hands with their peers and listen to staff's instructions.
Staff monitor children's attendance. If children do not arrive when expected, staff make

Inspector:
Hayley Ruane
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2839722
Address:
YMCA Newark & Sherwood
Community & Activity Village, Lord Hawke Way
Newark
NG24 4FH
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 20/05/2025
Registered person: YMCA Newark and Sherwood
Register(s): EYR, CCR
contact with parents to find out the reasons why. This contributes to promoting children's
welfare.
Next steps
Leaders should support staff to build on opportunities for children to develop their early
speaking skills.
Leaders should support staff to build on their interactions with children during self-chosen
play, including those who face barriers to learning, so they are able to build on their
knowledge and skills.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with the 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.

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Nottinghamshire County Council
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 27 August 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
92
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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