URN EY558338 · Inspected 2026-08-12 · Published 2026-10-05 · Inspector: Mandy Cooper Jane Appleby
Springburn Childcare Unique reference number (URN): EY558338 Address: Springburn Childcare, Ermin Street, Shefford Woodlands, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 7AA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 24/07/2018 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Bright Stars Nurseries UK Limited Inspection report: 12 August 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Expected standard Safeguarding standards not met Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. Leaders have not ensured that safeguarding policies and practices are clearly understood and followed by staff, including those who hold safeguarding lead roles. Whistleblowing arrangements are not used appropriately and concerns raised by staff are not dealt with promptly, including inappropriate staff behaviour. Leaders do not follow the compulsory procedures to report allegations to outside agencies. As a result, safeguarding practice is ineffective and children's safety is not given the necessary priority. 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. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders and staff successfully promote an inclusive environment for all children. They work effectively with other professionals to ensure children's needs are met. This collaborative approach helps children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to receive timely support and intervention. Those with responsibilities for SEND uses precise tracking to identify clear and achievable next steps in learning. As a result, children with SEND make sustained progress from their individual starting points. However, this is not consistently the case for other children attending older age groups within the nursery. Staff gather information about what children already know and can do at home and in the nursery. Through regular observations, staff identify gaps in learning and development promptly. Leaders implement a range of strategies to support children with SEND and those facing additional barriers to learning. They seek advice from other professionals to inform targeted support for individual children. For example, staff ensure that children with hearing difficulties can always see their face when they talk to them. This develops children's communication skills. Staff promote children's physical development effectively, such as by encouraging movement through obstacle courses and activities that develop large-muscle skills. This contributes to supporting children's learning and development, particularly their mobility. Needs attention Achievement Needs attention At times, older children struggle to engage meaningfully in play and collaborative learning. Due to weaknesses in staff support, children do not consistently develop the self-regulation skills they need, such as taking turns and managing their emotions. Children enjoy exploring the available toys and resources. However, they do not benefit from purposeful teaching, high-quality interactions and stimulating activities to help them master new skills and achieve well. Consequently, some older children are not well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including their move to school. In contrast, babies and toddlers benefit from a wide range of engaging experiences. They enjoy activities, such as singing nursery rhymes, sharing stories and exploring sand, gaining appropriate communication and language skills. Staff generally support these children well, helping them to develop positive attitudes towards their learning. All children enjoy spending time outdoors. They develop their coordination and confidence as they challenge themselves to climb, balance and negotiate equipment, such as climbing frames and slides. These experiences support children's physical development effectively. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention Leaders do not ensure that staff consistently act as positive role models across the nursery. As a result, the support children receive to understand the importance of kindness, respect and consideration for others varies significantly. These inconsistencies in practice have a negative impact on some groups of children. In some rooms, mealtimes are positive, social experiences, where children engage well with staff and their peers. However, this is not the case for all children. Weaknesses in behaviour management mean that some children do not understand what is expected of them. At times, staff provide unclear and confusing instructions that are not appropriate to children's age and stage of development. For example, staff repeatedly tell children 'no' and remove their pudding without explaining the expectations to them. Consequently, children are not supported effectively to develop the skills they need to manage their own behaviour. Overall, leaders establish appropriate expectations for children's behaviour. For example, staff support toddlers to take turns and gently remind them to wait when they want the same toy. However, this approach is not consistent across the nursery. Some groups of children are not consistently supported to understand and maintain positive behaviour. Staff do not always help these children to follow daily routines, such as tidying up and preparing for snack times. For example, when older children are engaged in activities, staff shout, 'Hands on heads' to signal that it is time to tidy up and move on to the next part of the routine. Some children do not understand the instruction, while others do not respond or run away with the resources they are using. Staff then repeat the instruction more loudly several times. The resulting noise level causes distress for some children, who show signs of discomfort. This does not support children to develop positive attitudes towards learning and play. Leaders have appropriate systems in place to monitor children's attendance. They follow up on absences promptly by contacting parents to obtain relevant information. This helps to Urgent improvement promote children's regular attendance and enables them to benefit fully from the learning opportunities available at the nursery. Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Leaders have not fully embedded the curriculum into daily practice for all children. They do not have an accurate understanding of the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching or how effectively the intended curriculum is implemented. As a result, leaders do not have a clear plan to drive improvement. Consequently, staff do not consistently recognise opportunities to introduce new vocabulary, build on children's interests or extend their learning. This limits children's ability to deepen their knowledge and develop new skills. Nevertheless, the curriculum is inclusive and weaknesses in the curriculum do not have a negative impact on children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children's experiences vary across the nursery. At times, staff provide activities that engage children well and support their development. For example, staff sensitively support younger children as they balance on beams. Children show great enjoyment as they stomp and dance while singing nursery rhymes and move their bodies in different ways. These experiences help to develop their physical skills and resilience as they try hard to master the skills to balance. However, leaders do not provide sufficient support to ensure that all staff have a secure understanding of the curriculum and its key areas of learning. They do not monitor staff practice effectively enough to identify weaknesses in interactions and the quality of teaching. As a result, teaching is inconsistent and does not support children's progress fully. This is particularly evident in how staff promote children's personal, social and emotional development. For example, some children struggle in loud and chaotic environments, while other children are told 'no' in harsh tones repeatedly. Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement Repeated weaknesses in practice and persistent breaches of requirements have a significant impact on children's safety, welfare and emotional wellbeing. Leaders do not ensure that all staff understand and implement policies and procedures consistently. For example, staff are observed repeatedly shouting 'no' at children while standing over them. Some children appear intimidated by this approach, which does not promote emotional security. Other staff lack the confidence to challenge this poor practice when it occurs. Furthermore, leaders do not take appropriate action when concerns about staff conduct are reported to them. As a result, inappropriate practice continues and remains unchallenged. Leaders do not consistently evaluate the effectiveness of policies and procedures or ensure that they are implemented in practice. There are weaknesses in the arrangements for supporting children, when their key person is absent. On these occasions, staff are not sufficiently aware of children's individual next steps in learning and do not provide opportunities to build on their development. However, this is more consistent in babies and younger toddlers. In addition, routines are not structured effectively to help children understand what will happen next. This means transitions between different parts of the day are, at times, chaotic and disorderly. This does not support children's emotional wellbeing. Leadership and governance Urgent improvement Leadership and governance fail to ensure that children receive safe, high-quality care and education. Leaders do not have an accurate understanding of the quality of education and care provided. Although they identify some priorities for improvement, these are not sufficiently aligned with the nursery's weaknesses. As a result, significant breaches of requirements, including those relating to allegations against staff, behaviour management and the quality of teaching, have not been addressed effectively. Leaders do not have effective arrangements in place to monitor, coach and support staff. Consequently, staff are not sufficiently supported to understand and fulfil their roles and responsibilities. Although staff have opportunities to discuss their work with leaders, they do not receive the training and guidance needed to improve their practice and deliver high- quality care and education. For example, staff working with older children do not receive the support necessary to understand and meet children's developmental needs. As a result, they are not equipped to provide consistently responsive and effective care for children. Leaders have not ensured that the key-person system is implemented effectively. Parents are not provided with clear information about their child's learning, development and care, including who is responsible for meeting their child's needs on a day-to-day basis. Consequently, parents do not have a clear understanding of who is supporting their child. This weakens partnership working and limits opportunities to promote children's learning and development consistently between home and the nursery. Compulsory Childcare Register requirements This setting has not 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 There are breaches of requirements that have a significant impact on children's safety and wellbeing. Leaders do not ensure that child protection concerns raised by staff are acted on appropriately. In addition, they do not monitor the provision effectively, resulting in ongoing weaknesses that are not identified or addressed promptly. Consequently, some staff do not have a secure understanding of the curriculum's key areas of learning, leading to inconsistencies in the quality of interactions. Although leaders have established a curriculum, weaknesses in teaching limit the progress children make in their learning and development. Children enjoy some activities and experiences at the nursery. For example, toddlers delight in splashing water and washing toy animals, while older children enjoy discussing the eclipse and drawing what they think it might look like. However, this is not consistent across all rooms. At routine times of the day, such as after mealtimes, staff do not provide purposeful activities to engage children. As a result, the environment becomes disorderly and incidents of unwanted behaviour increase. Furthermore, children do not always understand expectations as there is limited support and understanding of age-appropriate strategies to help them regulate their emotions. Children who require additional support receive help to enable them to make progress in their learning and development. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make steady progress, as staff plan targeted support for these children's learning. For example, children develop appropriate communication and language skills, such as hearing names of objects, with staff ensuring children can see their faces when speaking. Babies and toddlers thrive and receive better experiences than older children. Effective partnerships with parents help to support children's individual developmental needs. Next steps The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action. We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to have taken the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date ensure that any child protection concerns raised by staff are acted upon and taken seriously by the senior leadership team 04/09/2026 ensure that those with lead responsibility for safeguarding understand the procedures to follow, 04/09/2026 Action Completion Date including identifying poor practice and making timely referrals when needed improve staff knowledge and skills to ensure that behaviour is managed appropriately at all times 04/09/2026 improve communication with parent, particularly in relation to staffing changes, so that they have up-to- date knowledge of the care arrangements in place for their child 04/09/2026 improve key-person systems to tailor support for individual children, and promote their emotional wellbeing 04/09/2026 ensure that staff at all grades and levels have the skills and knowledge needed to fulfil the responsibilities of their role 04/09/2026 To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following action by the assigned date: Action Completion Date ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills they need to implement the curriculum and consistently support children's learning 30/11/2026 About this inspection The inspectors spoke with leaders, staff, parents and children and those with roles, such as the special educational needs coordinator and 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. We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this. Inspectors: Mandy Cooper Jane Appleby About this setting Unique reference number (URN): EY558338 Address: Springburn Childcare Ermin Street, Shefford Woodlands Hungerford Berkshire RG17 7AA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 24/07/2018 Registered person: Bright Stars Nurseries UK Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00 Local authority: West Berkshire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 12 August 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 84 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. 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