URN EY289713 · Inspected 2026-08-11 · Published 2026-10-12 · Inspector: Kelley Ellis Ruby Hayes
Bright Horizons Epsom Waltham House DayNursery and Preschool Unique reference number (URN): EY289713 Address: 28 Worple Road, EPSOM, Surrey, KT18 5EH Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 14/07/2004 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited Inspection report: 11 August 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement Needs attention Safeguarding standards not met Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. Failings in safeguarding lead to children's safety being compromised. For example, those with designated lead roles for safeguarding have not effectively identified children who may be at risk of harm or that need early help. They have not made the necessary referrals to relevant professionals in line with the local safeguarding partnership requirements. This means that they do not understand their roles and responsibilities to protect children's welfare. Leaders do not follow their policies and procedures to ensure that records contain the relevant detailed information to enable effective partnership working with other professionals. 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. Achievement Needs attention Children, including those that face barriers to their learning, are not making the best possible progress. Children are not fully engaged and do not always gain positive attitudes to learning. This does not help prepare children fully for their next stage of learning. The youngest children are well settled because their needs are met appropriately, and they form secure attachments with staff. They engage well when staff sing songs. They benefit from hearing repeated refrains that help to build their communication skills and self-esteem. Children are polite, kind and explore in an environment that is spacious and inviting. Children respond well to praise, which gives them a sense of pride in what they do. This helps children to build trust in those that care for them. Children develop their fine motor skills as they manipulate play dough. They become engrossed as they mould the dough into different shapes. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention Leaders have recognised weaknesses and inconsistencies in routines which do not promote children's behaviours well enough. While their actions are appropriate to improve practice, it is too early to determine any impact. In addition, activities are not organised well. For instance, at times, large group activities do not support children to remain focused and engaged. Long waiting times to explore objects mean children lose concentration and become distracted. This has a negative impact on children's attitudes to learning. Urgent improvement Staff sensitively support any minor conflicts and help children to resolve these calmly. Children begin to understand the feelings of others. They generally listen to staff's instructions. They help staff to tidy up, scrape their plates and put them away after they have eaten meals. Staff act as positive role models and treat children with respect. Children develop secure relationships with their key person and develop a sense of belonging in the nursery. Children play cooperatively with one another. For example, they help each other to put on dressing-up clothes, which supports their role play. This demonstrates kind and thoughtful behaviour, which is praised by staff. Curriculum and teaching Needs attention The curriculum is not fully understood by all staff, which has a negative impact on its delivery. Staff do not always adapt their teaching to ensure children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive high-quality interactions that extend their learning further. For instance, staff watch children as they roll balls down lengths of guttering. Children clearly enjoy this, as they race to the bottom to pick the ball up, to place it at the top again. Staff tend to supervise and do not interact with children to build on their existing knowledge and skills. At these times, the children's learning and development are not fully supported. Children are confident communicators. They enjoy listening to stories read by staff and talk to each other and staff about their thoughts and ideas. However, on occasions, some staff do not always use the correct words when talking to children. This does not help children to learn and understand new vocabulary. Staff sing songs with children, which they clearly enjoy. They sing loudly and join in with repeated actions and mimic staff. Older children begin to represent numbers with their fingers as they count during the songs, while younger children clap their hands in excitement. This promotes children's enjoyment of mathematics from an early age. Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement Breaches to the requirements have a significant impact on the overall welfare for all children. Leaders and staff have not followed the setting's policies and procedures with rigour. For instance, records, such as existing injury and incident forms, are not completed and do not contain adequate detail. This means that the arrangements in place for leaders to monitor records and explore patterns and trends are ineffective. This demonstrates weak oversight to ensure that emerging concerns are identified and acted upon promptly. These failings do not promote children's emotional wellbeing and compromise their safety. Children follow appropriate hygiene practice, such as washing their hands before meals and after using the toilet. Staff encourage children to do things for themselves, which helps them learn to manage appropriate hygiene routines. Staff talk to children about being safe and seek their opinions. For instance, staff ask children what they need to protect them in the hot weather. They hold discussions about wearing sun hats and keeping hydrated by drinking plenty of water. Children take part in wellbeing exercises where they focus on their breathing, while in a calmer environment. At these times, children are supported well to understand how to keep themselves safe and learn relaxation techniques that help regulate their emotions. Inclusion Urgent improvement The support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or who face barriers to their learning, is ineffective. Leaders do not sufficiently identify, assess and meet children's needs. At times, children's welfare and wellbeing are compromised. Although there are targeted plans in place to support children with SEND, and staff seek advice and guidance from relevant professionals, leaders have not supported staff to consistently apply individualised strategies. For example, staff do not follow these strategies to use visuals and timers to support children as they transition into different aspects of the routine. Children are not receiving the targeted support required to help reduce gaps in their learning and development. Children with SEND spend long periods of time without the tailored support, interactions and guidance from staff and often wander around disengaged. In addition, children of all ages spend prolonged periods with their dummies in their mouth, reducing opportunities to develop their communication and language skills further. Consequently, children's learning needs are not always met. Children do not make the progress they are capable of. Leaders generally use additional funding that children may receive to buy suitable resources they know children will like and that support learning. Leadership and governance Urgent improvement There are significant weaknesses in leadership and governance, which mean that statutory requirements are not met. Leaders and those with designated lead roles to safeguard children have not acted in the best interests of children. Information and records have not been maintained. Although leaders have demonstrated awareness of some areas to be developed within the nursery and have taken some action, they have not accurately identified all weaknesses. For example, they have not identified significant weaknesses in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or children that face barriers to their learning. Leaders have not acted with precision to make the improvements necessary. The inconsistencies in staff's understanding of the curriculum weaken the quality of teaching. Staff do not always organise routines and activities effectively to ensure children remain engaged. This impacts on children's ability to participate fully and manage everyday expectations. These weaknesses have a negative impact on children's learning and development. Immediately prior to the inspection, leaders notified Ofsted of significant incidents regarding child supervision and safeguarding policies and procedures. We are satisfied with the action they took and how they responded to these specific incidents. Staff say that their workloads are manageable and that they are supported by leaders. They say that the recent training had has a positive impact on their practice. Most parents say that they feel informed about the activities their children take part in and that they have the opportunity to share their feedback with leaders. 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 Voluntary Childcare Register requirements This setting has not met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met What it's like to be a child at this setting Children's welfare and learning experiences are compromised as there are significant weaknesses in the leadership and governance at the nursery. Those with designated lead roles to keep children safe do not effectively monitor safeguarding concerns and make the necessary referrals with haste. Information and record keeping is not robust to share sufficient detail with relevant professionals. Children do not always receive high-quality teaching and learning. They do not benefit from a curriculum that is understood by all staff and delivered consistently across all rooms. Learning opportunities and routines are not always planned well enough to support children's full engagement. This does not prepare them well enough for their next stage of learning, including going to school. Babies settle well and enjoy their time at the nursery. They benefit from the calm and relaxed environment. Staff attend to their needs appropriately, seeking consent before they change nappies or wash hands before mealtimes. Babies listen to and join in with familiar songs. They show that they are gaining increasing levels of self-esteem. Children's attendance and punctuality are a priority for leaders and staff. This helps them to develop positive relationships. Children seek comfort when they need it and play with staff and each other. For example, while playing outside, children work together to pick up heavy tyres and roll them to the other side of the garden. This gives them a sense of accomplishment as they work together as a team. Children confidently ride their bikes and run around with pleasure. Their physical development is supported as they move their bodies in a range of ways. Children demonstrate they are happy and feel secure. Next steps To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date ensure concerns about children's safety or welfare are reported to local authority children's social care teams immediately, and in line with local reporting procedures 28/08/2026 ensure all designated leads for safeguarding understand and carry out their role and responsibilities effectively and provide oversight for all concerns raised about children's welfare and safety 28/08/2026 ensure that the individual needs of children that face barriers to their learning are consistently met so they are safe and supported to reach their full potential 28/08/2026 improve the organisation of routines and activities to ensure children are consistently motivated and engaged in their learning 25/09/2026 maintain detailed records to support effective partnership working with other professionals 28/08/2026 ensure staff have a robust knowledge of the curriculum so children benefit from high-quality interactions that 25/09/2026 Inspectors: Kelley Ellis Ruby Hayes About this setting Unique reference number (URN): EY289713 Address: 28 Worple Road EPSOM Surrey KT18 5EH Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 14/07/2004 Registered person: Bright Horizons Family Solutions Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:30 Action Completion Date build on their learning and meet their needs About this inspection The inspectors spoke with leaders, staff, parents and carers 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. 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. Local authority: Surrey Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 11 August 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 5 Total number of places 103 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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