URN 2572825 · Inspected 2026-09-16 · Published 2026-10-19 · Inspector: Katie Fowler
The Avenue Private Day Care Unique reference number (URN): 2572825 Address: Avenue Private Day Nursery, The Avenue, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 1ET Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 16/03/2020 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: The Avenue Private Day Care Ltd Inspection report: 16 September 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. Expected standard Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Practitioners have embedded nursery routines and support children to manage the changes within it. For example, they support children to understand when there will be a change, such as mealtimes and care routines. Practitioners use instruments, to gain children's attention, and sing songs to indicate what is coming next. They use objects of reference, such as taking out a nappy and wipes when it is time to change nappies, and they encourage older children to guess what part of the routine is coming next. As a result, children transition through the routine with ease. They show positive attitudes towards tidy- up time, saying 'I'm helping you', to practitioners. They then check the area together and enjoy the praise they receive from practitioners for doing a good job. Typically, practitioners support children's sustained attention. They understand and plan for their next steps in learning. They also praise children's efforts by providing them with plenty of praise and positive reinforcement. This supports children's resilience. For example, older children stay focussed on threading, and younger children show determination in climbing stairs on a slide. These skills are supportive of positive attitudes towards learning and lifelong success. Practitioners make their expectations of children's behaviour known. They share these expectations with parents and the importance of attending the provision. As a result, children's behaviour is typically positive, and they attend the setting regularly. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Practitioners teach children how to keep themselves healthy, both physically and mentally. They discuss healthy foods and brush teeth to promote their oral hygiene, also providing support for parents. Practitioners act as positive role models in supporting their health, for example, saying aloud, 'I'm going to have a drink because I have been working hard this morning.' They also teach children how to use equipment, such as the climbing frame, safely. As a result, children have some knowledge around how to keep themselves healthy and safe. Children's wellbeing is prioritised. Practitioners are passionate about equipping children with the tools to support themselves emotionally. Older children benefit from breathing sessions that help them calm down. As a result, when children become upset, they snuggle into staff and calm their breathing down with the techniques they have been taught. This equips children with the skills to support their ongoing health and wellbeing. Practitioners promote children's freedom of choice. They give children opportunity to vote and choose how to shape different elements of their routine. For example, in the morning, children sing a welcome song. Alongside this, children can choose how they want to be greeted, such as a hug or a high-five. Recognising where some children may prefer a non- contact greeting, the team add a funny dance or a wave. This supports children's understanding of their right to choose and that their thinking may be different to their peers. Needs attention Inclusion Expected standard Leaders and practitioners utilise assessments and observations to ensure children make progress from their starting points. This allows them to recognise when development might not be typical and quickly intervene with support. Practitioners then use more targeted support, focusing on smaller steps, to support children's steady development. They share information and advice with parents, advocating for them with external professionals when appropriate. For example, because of the team's continued efforts, children have received diagnoses and the correct treatment to support their ongoing health and development. Leaders take steps to ensure that the curriculum is accessible for all children. For example, practitioners across the nursery use signing alongside speech to support children's understanding and provide them with alternative ways to communicate. As a result, children follow instructions and routines more readily. Practitioners also pick up well on children's non-verbal cues, such as when little ones lean on practitioners when they are tired. This responsive approach supports practitioners to meet children's individual needs. Leaders spend funding in a range of ways to support children with identified barriers to learning. For example, to support some children in receipt of funding who like to climb, they have bought an indoor climbing frame. Children now have an outlet to practise this skill in a safer way, and practitioners utilise the equipment to promote further learning. Leaders continue to assess the impact of how funding is spent, to ensure it is supportive of achieving positive outcomes for children. Achievement Needs attention Typically, children make progress from their starting points, including children with identified barriers to their learning, such as special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children progress well with their personal, social and emotional development. They build close bonds with practitioners, who are warm and affectionate. As a result, even children that have recently joined the nursery or moved rooms are confident to explore, returning to staff for comfort when needed. Children have appropriate independence and physical skills to support them in their next stages of learning. For example, they engage in messy play opportunities to practise their scooping, to support using cutlery at lunchtimes. However, children do not consistently extend their skills and development across all areas of learning. This means, in areas such as maths, children are not as well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Leaders have not designed a curriculum that is broad and builds on what children already know and can do. Practitioners provide some progressive opportunities for children's independence. For example, they support children to start pouring their own drinks and dressing themselves, to prepare them with the independence skills needed for school. However, they have not ensured all areas of learning allow children to build on their skills and development. For example, the curriculum for maths focuses on the same concepts throughout the nursery, rather than building on what children already know and can do. This does not support children to achieve the best possible outcomes. Practitioners use a range of techniques to extend children's learning. For example, practitioners purposely say the wrong colour or number of items, and children excitedly correct them. This supports children's confidence and problem-solving skills. Practitioners are able to adapt their teaching and extend children's learning in the moment. They recognise the different ways in which children play, and plan and provide opportunities to support them. For example, noticing some children enjoy filling, emptying and transporting, practitioners provide vessels and resources to fill them with. Being responsive to children's interests and play patterns supports their engagement, and therefore, development. Practitioners typically promote children's communication and language well, such as by narrating play, singing and introducing new vocabulary. For example, staff sensitively introduce new words like 'untangle' alongside play. Where some children face barriers to communicating verbally, such as identified special educational needs and/or disabilities or children who speak English as an additional language, practitioners utilise signing. Leadership and governance Needs attention Whilst leaders have a broad awareness of the setting's strengths, they have not precisely identified some areas of development and considered how to bring about improvement. For example, leaders have not recognised that the curriculum is not broad or well sequenced. Leaders provide support and advice for parents that enables them to continue their children's learning and development at home. The support and encouragement they provide empowers parents to advocate for their children with external professionals. They introduce diaries and systems to track and share developing symptoms, to work alongside parents and evidence their need for further support. As a result, children and their families receive the extended support they need. This inclusive approach ensures that all children make steady progress from their starting points. Leaders have created an environment in which practitioners enjoy their role. Senior leaders support the wellbeing of one another and the wider team. The team knows that leaders are on hand and available for support. As a result, morale in the setting is positive. Leaders carry out supervisions and identify some professional development opportunities. However, they have not ensured all staff consistently provide opportunities that build on what children know and can do, across all areas of learning. 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 Voluntary Childcare Register requirements This setting has 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 settle quickly at this setting. They are supported well by practitioners who quickly learn and understand their individual needs. Practitioners utilise information gathered when children start to inform their practice and routines, which helps children to feel safe. For example, practitioners working in the baby room recognise the individual ways children like to be helped to sleep, which helps babies quickly drift off. Children are kept safe at these times, as leaders and practitioners ensure practice is in line with safe sleeping requirements. Having key workers that are tuned in to their ever-changing interests and needs helps children to feel safe and progress in their development. Moreover, this sharp focus on children also means that they benefit from practitioners quickly identifying where their development is not typical. Children then benefit from a joined-up approach, as practitioners and leaders share information with parents and other professionals to ensure children receive the targeted support they need. Children are supported across the nursery to develop their physical skills. Babies cruise around low, accessible furniture and ramps, toddlers play with dough and scoop messy play, and pre-school children thread into threading boards. The large movements that babies are able to practise prepares older children well to develop fine motor skills. This is supportive of their independence skills needed for later learning and development. Children benefit from consistent routines that help them feel safe, by preparing them to understand what is coming next. For example, children across the nursery sing songs to represent a change in routine, such as before lunchtime. This embedded practice supports the children to transition through the routine confidently. Whilst children do receive some support to prepare them for transitions, they do not benefit from a curriculum that supports all areas of learning in a well sequenced way. Practitioners recognise physical and independence skills that will prepare children for the next steps in their learning. However, leaders have not ensured the curriculum sets out clear expectations of what they want children to know and be able to do. This approach does not ensure that children are consistently being challenged to achieve the best possible outcomes. 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 that all staff, including leaders, have the training, support and skills required to fulfil their job roles and drive continual improvement 01/10/2026 plan and implement a broad and ambitious curriculum to support children's achievement across all areas of learning 12/10/2026 About this inspection The inspector spoke with senior leaders, leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, the designated safeguarding lead, practitioners, children and parents during the inspection. Inspector: Katie Fowler About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2572825 Address: Avenue Private Day Nursery The Avenue Leigh Lancashire WN7 1ET Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 16/03/2020 Registered person: The Avenue Private Day Care Ltd Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Wigan Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 16 September 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of 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. 0 to 4 Total number of places 96 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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