Polam School Nursery

Polam School Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2871398
Address: Polam School, 45 Lansdowne Road, BEDFORD, MK40 2BU
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 16/01/2026
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Redshift Education Ltd
Inspection report: 18 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.

Strong standard
Expected standard
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Leaders and staff have embedded clear expectations for behaviour across the setting. Staff
consistently role model kindness, care and respect to children from a young age. Over time,
this leads children to demonstrate this independently. When children display unwanted
behaviour, staff talk to children about what they are doing, and they work together to decide
if it is appropriate. For example, in the pre-school garden, children toss sticks over the
fence, explaining to staff that the sticks are 'spiders' that they are setting free. Staff create a
plan with these children for tidying the sticks up later, understanding why this is important.
Staff provide children with a wide range of activities, linked to their interests. These
encourage children to remain at activities for long periods of time, making it easier for them
to behave and develop a positive attitude to their learning. Staff actively listen to children
and are considerate of their needs, ages and stages of development. For example, staff
follow younger children's routines from home and encourage older children to join in with
group-time activities when they feel ready to do so. Children build warm, trusting
relationships with their key person and other staff members. As a result, children feel secure
and settle quickly.
Leaders actively promote the importance of attendance with families, working closely with
them to ensure that any barriers to attendance are reduced. This has a positive impact on all
children's learning and development.
Achievement Expected standard
Overall, children make typical progress in their development. They have the knowledge and
skills they need to prepare them for their move to school. Children with special educational
needs and/or disabilities make even better progress. The support systems in place ensure
that they learn to follow routines, communicate their needs, and build on what they already
know and can do.
Children build on their knowledge and understanding of their emotions as they move
through the setting, learning about their bodies and why they may feel happy or sad. They
learn to share resources and take turns as staff join their activities and model these skills
consistently. This helps children develop patience and kindness. Older children build on
these social skills as staff encourage them to listen, respond and take turns in conversation.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders have taken swift action to minimise the risk of children being provided with food
they are allergic to. Additional training has been completed and changes to policies and

procedures have been implemented effectively. Staff are confident in their knowledge of all
children's dietary requirements.
Staff focus on children's wellbeing, supporting care routines to provide comfort, safety and
emotional security. Children form positive relationships with their key person, who know
them well and respond to their needs quickly. This safe environment supports all children,
including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have plans in
place to build on this even further.
Children's personal care needs are supported well, and staff talk to children about what is
going to happen next, for example at nappy-changing times. As children move through the
setting, they develop further opportunities to build on their independence. For example,
babies begin to wipe their own hands and faces with cloths and adult support, while toddlers
use these independently. The oldest children go to the bathroom to wash their hands.
Staff closely follow safe-sleeping practices, remaining in the room with sleeping children and
recording and performing frequent checks. The setting provides all meals and snacks, which
are linked to healthy eating initiatives. All children have access to outdoor play every day,
including through trips out in the local area.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have created a curriculum that builds on what children already know and can do,
covering all areas of learning and development. They consistently promote children's
wellbeing across the setting and have strategies in place to support children's understanding
of their feelings and emotions. Leaders prioritise helping children feel settled and
comfortable when they first join the setting. This approach begins with the youngest children
and is well established in practice. Leaders' improvement plans include embedding this even
further.
Staff have a good understanding of how to build on children's language development. They
talk to children consistently across all age groups, using songs and stories to expose them
to even more language. Staff use children's home languages to help those who speak
English as an additional language understand familiar words and instructions. This helps
children feel included and take part in activities.
Staff successfully use activities to help children develop transferable skills. For example,
they lead a filling-and-emptying mathematics activity in the garden, which begins to build the
skills children need to pour their own drinks at lunchtime.
Staff use timely assessments to identify gaps in children's learning and development and
plan appropriate next steps. Although procedures are in place for gathering information from
parents, they are not always monitored to ensure that the information is shared, which
impacts the timescales for strategies being implemented to narrow gaps in learning and
development.

Inclusion Expected standard
Leaders and staff have high expectations for all children, including those with special
educational needs and/or disabilities, to make consistent progress and thrive. For children
who speak English as an additional language, staff provide strategies to reduce barriers to
learning, such as using their home language to scaffold children's understanding of English.
Staff know the children well and use their interests to build on what they already know and
can do. They swiftly put plans in place to help narrow any gaps in children's learning. Staff
have high expectations that all children will learn the setting's rules and routines, just in their
own way.
Leaders work closely with parents and a range of professionals, implementing
recommended strategies and providing consistency for children both at home and in the
setting. Support plans set high expectations for each child and offer ways to reduce barriers
to learning, including adapting routines to ensure that all children can join in and be part of
the setting. Additional funding is spent appropriately to reduce barriers to learning, including
by purchasing specialist equipment that allows all children to be present at table-based
activities. Leaders provide all staff with training, and where staff work closely with specific
children, this training is specialised to support children even further.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders across the setting talk passionately about providing high-quality experiences for all
children. Additional funding is used appropriately to support children who may face barriers
to their learning. Leaders ensure they share improvement plans with the whole staff team to
embed practices.
Leaders consistently spend time in the rooms, and work with staff to enhance their
knowledge and understanding of the setting's curriculum, policies and procedures. Staff
comment on the support they receive from leaders and how they are able to trial their own
strategies with leaders' full support. Regular supervisions ensure that staff can share
information about children in their care and receive support. Staff complete relevant
professional development and use this to enhance their practice. Recent staffing and room
leadership changes have affected how consistently staff work together. Staff do not always
know how to deploy themselves effectively in the room. This means that, at times, children
do not receive consistently high-quality interactions with staff for some periods of time.
Leaders actively engage with families and other organisations to support children's
development. Staff share information with parents and offer ideas to extend children's
learning at home. Parents speak highly of the leaders and staff, describing the setting as a
very special place that is nurturing due to the experience of leaders.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children experience a warm, nurturing and inclusive environment where they are supported
to feel safe, valued and confident. Secure relationships with staff help children to develop a
sense of belonging. They are happy in the care of staff, who know them well, respond
sensitively to their individual needs and work closely with families to provide consistent care
and support. Children's development and progress are carefully monitored by staff. When
new children join, staff complete starting-point assessments and use this information to plan
activities based on each child's interests and needs.
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive carefully planned help
and guidance. Those who face barriers to learning benefit from consistent, supportive care
and adaptations. For example, staff prepare activities at different heights to ensure that they
are accessible for all children.
Children develop positive social skills and play alongside their peers. Children enjoy their
learning and are eager, fascinated and curious learners. They explore measuring equipment
together outdoors. Children enjoy talking to each other about the different lengths and the
numbers they can see on the tape measures. Children are supported to have a go, and
receive praise for being brave when they show persistence while measuring sticks.
Children behave kindly and play well together. They know and understand what is expected
of them. For example, returning children know that the bell signals the end of garden time,
and staff act as role models and support those who are learning this new skill. Staff know
that children learn routines by being a part of them. Children know how to keep themselves
healthy and safe. They receive effective support to manage their own feelings and to feel
calm. For example, older children use emotion tags to show how they are feeling on their
emotions tree, while younger children point to different pictures to help them explain.
Next steps
Leaders should ensure that staff deployment consistently meets the needs of all children
across the setting.
Leaders should ensure information is consistently gathered regarding children's starting
points.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator
and children during the inspection.

Inspector:
Lisa Smith
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2871398
Address:
Polam School
45 Lansdowne Road
BEDFORD
MK40 2BU
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 16/01/2026
Registered person: Redshift Education Ltd
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Bedford
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 18 September 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
1 to 5
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.

Total number of places
125
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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