Yellow Brick Road, Newark

Yellow Brick Road, Newark
Unique reference number (URN): 2855106
Address: 29 Beacon Hill Road, Newark, NG24 2JH
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 22/09/2025
Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR
Registered person: Yellow Brick Road Newark Ltd
Inspection report: 17 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
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Leaders and staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and effectively support
children to have positive attitudes about their learning. Staff consistently manage children's
behaviour effectively. Leaders have created a robust curriculum that encourages positive
attitudes to lifelong learning. For example, in each room, children learn about expectations
and boundaries, which staff promote regularly, and children have an impressive
understanding. As a result, children support each other's behaviour and attitudes by
reminding other children when boundaries are crossed and help each other to learn.
Leaders and staff are positive role models and continuously show positive attitudes to
learning. They constantly praise children for their achievements and offer tailored individual
support when needed. As a result, children are confident to try new experiences and
successfully build their self-esteem. Children follow the established routines that are skilfully
modelled by staff. For example, children independently manage self-care routines, such as
wiping their noses, and daily tasks, such as handwashing and serving their own food.
Leaders and staff rigorously monitor children's attendance through discussions with parents
to help them understand the importance of regular attendance. This helps children to reach
their full potential.
Inclusion Strong standard
Staff gather information about children's individual needs from parents and carers before
they start at the setting. They use this information to provide activities and experiences
based on children's interests and have high expectations for meeting children's needs. They
skilfully remove barriers to learning to ensure all children, including those with special
educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the best start to their learning. Leaders have
embedded an inclusive culture and established a robust internal referral process within the
leadership team, where staff can access professional support. This means children receive
early support, and children's targets are met quickly. Leaders demonstrate a secure
understanding of how to use early years pupil premium funding, and, as a result, staff
expertly support children's personal and emotional skills.
All children have a strong sense of belonging. Staff skilfully provide high-quality interactions
and a highly supportive environment for all children to feel safe and learn, supporting those
with specific needs and enabling all children to reach their full potential. Leaders and staff
work collaboratively with external professionals to ensure children, including those with
special educational needs and/or disabilities, make fast progress from their starting points.
Leadership and governance Strong standard
As a new leadership team, leaders have undertaken a thorough review and developed a
secure understanding of the setting's many strengths. They continually reflect and instil a
culture of continuous improvement. They show passion and commitment to providing high-

Expected standard
quality care and education for the children and staff team. Leaders are highly reflective and
act quickly to make changes to the setting and constantly review the impact of their actions.
For example, they are working with external professionals within the local community to
develop and deliver training to their own staff and other settings in the area.
Leaders have worked hard on designing an ambitious curriculum that offers a broad range
of experiences and aims to give children life skills they will use later in life. They have
consistently high expectations and professionalism, which is embedded across the setting.
Leaders complete regular supervision and appraisal meetings with staff. They provide them
with feedback on ways to continually strengthen their practice. This includes providing staff
with opportunities to support their own professional development and extend their
knowledge. For example, staff have recently completed training on safer sleep practices,
and staff now have impressive knowledge of these new requirements. Leaders monitor
staff's teaching through completing observations of their practice and helping staff to
evaluate the impact this has on children.
Targeted training and coaching have strengthened staff expertise and improved the quality
of the environment and learning experiences for all children. Staff feel well supported and
benefit from regular professional development. Staff feel respected, are enthusiastic and
demonstrate genuine commitment to children's learning. Staff have positive relationships
with parents. They consistently suggest ways to complement children's learning at home
through activities and providing books for them to borrow to take home to read with their
children.
Achievement Expected standard
Children generally, including those who may face barriers to their learning, make expected
age and stage levels of progress. They develop key skills to support their future learning.
Younger children learn to communicate confidently by repeating words staff say and learning
new vocabulary. Older children learn to listen and share their ideas and opinions.
Furthermore, children engage in meaningful conversations with each other, and staff ask
questions to promote their thinking skills. This helps them to learn skills that prepare them
for the next stage of their learning.
Overall, children are independent. For example, babies and young children choose what
they would like to play with and learn to feed themselves. Older children pour their own
drinks from a water station and wash and dry their cups after they have finished. Leaders
and staff have incorporated routines like this into daily practice to help children learn the life
skills that they need for their future education. Children benefit from targeted support that
enables them to access their learning. This results in children making progress from their
starting points.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Leaders and staff have created a welcoming and nurturing environment across the nursery,
where children thrive and develop long lasting relationships with staff and one another. Staff
promote children to learn about healthy lifestyles and to benefit from daily opportunities of
outdoor play, and they frequently go on outings in the local community. For example,
children engage in physical exercise while walking to a local bookshop to take part in a
group reading experience.
Children form very trusting relationships with staff. They confidently make independent
choices in their play. Staff ensure that children of all ages can access the routines. For
example, staff adapt the daily routines to reduce barriers to learning for all children,
including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
Children develop positive attitudes towards healthy eating and enjoy fresh, nutritious meals
tailored to their dietary requirements. Staff eat alongside the children and model positive
social behaviours, encouraging children to be independent, use polite language and help
them form respectful habits. However, staff can further encourage children's independence
and active involvement during meal routines.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
The new leadership team have implemented a well-planned curriculum that supports
learning across all areas of learning. Staff prioritise their teaching to help children learn the
life skills that they need for future learning. They have a good understanding of what
children can do and what they would like them to achieve, using assessments to focus on
what children need to learn next. For example, children bake or cook weekly to help them
learn these life skills from an early age, and adapt this process to include children's next
steps, such as counting or developing their social skills. However, when planning activities
or experiences, staff can more accurately identify how to build on the skills and knowledge
children already have.
Staff demonstrate high-quality interactions with the children. Conversations flow naturally
and they ask open-ended questions to encourage children's language development and
thinking skills. Staff make adaptations to their practice to meet the individual needs of
children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who
face barriers to their learning. For example, staff implement learning tools, such as visual
aids or photos, to help children understand routines to support their understanding.

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 thoroughly enjoy their time at this inclusive and nurturing setting. The environments
are warm and welcoming, and staff enthusiastically welcome children and parents when
they arrive. Staff continue to provide regular reassurance and encouragement throughout
the day, and, as a result, children feel valued, supported and safe.
Children's communication and language development is supported through stories, songs
and rich interaction from staff. Across all ages, children smile and show clear excitement.
Younger children join in with songs at group time, while older children talk and share

Inspector:
Craig Curtis-Stanley
experiences from their home life. For example, staff talk to children about cooking and their
favourite meal, which quickly turns into a conversation about where children have eaten,
such as a café, restaurant or supermarket. They use this to extend language and help
children to make meaningful connections to the everyday world they live in.
Children progress from their individual starting points and achieve well for the next stage of
their learning. For example, staff plan purposeful experiences to support their
independence, vocabulary and physical skills. They also help children to lead their own play,
giving children time to solve problems for themselves and offering support when needed.
Robust routines help children to learn what is coming next in their learning. Staff skilfully
offer choices to children and set clear expectations and boundaries. This helps children to
understand how to manage their emotions and behaviours and also support their peers to
do the same. Staff encourage children to use their knife and fork when eating, which they do
with confidence. Children continue to develop patience and persistence as they approach
play and planned experiences.
Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who
may face barriers to their learning, are supported well. Staff and leaders have a good
understanding of the needs of the children in the setting. Staff adapt their teaching to
support children's individual needs and help them to reach their full potential, ready for the
next stage in their education.
Next steps
Leaders should strengthen the use of assessments to help staff identify how to more
precisely build on children's skills and knowledge.
Leaders should help staff to understand how they can consistently support children during
routines and play to further promote their independence.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, special educational needs coordinator and
parents 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.

About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2855106
Address:
29 Beacon Hill Road
Newark
NG24 2JH
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 22/09/2025
Registered person: Yellow Brick Road Newark Ltd
Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR
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 17 September 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 3
Total number of places
78
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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