URN 2851954 · Inspected 2026-09-29 · Published 2026-10-26 · Inspector: Kelly Lane
The Nest Nursery Unique reference number (URN): 2851954 Address: 35 Eton Road, Datchet, Slough, SL3 9AX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 27/08/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Eton End School Limited Inspection report: 29 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. Needs attention Achievement Needs attention Children's achievement is not consistent because of weaknesses in the curriculum and the quality of teaching. As a result, some children do not develop the knowledge and skills they need for their next stage of learning. Young children lose focus on the planned activities. This is because they are not sufficiently matched to their age and stage of development. Although some older children show a keen interest in stories, younger children do not consistently benefit from an environment rich in language. This means children do not develop their early vocabulary to support their communication and language skills. Older children learn the daily routines in their room. They sing as they transition between activities, such as tidying up to go outside. Younger children are frequently unsettled due to weaknesses in the daily routines. Younger children do not develop an understanding of early mathematics due to weaknesses in the curriculum and teaching. Children develop their large muscles as they climb apparatus. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention Children's behaviour, attitudes and understanding of routines are not consistently well supported, in particular in the baby room. Children generally respond positively to familiar adults and show an interest in their surroundings. Weaknesses in the daily routines mean that children do not always experience a calm and purposeful learning environment. Younger children are frequently unsettled during transitions, mealtimes and periods of free play. Staff do not consistently prepare children for changes in routines or support them to understand what will happen next. As a result, some children become upset and are unsure what is expected of them. Staff interactions are not consistently purposeful to promote children's engagement and positive attitudes to learning. For example, younger children spend prolonged periods waiting or observing play rather than actively participating in meaningful experiences. Opportunities for children to develop independence are not consistent. Staff tend to carry children a lot, which reduces opportunities to develop their physical skills. Staff wipe children's hands and faces with little interaction or encouragement for children to develop their own self-care skills. This limits children's confidence and ability to develop self-help skills. Older children listen well to staff as they wash their hands before mealtimes. Leaders have systems in place to monitor children's attendance. This helps to keep children safe. Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention Leaders do not consistently promote children's welfare and wellbeing. Although they recognise the weaknesses in daily routines and staff practice, particularly in the baby room, they have not taken timely, sufficient actions to improve these identified priorities. This means that some children do not always receive the responsive care they need. Although staff are kind and caring, they report on the lack of support to develop their practice. This means that staff's interactions are not always purposeful to support children's emotional security and engagement. As a result, some children are frequently unsettled and spend periods of time waiting without meaningful interaction from their key person. This does not support children's emotional wellbeing. Children's independence skills are not consistently embedded within daily routines. Staff physically move children, rather than encouraging them to make choices and explore independently. Care routines, including mealtimes and transitions, are disorganised. This means that young children become increasingly upset. Communication between leaders and staff is not always effective in ensuring that information about children's individual needs, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, is consistently understood and implemented. Children do not always benefit from the high-quality care and wellbeing support they need to fully thrive. Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Leaders do not have an accurate enough understanding of the weaknesses in the curriculum and the quality of teaching across the nursery. Although leaders have recently identified areas for improvement, these plans are at an early stage and are not yet having a consistent impact on children's learning and development. As a result, the curriculum is not implemented effectively across all rooms, in particular the baby room. Although staff use some observations of children's learning to inform their teaching, this is not effective. For example, younger toddlers sit and watch staff as they write 'A, B, C' on a blackboard. They spend periods looking around rather than engaging in the planned learning. This is because the activities are too hard for children. The curriculum does not consistently reflect children's age, stage of development or individual learning needs. This means children do not build their knowledge and skills over time. Staff are variable in their interactions with children. This means that they do not consistently promote children's communication and language and early mathematical development. Some older children show a keen interest in stories and songs, which helps them to develop their vocabulary. However, these strengths are not consistently embedded across the nursery. Consequently, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, do not consistently benefit from a well-sequenced curriculum that helps children to make progress from their starting points. Inclusion Needs attention Weaknesses in the curriculum, routines and staff interactions have an impact on children who require additional support. Staff are not always well equipped to adapt experiences to help children take part in activities, particularly when children play outside. Although leaders have recently introduced training and additional management support, these actions are in their infancy and their impact on improving outcomes for children is not yet evident. This means that children do not develop the skills and knowledge they need for later learning. Leaders demonstrate a commitment to inclusion. They are beginning to strengthen systems to identify children who may require additional support. Leaders work with parents and carers and seek advice from other professionals. However, these systems are not yet embedded or consistently effective in ensuring that children receive timely and appropriate support to meet their individual needs. Communication between leaders, managers and staff is not always effective. Information relating to children's individual needs, health care plans and support strategies is not consistently shared or understood by managers. This means that children do not always benefit from a coordinated approach to meeting their needs. Leadership and governance Needs attention Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to address known weaknesses in the quality of provision. As a result, weaknesses in the curriculum, teaching, children's wellbeing and daily routines have persisted over time and continue to impact on children's learning and development. Leaders have identified some of the priorities for development and have taken some actions. However, these have not been effective in raising the quality of staff's practice to improve the experiences for the children who attend. As a result, children do not make consistent progress in their learning and development. Leaders do not have a clear oversight of how to support staff's wellbeing. Staff report that concerns about practice and the organisation of the nursery have been previously raised, but have not always been responded to effectively. Consequently, staff have felt unsupported in their roles and workloads have been difficult to manage. This has had a negative impact on staff wellbeing and the quality of experiences provided for children. Communication between senior leaders within the nursery and the management team is not effective. Information about children's individual needs and health care plans is not consistently shared, resulting in inconsistencies in practice. While leaders have recently strengthened monitoring, supervision sessions and coaching arrangements, these systems are in their infancy and are not yet having a consistent impact on improving outcomes for children. Nevertheless, leaders are passionate about and demonstrate a commitment to improving the nursery for all children who attend. They have started to implement support plans, training and additional management oversight to address the identified weaknesses across the nursery. Partnerships with parents are effective. Leaders have developed relationships with the families of children who attend. Parents say that they typically receive regular communication from staff. This helps them to support their children's development at home. What it's like to be a child at this setting Children do not consistently benefit from a well-planned, sequenced curriculum. This is because activities are not appropriate for their ages or stages of development. Weakness in the leadership team means it has not ensured that priorities for development are swiftly addressed. As a result, some children spend periods of time watching rather than engaging in the planned activities and learning through play. For example, younger children sit watching adults write letters and numbers rather than actively exploring resources. This means that there are inconsistencies across the nursery to enable staff to build on children's communication, language and mathematical development. Although leaders have recently started to improve the curriculum and teaching, these are in their infancy. This means that children do not consistently make progress in their learning and development and are not suitably prepared for their next stage of learning. Children do not consistently experience a well-organised day that helps them feel secure and ready to learn. Daily routines are unorganised, which means children are unclear about what will happen next. For example, staff move children quickly between activities without sufficient preparation or explanation, and children lose interest in learning opportunities. During mealtimes and transitions, children spend long periods waiting for support. As a result, they become unsettled and are not consistently reassured by their key person. This does not support children's emotional wellbeing. Older children are learning new routines as they sing, ready to transition to their outside play. They know to wash their hands before mealtimes. However, staff tend to wipe younger children's faces and hands with little interaction. This means that children do not benefit at these times from learning how to develop their independence and self-care skills. Children in the toddler room are happy and explore the environment as they play. They develop their physical skills as they learn to climb in apparatus. Children are secure in this room and show staff their favourite stories to read. Children who may face barriers to learning and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive support in their chosen activities. This helps them to feel safe and secure. Leaders and staff monitor children's attendance, which helps to keep children safe. Next steps To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date improve training and coaching for staff to develop their knowledge of the key-person approach to consistently support children's wellbeing 30/10/2026 review and improve the curriculum, in particular in the baby room, to meet the age and stage of children 30/10/2026 Inspector: Kelly Lane About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2851954 Address: 35 Eton Road Datchet Slough SL3 9AX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 27/08/2025 Registered person: Eton End School Limited Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00 Local authority: Windsor and Maidenhead Action Completion Date improve communication between management within the nursery to ensure that children's individual needs are met 30/10/2026 improve the routines in the baby room to support children's welfare and wellbeing. 30/10/2026 About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children, parents and carers 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. Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 29 September 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 2 Total number of places 32 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. 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