Safeguarding met Childcare on Non-Domestic Premises, Full day care source PDF ↗ provider page on ofsted.gov.uk ↗

Grades by area

Achievement

Strong standard
Children progress steadily throughout the provision, building on what they know and can do and extending their learning further. Progress is continually monitored to ensure any gaps in learning are swiftly identified, and children's next steps accurately reflect their developing abilities. As such, children are ready to flourish as they move on to school. Children make progress in all areas of learning, with a particular focus on their personal and social development, communication and language, and physical development. Weekly sessions of music and movement support children in building on their physical skills as they practise and learn new moves to music. They can express themselves through song and dance, and it provides opportunities for all children to be involved. Children enjoy singing and circle time activities with their key person. They benefit from familiar songs and happily join in with the words and actions. This gives them the opportunity to practise familiar words. Children talk confidently with the staff about their learning. For example, they celebrate 'Penguin Awareness Day' linked to children's interest. Children talk about what they have learned about penguins, including how the zookeeper can tell them apart using their wing tags and how they have two sets of feathers, one to keep them dry and one to keep them warm. Children learn and understand new vocabulary, which gives them confidence to engage in conversations.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines

Strong standard
Consistent routines and boundaries help children to know what is coming next. As a result, children are able to manage their own feelings and behaviours, share and take turns with their peers. Children are respectful of each other and demonstrate a positive attitude to learning. Staff and leaders work together with parents to support any issues with behaviour management at home, providing ideas and information to help with individual situations and barriers to learning. Leaders work closely with parents to promote regular attendance. This enables children to benefit fully from the curriculum and daily routines. As such, children display positive attitudes to their learning and develop high levels of independence. Staff set high expectations for children's behaviour and support children's individual needs. They make adaptations to support children who need visual prompts to help them to understand and make appropriate choices. Children consistently build on the independence skills they have learned throughout the setting. They become responsible for their own self-care needs. Routines and boundaries are well embedded, and children know what is expected of them. They know to put things away when they have finished with them and learn where things belong. Lunchtime is implemented in two sittings, which eases transition times and provides quality small-group time for children. This provides a more consistent approach to mealtimes and allows children quality time with their key person. As such, opportunities for communication are heightened and children gain confidence in sharing and turn-taking.

Children's welfare and wellbeing

Strong standard
Everything staff and leaders do is for the benefit of the children in attendance. They offer a safe and welcoming environment in which children can flourish. Staff talk about settling-in procedures and how these have been effective in helping some of the younger babies to settle. They offer tailored sessions that support individual children's needs. Children sit at the table for lunch. They are very independent and demonstrate effective communication skills. Children self-serve their meals. They are provided with appropriately sized jugs and cups to help them to gain confidence in pouring for themselves. Younger toddlers use a spoon and fork. When they have mastered this skill, they progress onto a knife and fork, with support and modelling from staff to help them. Staff promote understanding and reflection of children's wellbeing and emotions. Using books, puppets and props, staff encourage children to talk about feelings and how this impacts others. Children benefit from a supportive environment in which they feel safe to explore, express and talk about their emotions. Children also learn about risk and safety. They learn what they can do safely and where they need an adult to support them, such as when climbing steps. Staff support parents and children with advice on behaviour, toothbrushing and enhancing communication. For example, they offer 'Ditch the Dummy' packs and provide books to help children reduce dummy use. Additionally, staff signpost parents to the 'dummy tree' in the setting, where children can hang their dummies when they are ready to give them up. Staff work closely with parents, encouraging them and providing advice and support to help reduce dummy use and promote communication.

Curriculum and teaching

Strong standard
Staff talk confidently about children's individual needs and next steps. They are clear about children's abilities and how to improve and extend their learning. This is done seamlessly throughout activities by modelling and narrating play. Leaders and staff carry out robust assessments of children's learning to identify their next steps and any gaps. Staff confidently use this information to plan meaningful opportunities for children to extend their learning. Staff talk confidently about the curriculum and how activities are planned to support children's interests and next steps. They build on children's interests and experiences at home to help extend their learning in the setting, for example, children who are interested in cars. This feedback from home is incorporated into the daily activities in the setting, with car washing and building racetracks. All children, regardless of their starting points or needs, make consistent progress. Planning is individual to each child and reflects their needs and abilities. Staff consistently use lots of language to extend children's communication. They model two-word sentences to help children to develop their vocabulary. There are lots of opportunities for children to access activities independently. Younger children and babies can pull themselves up and cruise along low furniture to develop their core strength and prepare them for walking. Staff provide sensory play and activities to help their physical development. Mathematics is woven throughout all activities and provision areas to provide children with open-ended opportunities to count, measure and explore shape and size.

Inclusion

Strong standard
Leaders and staff implement a consistent and secure approach to inclusion across the setting. Staff are confident about children's individual needs and are responsive to them. Children with barriers to their learning are swiftly identified and plans put in place to support their progress. For example, referrals to health visitors or external services, such as speech and language therapy services, are made quickly and information gained from these professionals is used to help inform priorities for that child. Children in receipt of disability access and early years pupil premium funding receive support tailored to their individual needs. For example, staff provide small-group activities to help support children's emotional development and improve communication opportunities. Adaptations are consistently applied where needed to help children to make sustained progress. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has a good overview of the children who face barriers to their learning and is working alongside the manager to ensure effective support strategies are in place for these children to help them make progress. Children have individual plans that identify adaptations that are tailored to their specific needs and abilities. These are consistently reviewed and updated to ensure continued progress. All staff are confident in implementing strategies and adaptations to reflect individual needs. They work closely with the SENCo to embed the graduated response for children who require additional support. This ensures a consistent approach to supporting children's individual needs and ensuring they receive swift and timely support.

Leadership and governance

Strong standard
Since the last inspection, leaders have built on the team to get more qualified and experienced staff. Leaders are passionate and have a clear and ambitious vision for the nursery and a precise understanding of future areas for improvement. Leaders celebrate small achievements with parents. This embeds parents' engagement in improving outcomes for children. Partnerships with parents are excellent. Leaders and staff work closely with parents and form positive relationships to ensure a coordinated approach to children's learning. Parents thrive with how they are involved in the setting and their child's learning. They benefit from shared opportunities to engage with other parents, such as through stay-and-play sessions. This helps families who may be isolated to meet new people and share their experiences. Through focused training, leaders support staff to further develop their understanding of children's development and abilities and how they enhance this through their plans and interactions. This ensures that the quality of provision, planning and opportunities is consistent across the setting. Leaders have implemented new recruitment procedures to ensure the suitability of those working with children. Induction procedures are robust and provide new staff with the information they need about the setting and their role. There is evidence of the input from parents and how staff enhance and extend this to support children's learning. For example, farm animals, songs and stories support children's interest in animals and link to a recent visit to the farm, which children talk about when at home.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children are happy and settled. They engage well with their key person, seeking comfort from staff if needed. All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, make continuous progress from their starting points. Babies are engaged in activities and are given opportunities to explore their surroundings. They pull themselves up and practise climbing and cruising to help with the next steps in their learning. Older babies move freely between activities and develop more independence. They benefit from story time with their key person, where they learn and practise new sounds. Song time provides babies with the opportunity to join in with familiar rhymes and copy actions. Interactions between staff and children are effective and reflect how staff are sensitive to children's needs. Children giggle and play excitedly with staff, splashing in the water and exploring different textures. Children benefit from spending time outdoors, where staff provide large-scale activities such as printing and painting using tools to help promote their muscle development. Behaviour is well managed, with children following robust rules and boundaries. Support is in place where staff use 'now and next' cards for children who require a visual prompt to help them to anticipate what is coming next. The children learn valuable skills needed to prepare them for school. They learn to sit and listen, to take turns, and to demonstrate respectful attitudes towards others. They become involved in 'Pre-school Committee', where they can voice their ideas about things that they would like to see in the nursery, which promotes autonomy and self-assurance. Leaders support families to ensure children attend regularly. This helps to build secure routines that prepare children for school.

Next steps

Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes for those who may face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the 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

URN
EY551187
Address
50 Vale Road Whitby ELLESMERE PORT CH65 9AY
Type
Childcare on Non-Domestic Premises, Full day care
Registration date
12/10/2017
Registered person
Just Childcare Limited
Register(s)
EYR
Operating hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority
Cheshire West and Chester

Facts and figures

Age range at inspection
0 to 4
Total places
52

Data from 20 January 2026

Raw extracted PDF text
Partou Sunny Days Day Nursery & Pre-School
Unique reference number (URN): EY551187
Address: 50 Vale Road, Whitby, ELLESMERE PORT, CH65 9AY
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 12/10/2017
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Just Childcare Limited
Inspection report: 20 January 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
Achievement Strong standard
Children progress steadily throughout the provision, building on what they know and can do
and extending their learning further. Progress is continually monitored to ensure any gaps in
learning are swiftly identified, and children's next steps accurately reflect their developing
abilities. As such, children are ready to flourish as they move on to school. Children make
progress in all areas of learning, with a particular focus on their personal and social
development, communication and language, and physical development. Weekly sessions of
music and movement support children in building on their physical skills as they practise and
learn new moves to music. They can express themselves through song and dance, and it
provides opportunities for all children to be involved. Children enjoy singing and circle time
activities with their key person. They benefit from familiar songs and happily join in with the
words and actions. This gives them the opportunity to practise familiar words.
Children talk confidently with the staff about their learning. For example, they celebrate
'Penguin Awareness Day' linked to children's interest. Children talk about what they have
learned about penguins, including how the zookeeper can tell them apart using their wing
tags and how they have two sets of feathers, one to keep them dry and one to keep them
warm. Children learn and understand new vocabulary, which gives them confidence to
engage in conversations.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Consistent routines and boundaries help children to know what is coming next. As a result,
children are able to manage their own feelings and behaviours, share and take turns with
their peers. Children are respectful of each other and demonstrate a positive attitude to
learning. Staff and leaders work together with parents to support any issues with behaviour
management at home, providing ideas and information to help with individual situations and
barriers to learning. Leaders work closely with parents to promote regular attendance. This
enables children to benefit fully from the curriculum and daily routines. As such, children
display positive attitudes to their learning and develop high levels of independence.
Staff set high expectations for children's behaviour and support children's individual needs.
They make adaptations to support children who need visual prompts to help them to
understand and make appropriate choices. Children consistently build on the independence
skills they have learned throughout the setting. They become responsible for their own self-
care needs. Routines and boundaries are well embedded, and children know what is
expected of them. They know to put things away when they have finished with them and
learn where things belong. Lunchtime is implemented in two sittings, which eases transition
times and provides quality small-group time for children. This provides a more consistent
approach to mealtimes and allows children quality time with their key person. As such,
opportunities for communication are heightened and children gain confidence in sharing and
turn-taking.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Everything staff and leaders do is for the benefit of the children in attendance. They offer a
safe and welcoming environment in which children can flourish. Staff talk about settling-in
procedures and how these have been effective in helping some of the younger babies to
settle. They offer tailored sessions that support individual children's needs. Children sit at
the table for lunch. They are very independent and demonstrate effective communication
skills. Children self-serve their meals. They are provided with appropriately sized jugs and
cups to help them to gain confidence in pouring for themselves. Younger toddlers use a
spoon and fork. When they have mastered this skill, they progress onto a knife and fork,
with support and modelling from staff to help them.
Staff promote understanding and reflection of children's wellbeing and emotions. Using
books, puppets and props, staff encourage children to talk about feelings and how this
impacts others. Children benefit from a supportive environment in which they feel safe to
explore, express and talk about their emotions. Children also learn about risk and safety.
They learn what they can do safely and where they need an adult to support them, such as
when climbing steps.
Staff support parents and children with advice on behaviour, toothbrushing and enhancing
communication. For example, they offer 'Ditch the Dummy' packs and provide books to help
children reduce dummy use. Additionally, staff signpost parents to the 'dummy tree' in the
setting, where children can hang their dummies when they are ready to give them up. Staff
work closely with parents, encouraging them and providing advice and support to help
reduce dummy use and promote communication.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Staff talk confidently about children's individual needs and next steps. They are clear about
children's abilities and how to improve and extend their learning. This is done seamlessly
throughout activities by modelling and narrating play. Leaders and staff carry out robust
assessments of children's learning to identify their next steps and any gaps. Staff confidently
use this information to plan meaningful opportunities for children to extend their learning.
Staff talk confidently about the curriculum and how activities are planned to support
children's interests and next steps. They build on children's interests and experiences at
home to help extend their learning in the setting, for example, children who are interested in
cars. This feedback from home is incorporated into the daily activities in the setting, with car
washing and building racetracks. All children, regardless of their starting points or needs,
make consistent progress. Planning is individual to each child and reflects their needs and
abilities.
Staff consistently use lots of language to extend children's communication. They model two-
word sentences to help children to develop their vocabulary. There are lots of opportunities
for children to access activities independently. Younger children and babies can pull
themselves up and cruise along low furniture to develop their core strength and prepare
them for walking. Staff provide sensory play and activities to help their physical
development. Mathematics is woven throughout all activities and provision areas to provide
children with open-ended opportunities to count, measure and explore shape and size.

Inclusion Strong standard
Leaders and staff implement a consistent and secure approach to inclusion across the
setting. Staff are confident about children's individual needs and are responsive to them.
Children with barriers to their learning are swiftly identified and plans put in place to support
their progress. For example, referrals to health visitors or external services, such as speech
and language therapy services, are made quickly and information gained from these
professionals is used to help inform priorities for that child. Children in receipt of disability
access and early years pupil premium funding receive support tailored to their individual
needs. For example, staff provide small-group activities to help support children's emotional
development and improve communication opportunities. Adaptations are consistently
applied where needed to help children to make sustained progress.
The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has a good overview of the children
who face barriers to their learning and is working alongside the manager to ensure effective
support strategies are in place for these children to help them make progress. Children have
individual plans that identify adaptations that are tailored to their specific needs and abilities.
These are consistently reviewed and updated to ensure continued progress. All staff are
confident in implementing strategies and adaptations to reflect individual needs. They work
closely with the SENCo to embed the graduated response for children who require
additional support. This ensures a consistent approach to supporting children's individual
needs and ensuring they receive swift and timely support.
Leadership and governance Strong standard
Since the last inspection, leaders have built on the team to get more qualified and
experienced staff. Leaders are passionate and have a clear and ambitious vision for the
nursery and a precise understanding of future areas for improvement. Leaders celebrate
small achievements with parents. This embeds parents' engagement in improving outcomes
for children. Partnerships with parents are excellent. Leaders and staff work closely with
parents and form positive relationships to ensure a coordinated approach to children's
learning. Parents thrive with how they are involved in the setting and their child's learning.
They benefit from shared opportunities to engage with other parents, such as through stay-
and-play sessions. This helps families who may be isolated to meet new people and share
their experiences.
Through focused training, leaders support staff to further develop their understanding of
children's development and abilities and how they enhance this through their plans and
interactions. This ensures that the quality of provision, planning and opportunities is
consistent across the setting. Leaders have implemented new recruitment procedures to
ensure the suitability of those working with children. Induction procedures are robust and
provide new staff with the information they need about the setting and their role. There is
evidence of the input from parents and how staff enhance and extend this to support
children's learning. For example, farm animals, songs and stories support children's interest
in animals and link to a recent visit to the farm, which children talk about when at home.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are happy and settled. They engage well with their key person, seeking comfort
from staff if needed. All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, make
continuous progress from their starting points. Babies are engaged in activities and are
given opportunities to explore their surroundings. They pull themselves up and practise
climbing and cruising to help with the next steps in their learning. Older babies move freely
between activities and develop more independence. They benefit from story time with their
key person, where they learn and practise new sounds. Song time provides babies with the
opportunity to join in with familiar rhymes and copy actions. Interactions between staff and
children are effective and reflect how staff are sensitive to children's needs. Children giggle
and play excitedly with staff, splashing in the water and exploring different textures. Children
benefit from spending time outdoors, where staff provide large-scale activities such as
printing and painting using tools to help promote their muscle development.
Behaviour is well managed, with children following robust rules and boundaries. Support is
in place where staff use 'now and next' cards for children who require a visual prompt to help
them to anticipate what is coming next. The children learn valuable skills needed to prepare
them for school. They learn to sit and listen, to take turns, and to demonstrate respectful
attitudes towards others. They become involved in 'Pre-school Committee', where they can
voice their ideas about things that they would like to see in the nursery, which promotes
autonomy and self-assurance. Leaders support families to ensure children attend regularly.
This helps to build secure routines that prepare children for school.
Next steps
Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure
continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a
transformational impact on the outcomes for those who may face barriers to their learning
and/or wellbeing.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the 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

Inspector:
Michelle Highcock
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY551187
Address:
50 Vale Road
Whitby
ELLESMERE PORT
CH65 9AY
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 12/10/2017
Registered person: Just Childcare Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Cheshire West and Chester
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 20 January 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
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
52
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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