Buckingham Primary Nursery

Buckingham Primary Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): EY275399
Address: Buckingham Primary School, Foscot Way, Buckingham, Buckinghamshire, MK18 1TT
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 25/03/2004
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Buckingham Primary School Governing Body
Inspection report: 21 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 make rapid progress across all areas of the curriculum. Experienced staff skilfully
plan learning that meets individual needs. All children, including those who face barriers to
their learning, become immersed in their play and show high levels of engagement. This
ensures that children leave the nursery confident, articulate and well prepared for the next
stage of their education.
Children access a wide range of learning opportunities. For example, they explore numbers
and shapes and consider how fast cars can move down a slope. Staff throughout the
nursery regularly incorporate counting sequences as children play. They sing counting
songs with gusto and demonstrate how they can count to 10 on their fingers. Children
understand that what they have to say is valued by staff. As a result, children are confident
and articulate when speaking in a variety of situations. For example, staff encourage
children to discuss their ideas and share their thoughts as they listen to stories and look at
books.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour throughout the nursery. This is because staff
have high expectations for children's behaviour. Children who need extra help benefit from
skilled staff, who support them to manage their emotions and develop their social skills and
behaviour. Children eagerly play together, share toys and speak kindly to each other. Staff
model positive language and celebrate children's achievements. Children are happy, settled
and keen to attend, which reflects their strong emotional security and positive relationships
with staff.
Leaders and staff maintain highly successful partnerships with parents to ensure they meet
children's needs consistently. Parents value the strong relationships with staff, together with
the personalised support each child receives. Older children learn to talk about
disagreements and play together without the need for adult intervention. They have a clear
understanding of the rules and boundaries. Babies and toddlers have daily opportunities to
play together and form close emotional bonds with staff. As a result, children feel secure
within the familiar and well-established routines of the nursery.
Leaders and staff collaborate effectively with parents to promote children's attendance. They
communicate the value of consistent attendance on children's learning and progress. This
has a positive impact and helps prepare them for when they start school.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Leaders and staff consistently ensure that every child feels safe, secure and valued at the
nursery. Supportive settling-in procedures, including home visits, successfully help leaders
and staff to build strong partnerships with parents and carers. A well-established key-person

system supports children to form secure attachments in addition to promoting their wellbeing
and independence.
Children confidently follow consistent daily routines. During mealtimes and as children
prepare to go outside, staff gently make expectations clear. These routines add significantly
to children's feelings of security and confidence. All children demonstrate increasing
independence, selecting resources and activities for themselves and completing requested
tasks. Staff engage extremely successfully with parents to help children understand and
benefit from healthy eating habits. Leaders ensure children's allergies and dietary
preferences are managed well by all staff. Staff understand the importance of careful
feeding routines and weaning to ensure babies' individual needs are met. Staff enable
children to understand their feelings and emotions, such as by using emotional support dolls
and 'cosy nooks'. Children particularly enjoy frequent opportunities for physical and outdoor
play. They thoroughly enjoy using ride-on toys, learning to navigate space safely, climbing
and practising their balance.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Inspirational and knowledgeable leaders have developed a well-organised and high-quality
curriculum, which is tailored to meet each child's learning needs. This includes children who
face barriers to their learning. Staff place a high priority on planning and implementing
exciting and motivating experiences that successfully embed core skills, including children's
personal, social and emotional understanding. They monitor children's progress effectively
using assessment to identify their next steps.
Staff know the children remarkably well and are skilled in knowing how to challenge and
extend children's learning even further. For example, as children explore natural objects on
a tray, they are delighted to find a ladybird on a leaf. Staff encourage children to describe it
as it crawls on their hands. Children enthusiastically answer questions and contribute to
discussions. They thrive on rich experiences that help them to learn about the world around
them. Communication and language is a strong feature of the curriculum. Babies are
encouraged to respond to the calm, familiar voices of staff, using gestures and babbling
sounds. Staff successfully talk to children as they play, showing interest and extending their
language. For example, as children make play dough hedgehogs, they talk about the 'prickly
spines' and introduce mathematical language. Staff frequently share story books and sing
rhymes with children to further support their language development.
Inclusion Strong standard
Right from the start, leaders and staff make assessments that quickly identify any delay in
children's development. This helps to ensure that staff have a thorough understanding of
children's individual needs from the moment they start at the setting. Consequently, all
children feel secure, included and able to progress from their individual starting points.
Leaders and staff work closely with families to ensure that emerging concerns are identified
swiftly. Children's progress and support are monitored by leaders and staff frequently. This
ensures that routines and strategies can be altered to suit a child's emerging needs.
Leaders ensure decisions about additional funding, including for disadvantaged children, are
focused on what individual children need. For example, visual aids and sensory resources

have been purchased to support children's language skills, confidence and emotional
wellbeing.
Leaders and staff have access to training to further extend their knowledge and expertise to
best support children with gaps in their learning and development. They proactively seek
specialist support for children when it is needed. Staff work very closely with specialist early
years professionals, which enables them to adapt the provision precisely to meet children's
individual needs so that they are included in all aspects of life in the nursery.
Leadership and governance Strong standard
A change in the leadership team has had a positive impact on the management of the
nursery. The team has a secure understanding of the setting's strengths and a clear vision
for future improvements. For example, leaders have introduced a new speech and language
programme, which has already had a positive impact on children's language development.
Leaders have high aspirations for all staff. They work diligently with the staff team, enabling
them to reflect on their own practice and share new knowledge and skills. Staff receive an
abundance of professional development opportunities, which supports staff to implement
excellent practice. For instance, staff use updated skills to enhance opportunities for outside
play. Leaders ensure that staff have tailored supervision that effectively provides them with
regular coaching and mentoring. Staff feel extremely well supported and valued.
Staff observe and assess children's progress extremely well. They show a comprehensive
knowledge of children's individual learning and development needs. The support for all
children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities, is highly effective.
The staff are very proactive in identifying children who need additional help. Collaborating
with families and professionals, they aim for all children to have the same opportunities.
Parents share extremely positive views regarding the care and education their children
receive.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children look forward to attending this nursery and flourish in this rich learning environment,
where highly skilled staff guide them with thoughtful understanding. Staff create wonderful
opportunities for children to develop their skills indoors and outdoors, regardless of the
weather. Children explore, play, solve problems and think for themselves every day. Staff
make the children feel valued, treating them with respect and kindness. They are caring and
attentive. For example, children know they can confidently ask for help if needed.

Staff are proactive in identifying any barriers that children face to their learning and
wellbeing, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They know
children very well and quickly identify any emerging needs. Staff adapt activities so that
children are supported to engage in their learning. As a result, all children receive individual
support, enabling them to make rapid progress and enjoy the range of exciting activities
alongside their peers.
The imaginative and stimulating range of activities and experiences sustains children's
interests and keeps them engaged. Learning is active, exciting and fun. For example,
children enthusiastically pass soft toys in a thrilling game. They immerse themselves
completely, gaining a visual and practical understanding of the target word 'hurry' as they
play. Children demonstrate their independence as they prepare to go outside. They are
developing physical skills while taking considered risks. For example, children learn to use
scooters as they skilfully manoeuvre around obstacles. Staff have an excellent
understanding of how children learn. They inspire and challenge children to do their
absolute best at any activity they undertake.
Staff are exemplary role models, showing respect to the children and each other. They use
clear narratives and consistent, gentle reminders to fully embed the expectations of the
nursery. Children listen attentively and respond with kindness when turn taking and sharing.
Their behaviour is excellent.
Next steps
Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure
continued improvement and high standards. They should continue to focus on creating a
transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children,
those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known or
previously known to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their
learning and/or wellbeing.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, parents, children, the special educational
needs coordinator, governors and those with designated safeguarding roles, during the
inspection.
A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this 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.

Inspector:
Kate Robertson
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): EY275399
Address:
Buckingham Primary School
Foscot Way
Buckingham
Buckinghamshire
MK18 1TT
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 25/03/2004
Registered person: Buckingham Primary School Governing Body
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Buckinghamshire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 21 January 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 4
Total number of places
76

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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