URN 309249 · Inspected 2026-01-19 · Published 2026-03-02 · Inspector: Elisia Lee
Broughton Pre-School Unique reference number (URN): 309249 Address: King George V Playing Fields, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire, PR3 5JA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 14/10/1992 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Broughton Pre-School (Preston) Inspection report: 19 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 excellent progress through the curriculum and are confident communicators. They happily engage and talk with adults, excited to share their news and the things they can see. For example, children rush to tell staff they can see a squirrel through the window, describing what they are doing and urging them to go and see it. Children show that they are using a range of vocabulary in context. For example, they re-enact working in an ice- cream shop and talk about flavours and how much the ice cream costs. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities achieve exceptionally well from their starting points. They steadily build their confidence, interact with their peers and thoroughly enjoy making choices as they lead their own play. Children have lots of opportunities to express their imaginations. They access a wide range of books, enjoy building structures with wooden blocks and show an interest in forming the letters of their name. Children are superbly supported for the next stage in their learning, including the move to school. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard Interactions between children and staff are extremely caring and nurturing. Children have built strong attachments with staff and independently invite them into their play. Staff are very positive role models and have high expectations for every child. For example, they ask older children who leave the lunch table to return, so they can eat lunch properly and celebrate the small tasks that younger children take part in, such as tidying up. Staff are consistent in their approach to positive behaviour. As a result, children exhibit wonderful manners and are aware of expectations. Children say please and thank you, share resources with their peers and wait until others have finished speaking before talking. Staff encourage children to collaborate with one another and work as a team. Staff are diligent in promoting children's punctuality and their attendance. They recognise the importance of children attending regularly, which helps them to understand routines, feel secure and develop strong friendships with their peers. Staff understand that children develop in unique ways and differentiate their expectations according to their age and stage of development. Staff support younger children through consistent praise and encouragement. Older children are supported to understand why routines are in place to maintain expectations of the setting. Children's behaviour is excellent. Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard Staff provide nurturing care and focus diligently on supporting children's wellbeing. They work closely with parents to support children's individual needs. For example, they encourage children to eat a variety of foods and celebrate when children have finished a meal. Children have formed close bonds and attachments with staff. For example, children independently lie down on a changing mat, help to take their shoes and socks off and relish warm and caring interactions with their key person. Children proudly announce, 'I tried to push my foot through, but I needed help.' Children smile as staff reassure them that we all need help sometimes. Children are supported to develop an understanding of their physical development, personal safety, health and wellbeing. Children enjoy peeling oranges at snack time and understand that if they tidy things on the floor they will not trip. Staff teach children about wellbeing, the benefits of exercise and eating healthily. Children proudly announce at lunch time, 'My sandwiches are healthy today because I am having roast chicken not fried.' Children develop high levels of emotional wellbeing. Staff value the voice of every child and encourage them to take part in multiple 'voting opportunities' throughout the day. For example, children vote for their favourite snack. Children learn how to recognise and manage their emotions through discussion and play. Routines, such as sleeping and feeding, are facilitated extremely well, which supports children to be highly active and engaged learners. Curriculum and teaching Strong standard Leaders have developed a curriculum that is focused on the individual child, is responsive to their curiosity and gives children opportunities to realise their potential. Staff regularly make improvements so that the curriculum adapts to suit the needs of all children who attend. Staff provide consistently high-quality teaching opportunities that support children's learning through all areas of the early years foundation stage. They observe children as they play and are extremely skilful at knowing when to intervene and offer support. Staff are excellent at promoting communication and language. They sing with children, introduce new words, use words in context, ask children to recall and remember and ask questions that promote critical thinking. Mathematical opportunities are seamlessly woven throughout the environment. Children have lots of opportunities to recap and revise prior learning and are eager mathematicians. Staff prioritise children's physical, personal, social and emotional development. Children have the opportunity to explore the natural world, build friendships with their peers, identify their feelings and talk about their emotions. This has a significantly positive impact on children's personal, social and emotional development. Teaching opportunities are differentiated to ensure that every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are supported to be their very best. Staff rigorously assess children's progress to ensure that the curriculum and teaching opportunities are tailored to the unique needs and stage of development of every child. Inclusion Strong standard Staff undertake rigorous observations and assessments of children's learning and development. They skilfully adapt the curriculum to reduce barriers that any child may face in their learning and development. They evaluate children's developmental progress and use a range of strategies to support the individual needs of every unique child. They meet regularly to evaluate and reflect if these strategies are making a positive impact on children's overall learning and wellbeing. Staff work exceptionally closely with children's parents to understand children's individual needs. They welcome external professionals into the setting to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and make all reasonable adjustments to create a nurturing and inclusive environment. Staff have the very highest expectations for all children, regardless of their age and stage of development. They adapt planned activities to support children's development stage and evaluate if activities have had a positive impact on supporting children's learning. Staff work hard to support children who speak English as an additional language. Children's cultural heritage is celebrated, and all languages are valued. Staff regularly observe and assess children's progress and development. If children are not making progress staff consider if funding, such as the early years pupil premium, could support children further. They work closely with parents to support home learning initiatives and provide a consistency for children. Staff are proactive in making referrals to other professionals so that children gain specialist support and expertise as quickly as possible. Leadership and governance Strong standard Leaders understand the setting's core strengths and undertake effective self-evaluation to identify areas for development. For instance, they have implemented 'talk time' sessions, where children have the opportunity to speak in smaller groups as they build their confidence in using language. In addition, they diligently work towards constant improvement. They have taken part in the mathematics champion programme, which has built the knowledge of staff to support children's early maths development. Leaders identify targeted training that is individual to each member of staff and that is in the interest of the children. Staff have recently attended training to support children with special educational needs/and or disabilities so that they can offer targeted support. Training has a real purpose and develops new skills for staff, so that they build even greater knowledge of how best to support the children in their care. The setting has a low staff turnover and staff work exceptionally well as a close-knit team. They explain that they feel very supported by leaders and their wellbeing is always considered. Staff are supported through regular supervision sessions and meet regularly as a staff team to evaluate and discuss the provision. Staff engage well with parents and welcome their views. They work closely with a wide range of professionals to support children's needs and share information with teachers as children transition to school. Staff engage superbly with professionals and the community. 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 achieve well at this setting. They are excited to explore the world around them and have a zest for learning. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language, are active and engaged learners. They listen intently to adults, engage well with their peers, investigate resources and follow their own interests. The curriculum is flexible, takes into consideration the different ages and stages of development of all children and reduces the barriers to learning some children may face. Children develop high levels of confidence and independence and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Children are encouraged to be part of the setting and know that their voice counts. Staff give children opportunities to make choices, inform planned activities and vote for their favourite stories. Children demonstrate they have built warm attachments with adults. Staff invite parents to be a part of their child's learning. They promote ideas for home learning, operate a book library, invite parents in to read stories in their home language and involve them in processes of assessment. All children and families are warmly welcomed at the setting and know that their opinions and contributions are greatly valued. Children demonstrate they feel safe and happy at this setting. They develop positive relationships with their peers and staff. Children's individual needs are superbly identified and nurtured by the staff team. Children make their needs known and show they are settled and confident. Staff value the importance of attendance and work in partnership with parents to support children's continual attendance. Every child is valued for their individuality and uniqueness. Children initiate a discussion on how their heart beats faster after exercise and enjoy being praised as they attempt something for the first time, such as using a knife at snack time. Enthusiastic staff offer high-quality care that supports children to attempt new things and build their resilience. This setting helps children to thrive and flourish. 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 and experiences of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. About this inspection The inspector spoke with the nominated individual, manager, staff, parents and children 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. Inspector: Elisia Lee About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 309249 Address: King George V Playing Fields Broughton Preston Lancashire PR3 5JA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 14/10/1992 Registered person: Broughton Pre-School (Preston) Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:45 - 17:30 Local authority: Lancashire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 19 January 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 2 to 4 Total number of places 33 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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