URN 2579605 · Inspected 2026-01-07 · Published 2026-02-27 · Inspector: Sheena Bankier Tracy Bartholomew
Child First Banbury Nursery Unique reference number (URN): 2579605 Address: 8 Horse Fair, BANBURY, Oxfordshire, OX16 0AA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 19/03/2020 Registers: EYR Registered person: Bright Stars Nursery Group Limited Inspection report: 7 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. Expected standard Achievement Expected standard Children, including those with gaps in their development or with special educational needs and/or disabilities, progress steadily, and some achieve more rapidly. Children gain confidence in making their own choices about their play, such as toddlers deciding whether they would like to play indoors or outdoors. Babies enjoy songs of their choice and learn the actions to these. Generally, all children's speech and language are encouraged well. Children enjoy looking at and listening to books being read, which helps to support their listening and attention skills. Toddlers recall familiar words and phrases from books. Pre- school children are confident communicators and express their ideas, needs and feelings well. Children gain skills for the future, such as independence. Pre-school children pour their own drinks and serve their food using tongs and spoons. Babies, with support from staff, help to choose the food they eat. Toddlers begin to manage their own self-care, such as using tissues and learning that they need to wash their hands afterwards. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Staff provide a welcoming and caring environment to children. Leaders and staff highlight to parents about the importance of their children attending regularly to encourage this. Children settle well on arrival, and staff encourage them to engage in play. Children are happy and confident at nursery. They are typically interested and excited to take part in activities. For instance, some toddlers say, 'I'm excited,' and jump around with anticipation when activities are organised. Occasionally, some staff do not recognise that, although some children take part in activities, their teaching does not always fully involve them. Children's behaviour is generally positive. They make friends with others and form caring relationships with staff. Staff use positive approaches to help children to understand expectations, such as counting to 10 to help them to take turns with resources. They praise and encourage children warmly and consistently. Staff model kindness, respect and good manners to children. Some children show good manners, help others, and recognise kindness. Staff remind pre-school children about expected behaviours, such as to walk indoors for safety. At times, staff do not always guide children's further understanding of safe behaviours, such as sitting on chairs properly. Staff recognise times when children may struggle with behaviour, such as when waiting for their lunch. They distract children well, including singing songs and practising their shape recognition to help children stay positively occupied. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Staff know their key children and their needs securely. They gain information about children's interests, needs and routines on entry. Settling-in arrangements support children well. For instance, babies quickly feel safe and secure after their initial settling-in period. Babies follow their individual routines, such as for sleep times, helping to provide familiarity to them. Older children gain understanding about their feelings and emotions, learning to recognise these through characters from books. Leaders and staff take well-considered steps to support children's individual emotional wellbeing needs. For instance, key persons build stronger relationships with children who need more reassurance. Staff help children learn about aspects of their safety, including reminding older children that their lunch is hot. At times, staff do not consistently guide children's awareness of safety to encourage their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For instance, staff sometimes do not respond when pre-school children rock on chairs or when older babies slide off wet stepping stones outside. Staff promote children's independence from a young age. Children learn to do things for themselves, including using tissues and washing their hands. Good hygiene is promoted consistently, such as during nappy changes. Mealtimes are generally well organised. Overall, staff understand the procedures for mealtimes, including supervising children closely. Staff consider the additional needs of children who may need extra support at mealtimes. For example, they consider the timings of meals and the food in relation to these children's individual needs. They also check that babies' food meets their needs, such as in consistency and size. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders have implemented a sequenced curriculum that staff have a clear understanding of. Staff understand how the activities they plan support children's learning. They monitor children's progress regularly and identify any emerging gaps, including those within the overall curriculum. Staff plan accordingly to close these gaps. For instance, they recognised that areas of children's mathematical development needed further support. Staff provide consistent support and plan well for children with additional needs and special educational needs and/or disabilities. They help all children to gain skills for their future learning, including school. For instance, staff teach pre-school children about listening to instructions and putting up their hands to answer questions. Overall, staff are attentive to children and provide teaching that helps children to build on what they know and can do. For example, pre-school children benefit from different activities to help them to identify shapes. They create shapes out of clay and make patterns with shape pegs, which also promotes their small physical skills and understanding of mathematical language. Staff generally engage children in ongoing discussions as they play, which promotes their communication and language development. For example, babies enjoy singing sessions with action songs, whereas older children experience age-appropriate stories, such as exploring real vegetables alongside related books. Toddlers maintain their attention well during adult-led activities, such as when experimenting with dough. Sometimes, some areas of teaching and organisation of the learning environment are not fully effective. For example, staff working with babies do not always consider how outdoor play is organised. Some staff do not fully encourage toddlers' and pre-school children's purposeful engagement in group activities. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders and staff know children's individual backgrounds and circumstances securely. They work closely with parents and any outside agencies involved to meet and support the needs of children and their families. Leaders ensure staff have regular training and updates to help them support children's special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who have gaps in their learning. This enables staff to promptly identify children's needs for support and put in place individual learning plans tailored to their needs. These include professionals' advice and guidance for targets to promote children's progress and are regularly reviewed with parents. Children who need extra support progress well, including some gaps in development that are quickly closed. Additional funding is used well to help meet children's individual needs. For example, children benefit from one-to-one support. Specific resources are bought to support children's needs, including those that promote language development and understanding of their emotions. Staff support children who speak English as an additional language and value their home languages. They gain words from parents in children's home languages to use alongside English. Staff help children to develop their use and understanding of English. They use resources, including books along with signing and gestures, to aid communication with these children. Leaders have ensured there is a wide range of resources that reflect children's similarities and differences, such as role-play resources and books. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders have worked hard to raise the quality of the provision and staff's practice since the last inspection. They have high expectations for the quality of the nursery. Leaders have provided a well-considered programme of training and support to help staff develop their skills and practice. This has focused on improving the curriculum, organising mealtimes and minimising potential risks. Overall, staff have embedded this securely to support suitable care and learning experiences for children. A small number of staff have not fully embedded leaders' high expectations and vision for the quality of their practice and the provision. Staff's wellbeing and workload are considered well by leaders. Staff have easy access to online training, and they have regular individual and team meetings to help them build their skills and knowledge. There are effective partnerships with parents and professionals. Staff and leaders communicate well with all parents. Parents speak positively about their experiences, particularly those with children with additional needs, who highly praise the support provided. Leaders work closely with staff with specific lead roles in supporting children and families who need some extra help. They work with outside agencies and seek their guidance and advice when needed. Leaders are knowledgeable about the processes in place that help to safeguard children and support special educational needs and/or disabilities. What it's like to be a child at this setting Children feel happy and secure at nursery. The key-person approach supports new children's start at nursery securely, and they settle well. Staff gain information about children's individual needs on entry, such as through home visits. During these, staff share expected attendance policies with parents to promote the importance of children regularly attending. Children build positive relationships with each other and staff. For instance, babies learn to play alongside and with each other. Staff respond sensitively to children who need support to manage their feelings, helping them to express their emotions. Children learn about being kind to others. Staff generally provide appropriate guidance to help children to understand positive behaviours. Staff are knowledgeable about their key children's starting points and learning needs and carefully plan for their progress. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), move forward in their learning and development well. Some children, particularly those with SEND, make even better progress from their starting points. Children gain secure skills for their future learning. They develop their independence well. For instance, toddlers use a water dispenser to help themselves to drinks. Children are confident to explore the welcoming environment, and most happily join in with activities and maintain their interest well during these. They generally benefit from staff's attention. For instance, staff read books to toddlers in small groups, and they encourage babies to gain confidence to explore sensory materials. Pre-school children enjoy role play using real-life resources to 'cook'. They recall their own experiences and use their past knowledge, such as how staff like their 'tea'. Next steps Leaders should take steps to provide additional support to staff to ensure leaders' high expectations for staff's practice and implementation of policies and procedures are fully embedded across the nursery to help raise the quality of the provision further. Leaders should provide staff with guidance about using highly impactful teaching to support children to recognise that their actions may have consequences for their safety. Leaders should develop staff's teaching to ensure they adapt this skilfully in the moment to support children's learning and development even further. Inspectors: Sheena Bankier Tracy Bartholomew About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2579605 Address: 8 Horse Fair BANBURY Oxfordshire OX16 0AA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 19/03/2020 Registered person: Bright Stars Nursery Group Limited Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Oxfordshire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. About this inspection The inspectors spoke with leaders, staff, including those with key roles of designated safeguarding leads and the special educational needs coordinator, children 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. This data is from 7 January 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 120 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. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk. This publication is available at https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk. Interested in our work? 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