St Francis Nursery

St Francis Nursery
Unique reference number (URN): 2746355
Address: St. Francis' College, Broadway, LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY, SG6 3PJ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 07/09/2023
Registers: EYR
Registered person: St Francis College Limited
Inspection report: 4 March 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
All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make
progress from their starting points. Children demonstrate high levels of resilience and
independence and a willingness to have a go. Where minor conflicts occur during play, older
children use their communication skills to address these. Younger children also use their
communication skills as they call on the help of familiar adults. Children develop their turn-
taking skills. Younger children enjoy building towers together, taking it in turns to add one
block each. These skills prepare children well for their transition to school.
Children develop a love of reading and, alongside this, strong communication and language
skills. Older children engage in conversations with each other and adults. They demonstrate
the ability to engage in back-and-forth dialogue well. They eagerly talk about their desire to
visit the library to choose a new book to look at. Children of all ages engage in puzzles,
showing high levels of concentration and perseverance. Where pieces do not fit straight
away, children take time to twist and wiggle these into place.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard
Children benefit from commonly understood expectations for behaviour. They behave
extremely well. Where younger children experience minor conflicts during play, they verbally
seek out adults for support. Expectations for those who face barriers to learning are adapted
based on their individual needs but remain ambitious for all. Where children have been
playing with the sand, they are encouraged to sweep any fallen sand up off the floor. All
children, including those who face barriers to learning, spontaneously use the dustpan and
brush to sweep the sand up throughout the play session, showing embedded routines and
expectations.
Staff and children have good relationships. Children seek out adults through the day to
engage in conversations and involve adults in their play. Staff are skilled in finding a balance
between playing alongside the children and supporting children to develop skills for
collaborative play. During a role-play kitchen game, staff model play and give ideas to further
children's thinking. When play is flowing, they step back. They stay close by to support any
escalating conflicts should they occur, but leave the children to manage minor conflicts and
continue the game among themselves.
Leaders support punctuality and attendance for children effectively. Robust systems are in
place and any non-attendance is followed up on immediately. Leaders are mindful of the
demands of working parents. They strive to achieve a daily routine that supports as many
families as possible. For example, an early breakfast supports working parents to know their
children will have the opportunity for a balanced meal at the start of their day.

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard
Children confidently express their feelings to staff during the day. When they are feeling
tired, children ask for an audio story. They enjoy listening to this alongside their friends.
Children eagerly approach staff to share their thoughts and initiate conversations. They
show off their work proudly, relishing the praise of their familiar adults.
Staff demonstrate that they are highly skilled in supporting children's learning alongside
considering their wellbeing. They find a balance between moments of silence and narration
during play in order to not overwhelm children. Where children with known barriers to
learning struggle to engage in activities, they settle at the sand pit. They benefit from a
moment of silence. Staff observe as the children watch the sand fall from their hands and
run their fingers through it. It is a calm, relaxing moment. This supports children with barriers
to learning to develop their skills in self-regulation.
Children benefit from healthy meals that take into account allergies, intolerances and
preferences. Staff encourage children to make healthy choices. At snack, children choose
pieces of fruit from a fruit platter. During play, older children roleplay being at a restaurant.
Children make balanced choices when they order their pretend food, asking for 'water,
broccoli and a little bit of pizza'. Children are taught to take account of their own safety.
When water is spilled on the floor, staff support children to clean this up. They go on to
explain how water can be slippery. Children consistently show high levels of safety when
walking between different areas of the nursery. They follow the adult and listen to
instructions intently.
Curriculum and teaching Strong standard
Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum for all children, including those
who face barriers to learning. Well-planned ongoing assessment supports staff to
understand children's current abilities and ensure they are not limiting expectations for any
children. Children develop skills in collaborative play and are understanding of their friends'
needs.
Younger children show confidence in communicating their thoughts. They happily show off
their T-shirts on arrival and confidently invite their friends to play with them. Staff are
excellent role models for the behaviour they want to see. They regularly praise children and
offer kind words. Because of this, children develop a positive sense of self. They are kind to
their friends during play.
There is a prioritisation of physical development. Children take part in physical education
lessons, dance and swimming to develop their gross motor skills. Skills are carefully
sequenced from younger groups to older groups. Younger children enjoy using their fine
motor skills to squeeze water into pipettes. Older children develop these skills further by
making careful marks on paper.
Mathematics is woven into the continuous provision provided. While playing in the messy
tray, staff model language around shape, space and measure as they look at big and small
and comment on the tall grass. Older children enjoy playing with number puzzles

independently, counting the number of objects and matching this to the corresponding
numeral.
Inclusion Strong standard
Leaders create an inclusive environment where all children's needs are met. Early years
pupil premium funding is effectively used to close any gaps for those facing disadvantage.
Children's emerging needs are identified accurately. Targeted interventions, informed by a
range of professionals, are implemented quickly. At this setting, support extends beyond the
individual child. Leaders consider any impact on parents, siblings or peers and offer further
support or signposting to external professionals. They work tirelessly to ensure referrals,
such as education, health and care plans, are made in a timely manner to ensure children
access the right support at the right time. This supports a smooth transition to school.
Effective communication between staff means that interventions are consistently
implemented. Where children struggle to safely access group swimming lessons, staff adapt
the timetable to facilitate individualised lessons. They use a graduated approach to teach
the skills needed for children to safely re-join the group lessons. Because of this, all children
benefit from developing these important skills while also enjoying the social experience of
learning alongside their peers. Parents speak incredibly highly of the support that they
receive from staff and leaders. They comment that because of the considerate interventions,
their children can learn alongside their peers, and they do not feel that any barriers to
learning hold their children back from achieving anything they want to.
Leadership and governance Strong standard
Leaders are proactive and highly motivated to maintain a high-quality early years setting.
The appointment of a new leader since the registration visit has contributed to a
strengthened approach to supporting families of children who face barriers to learning.
Parents comment on the high level of support offered by the setting. They benefit from
timely referrals and signposting to external services. Leaders take advantage of their place
within a wider nursery group and use this to share best practice. They are now looking to
take this further and aim to share their high-quality inclusive practice with other local
settings, supported by the local authority. There are plans in place for the setting to begin
hosting cluster meetings, focusing on supporting children with special educational needs
and/or disabilities as well as taking part in a case study on inclusion.
Leaders engage in regular supervision and wellbeing check-ins with staff. This supports
them to know each staff member as an individual. Leaders strategically deploy staff, taking
into account their interests and strengths. Thoughtful induction processes aim to ensure
newer staff feel confident in their role before they begin formal qualifications. These
processes support leaders to identify minor inconsistencies in newer staff's practice and
take steps to address these quickly. Training opportunities are regularly reviewed. Leaders
strive to offer a wide range of courses to support staff to develop their interests and close
any gaps in their knowledge. Staff speak highly of the leadership team. They comment that
their wellbeing is very well supported.

What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children show that they are supported to be curious and independent learners at this
nursery. They consistently access well-thought-out and engaging activities supported by
kind and caring staff members. The broad curriculum includes a host of opportunities,
including dance lessons, swimming, forest school and music. Leaders prioritise offering a
wide range of activities to children to allow them to explore their interests, discover new
ones and determine their best way of learning. This supports children when they move on to
future learning, including school.
Promoting children's positive sense of self is a priority for staff and leaders. Interests and
celebrations from home are regularly incorporated into the weekly planning, celebrating all
children and their cultures. In the setting, staff regularly celebrate children's achievements
and work hard to encourage their self-esteem. As a result of this, older children put on a
show for adults. They confidently show off a dance routine that they have been working on.
They relish the praise received from adults. Younger children spend time making play dough
'food' in the role-play kitchen. They approach adults to show off their pancakes and smile as
they receive praise for this.
Children are very well prepared for school, including those that may require additional
support. Children learn the skills to play independently as well as collaboratively with others.
Staff take time to get to know each child and to learn their interests and motivations. Staff
work closely with a range of local schools, including making contact with their special
educational needs coordinators. Care plans, targeted interventions and timely referrals to
specialist professionals mean that all children transition to school with the required support
to allow them to thrive.
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 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.

Inspectors:
Bethany Hunt
Courtney McAllister
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2746355
Address:
St. Francis' College
Broadway
LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY
SG6 3PJ
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 07/09/2023
Registered person: St Francis College Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:30
Local authority: Hertfordshire
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 4 March 2026
About this inspection
The inspectors spoke with leaders, staff, the special educational needs coordinator and the
nominated individual 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.

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.
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