URN 2869869 · Inspected 2026-03-26 · Published 2026-05-18 · Inspector: Lianne McElvaney
St George's Nursery Unique reference number (URN): 2869869 Address: St George's Nursery, Robey Close, Linby, Nottingham, NG15 8AA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 04/11/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: The Childcare Company Sherwood Limited Inspection report: 26 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. Expected standard Achievement Expected standard Children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities enjoy a variety of activities and develop knowledge and skills across all areas of the curriculum. They make age-appropriate progress from their starting points as they are well supported by staff while they play. Babies develop knowledge of new vocabulary as they listen to stories, toddlers use their language skills as they enjoy singing songs. For example, they pretend to be asleep as they sing sleeping bunnies showing they understand what the words of the song mean. Toddlers develop their independence as they serve their own food at lunchtime and practise pouring their own drinks. Babies develop their small muscles as they scoop food onto a spoon to feed themselves. Typically, children develop their social skills as they learn to play with each other and become increasingly aware of how they are feeling. Toddlers become aware of different emotions as they talk about what makes them feel happy. Babies develop the confidence to explore the learning environment and choose their own toys. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Children are confident, motivated and curious learners. They engage well and concentrate for sustained periods appropriate for their age as they complete activities. For example, toddlers look for insects using magnifying glasses. Babies persevere as they practise early walking and climbing skills on different equipment. Children develop a love of learning as they are encouraged to access purposeful resources and activities independently. Children treat each other with kindness and respect, using manners when sharing toys and taking turns at activities, such as going down the slide. Staff encourage children to play games collaboratively, and develop a culture of praise that values children's uniqueness and celebrates their achievements. Leaders engage positively with parents to promote punctuality and attendance. For example, they adapt start times to enable parents to access their full entitlement to funded hours. Staff build warm, respectful relationships and apply their expectations of behaviour consistently. They intervene when appropriate to any incidents of negative behaviour. However, some staff, do not remind children why behaviours are unwanted or ask them to consider the consequences of their actions. Consequently, at times, children do not always learn why some behaviour is unacceptable. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Leaders embed an ethos of developing supportive relationships with children, parents and carers. They understand the importance of knowing children's care needs well. Children typically benefit from how well the staff team understand their needs and interests. Their relationships and attachments to staff help them to settle quickly and enjoy their time at nursery. Babies are quickly reassured if they become upset and toddlers happily run into nursery leaving their parents with confidence. Staff use an effective key-person system which enables them to ensure children's needs are met, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, children develop increasing confidence and independence. For example, babies learn how to sit on the floor so that they can safely take their shoes off after playing outside. Toddlers confidently lead their own play as they make healthy food in the role-play kitchen. Staff help children build a sense of belonging as they create a calm environment and replicate care routines from children's homes. For example, babies sleep routines meet their needs well. Parents describe how the welcoming staff support children's emotional regulation. They value the information staff share with them about their children's progress and advise about continuing children's learning at home. Parents enjoy stay and play sessions and borrowing books to read to their children at home. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders have created a curriculum which focuses on supporting children to become school ready. They ensure staff understand the importance of developing children's communication and language skills, personal, social and emotional development and physical abilities. Staff find out about children's starting points from parents. They use this information alongside their own observations of children's abilities to support their knowledge of what children can do and know. Staff plan activities to build on children's knowledge and skills and adapt these to meet the needs of those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Most staff promote children's next steps in learning through their daily interactions. This helps children to make progress from their starting points. However, some staff do not consistently embed high-quality interactions to extend and support children's learning even further. Consequently, children's thinking skills are not consistently developed. Staff support all children's communication and language skills effectively. They support babies to learn new words, such as animal names and introduce words to describe size, such as big and small as they complete jigsaws. Staff model a rich vocabulary as they play alongside toddlers and narrate their play. Furthermore, they develop children's imaginations as they follow children's interest in dressing up. Staff encourage children's sensory play as they splash and pour water into different containers. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders have created an inclusive setting, where all children are made to feel welcome and included. They monitor assessments of children's abilities that staff have completed and regularly review children's progress. Leaders ensure staff are trained to provide a graduated support plan in a timely manner to support all children's progress. Their process of identifying early support for children ensures that they receive the support they need. Staff engage well with families and other professionals to support children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make age-appropriate progress. For example, parents are encouraged to borrow books to support children's literacy development at home. Support put in place ensures that any gaps in children's learning and development are quickly closed. Through effective partnership working, leaders typically reduce barriers to children's learning and help to support their development. Staff fully understands children's life experiences and support children and families extremely well. Leaders signpost families to access funding and make effective decisions about how they use funding, such as early years pupil premium to support children's needs. They use funding to provide children with experiences and learning beyond what they experience at home. Leaders purchases resources, using children's interests, to further support all children's learning and development. For example, they support children's communication and language with stimulating toys and games. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders demonstrate a professional commitment to providing quality education and care to children. They evaluative the strengths and areas for improvement and have an accurate understanding of the progress they have made since opening. Leaders have quickly established a content and happy staff team who share the setting's ethos for ensuring individual children's needs are understood. Leaders recognise areas they would like to develop further to continue to promote improvement, including in the consistent delivery of the curriculum and quality of teaching. They consider the individual needs of children including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities when making decisions about the routines of the day and use of resources. For example, staff have embedded routines for self-service at meal times to develop children's independence. Leaders carefully consider staff's wellbeing and workload. Staff feel valued, and feel leaders support their professional development. There is a culture of collaboration that fosters continuous improvement. Leaders support staff to develop their skills through formal and informal strategies, such as peer observation and supervision. As a result, staff are happy and feel equipped to meet children's care needs and promote children's learning. However, leaders have not yet focused on supporting staff to use thier interactions to challenge children's learning. 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 quickly settle when they arrive and enjoy a breadth of activities. Staff plan activities that they know will interest children and promote their learning. Leaders provide new children with a range of different settling sessions to meet their individual needs. All children are happy and enjoy learning and building relationships. Staff are very welcoming and encourage children to join in and have a go at new learning. Children begin to build their confidence as staff use praise and reassurance to make children feel safe and secure to try new learning. For example, toddlers gradually build their confidence to climb steps and use a slide. Babies become increasingly inquisitive about different textures as they use brushes and their hands to paint pictures. Staff interactions are warm and caring, and positive relationships contribute to children's feelings of security and encourage them to become independent learners who are keen to explore. Children's individual developmental needs are known to staff. They are able to access a curriculum, activities and the environment which meets their specific needs. Children's needs are well met as staff make assessments and use information gathered from parents to establish accurate starting points. Staff monitor children's progress to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well. Parents are updated about their child's development and receive individualised support to extend children's learning and development at home. For example, staff share feedback about activities children have enjoyed at nursery so parents can replicate these at home. Children explore activities with enthusiasm and curiosity. Consequently, they flourish in a safe environment where they learn alongside their friends and feel included and valued. Leaders monitor attendance carefully and support parents and families to understand how Inspector: Lianne McElvaney About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2869869 Address: St George's Nursery Robey Close, Linby Nottingham NG15 8AA Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 04/11/2025 Registered person: The Childcare Company Sherwood Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 consistent attendance helps children create good habits for future learning. This helps prepare children for school and to develop skills they need for lifelong learning. Next steps Leaders should strengthen staff practice by ensuring all staff engage with children during activities, using high-quality interactions that extend children's thinking. Leaders should build on how staff support children to understand behavioural expectations and the impact their actions have on others. About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, and practitioners 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. Local authority: Nottinghamshire County Council Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 26 March 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 2 Total number of places 204 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. 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