Creative Explorers Nursery - Crouch End

Creative Explorers Nursery - Crouch End
Unique reference number (URN): 2789375
Address: Holy Innocents Church Annex, 134 Tottenham Lane, London, N8 7EL
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registered with Ofsted: 19/04/2024
Registers: EYR
Registered person: Creative Explorers Crouch End Limited
Inspection report: 7 April 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 make steady progress from their starting points and develop confidence in familiar
routines and activities. Babies become increasingly curious explorers. They respond to
songs, repeat sounds and words and engage with story times. Toddlers enjoy role play,
sensory play and outdoor experiences that help them to build their vocabulary and
confidence. Children are generally prepared appropriately for their next stage, including
moves between rooms.
Children's achievement is not consistently secure due to some inconsistencies in teaching.
Some children, including older toddlers, are not always given enough opportunity to practise
their independence and communicate their thinking. As a result, while children's progress is
evident, it is not consistently strengthened across all parts of the day.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard
Leaders promote a calm and caring environment. Staff build warm relationships with
children and help them to feel secure. Parents and carers value the support they receive to
promote their children's positive behaviour at home. This includes sharing strategies, such
as using 'kind hands' and books that help children to understand empathy. Leaders also
promote the importance of attendance. Staff follow up on children's absences promptly.
They work with families where there are concerns about children not attending.
Children generally enjoy learning and engage positively with activities. They play alongside
one another, join in songs and take part in shared routines, such as snack and mealtimes.
Staff consider children's ages and stages when offering reassurance and guidance,
especially for younger children.
However, routines and expectations are not yet embedded consistently enough. Some
transitions take too long at several points in the day, including after snack and after outdoor
play. Children sometimes wait without clear direction. At times, aspects of the daily routine
do not take place because the transition to handwashing and lunch overruns. Staff's
expectations for children's independence are also variable. Older toddlers are not always
helped to manage belongings, tidy away or take part in routines in ways that match their
stage of development.
Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard
Staff support children's welfare and wellbeing effectively. Key persons know children's
routines and provide attentive care. Babies benefit from secure and responsive
relationships. Staff soothe them through songs, gentle talk and familiar routines, including
during nappy changing and sleep times. Sleep arrangements are organised carefully. Staff
carry out regular checks to help keep children safe and comfortable.

Leaders give clear attention to children's health. Children brush their teeth after lunch, and
staff promote healthy eating through discussions about foods that help children to grow and
stay well. Mealtime arrangements are organised to take account of children's additional
needs and dietary requirements. Staff consult parents and carers carefully when children
start and when changes are made that affect children's care.
Staff also support children's emotional wellbeing. They help children to feel welcomed,
involve families in events and provide guidance when children need help to manage feelings
or behaviour. Children show that they feel secure with familiar adults.
At times, the organisation of routines does not support children's wellbeing consistently.
Some daily transitions are too lengthy, which affects the flow of the day. This means children
do not always move smoothly from one experience to the next.
Curriculum and teaching Expected standard
Leaders have designed a broad curriculum that reflects children's ages, interests and the
setting's priorities for communication, wellbeing and exploration. Babies and toddlers enjoy
experiences linked to stories, seasons and the natural world. Weekly activities, such as
music, cooking, yoga and nature-based learning, add breadth to children's experiences.
Leaders review the curriculum regularly and draw on professional learning, including work
with other early years approaches, to refine what they offer.
Staff use assessment information and knowledge of children's starting points to plan
experiences. They support children's language by naming objects, repeating words and
joining children's play. For example, staff introduce new vocabulary during planting activities
and extend children's pretend play in the mud kitchen. Babies benefit from sensory
experiences that encourage their curiosity and attention.
Leaders rightly prioritise children's physical, personal, social and emotional development.
However, the implementation of teaching is not yet consistent. Staff do not consistently give
children time to think and respond to questions. Teaching does not always help children to
practise the specific skills linked to their next steps. For instance, opportunities to build
babies' gross motor development and to extend toddlers' independent participation vary
across the day. This means the intended curriculum is not yet translated into practice with
enough consistency.
Inclusion Expected standard
Overall, leaders create an inclusive culture by gathering detailed information when children
start. This includes information about children's routines, development and family
circumstances. This helps staff get to know children quickly. Staff work with parents and
carers to shape support from the outset. Leaders identify children who may need extra help
and seek advice from the local authority's early years and inclusion team. They work with
external professionals, review support plans and meet with families to consider children's
progress and any changes needed. Leaders have also worked with social workers and
foster carers when children have been known to children's social care.

Staff access training to strengthen their understanding of supporting children's
communication and language, sensory play and regulating their emotions. Leaders use
additional funding, including early years pupil premium, to support children's experiences
and language development. Parents value the practical guidance they receive to help their
children at home.
However, inclusive practice is not yet implemented with full consistency. Staff know
children's identified needs, but agreed approaches are not consistent in day-to-day
interactions. For example, support for children developing early language and those working
towards greater independence varies across routines and activities. As a result, barriers to
children's learning and wellbeing are identified appropriately, but are not reduced as
consistently in practice as leaders intend.
Leadership and governance Expected standard
Leaders have established secure systems to meet statutory requirements and oversee the
day-to-day running of the provision. They monitor staff's suitability, training and first-aid
qualifications carefully, including through electronic tracking systems and a well-maintained
single central record. Leaders provide regular supervision sessions, team meetings, weekly
huddles and access to a wide range of professional development. Staff speak positively
about the support they receive and the way leaders listen to their views.
Leaders understand the setting's strengths and are reflective about its priorities. They use
learning walks, audits and discussion with staff to review practice. Leaders work closely with
parents and carers, the local authority and other professionals to support children's care and
development, particularly those who face barriers to their learning or wellbeing.
Leaders have rightly identified the need to strengthen consistency in daily practice.
However, these priorities are not yet embedded securely enough across the provision. As a
result, staff do not implement routines and curriculum intentions with enough consistency.
This can be seen in prolonged transitions, uneven promotion of children's independence and
variability in how well teaching helps children practise their next steps.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Children are welcomed into a warm and caring setting, where staff know them well. This
helps children to feel safe and settled. Babies receive nurturing care. Staff sing to them
during nappy changing, talk gently to them as they explore and help them to feel secure in

their relationships. Toddlers move confidently between familiar adults and enjoy joining in
with imaginative and sensory play.
Children benefit from a varied curriculum that reflects their interests and the setting's
community-focused approach. They explore natural materials, water plants, smell herbs,
such as thyme, and delight in pretend play. For example, children pretend to make
'strawberry ice cream' in the mud kitchen. Babies handle shredded paper, beads and
resources linked to stories with curiosity. Staff build children's language by naming what they
see and do. Parents and carers value the regular communication they receive. They
appreciate the practical ideas that staff share to support their children's learning and
behaviour at home.
Children begin to develop healthy habits. They wash their hands, brush their teeth after
lunch and hear staff explain that foods, such as cucumber and carrots, help them grow 'big
and strong'. Staff identify children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and
those at an early stage of speaking English as an additional language. Leaders work with
parents and external professionals to support these children.
Overall, children feel that they belong in the setting. They enjoy a range of experiences that
help them explore, communicate and build confidence. Babies and toddlers benefit from
warm relationships, thoughtful care and opportunities to learn through play. This helps them
to feel secure and ready for the next stage in their development.
Next steps
Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently so that children
are supported to practise and consolidate skills linked to their next steps across all areas
of learning.
Leaders should ensure that daily routines and expectations are consistently embedded so
that children experience a well-organised day and are supported to develop their
independence.
About this inspection
The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children and parents and carers 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:
Honufa Begum
About this setting
Unique reference number (URN): 2789375
Address:
Holy Innocents Church Annex
134 Tottenham Lane
London
N8 7EL
Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises
Registration date: 19/04/2024
Registered person: Creative Explorers Crouch End Limited
Register(s): EYR
Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00
Local authority: Haringey
Facts and figures used on inspection
This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.
This data is from 7 April 2026
Children numbers
Age range of children at the time of inspection
0 to 2
Total number of places
35

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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