URN 2552803 · Inspected 2026-04-01 · Published 2026-05-29 · Inspector: Naomi Harling
Sunbeams Nursery Unique reference number (URN): 2552803 Address: Kirkgate, 39 Kirkgate, Shipley, Yorkshire, BD18 3EH Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 28/08/2019 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Sunbeams Early Years Limited Inspection report: 1 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 All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, typically achieve so that they are ready for their next stage of learning. Children develop skills and build on their concentration as they progress. Activities and resources support all areas of the curriculum. Babies pop bubbles and are encouraged to repeat language such as 'pop, pop, pop'. They practise their large body movements through climbing and dancing. Two-year-olds eagerly join in with songs and rhymes. They show confidence to choose a song to sing with their group of peers. They recall words as they sing aloud and show control and coordination with actions. Children are encouraged to become aware of how they feel and how to manage their own emotions when playing with resources such as play dough faces, jigsaws and face pebbles. In pre-school, children have access to more challenging resources and equipment. Children show interest as they smell flowers and taste citrus fruits, hearing mathematical language when mixing and filling containers in the water tray. During other activities, children count out the number of resources they are using. Children generally concentrate well when listening to stories, recalling familiar phrases when prompted by practitioners. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Children behave well. Routines are generally established to support children's positive attitude to learning. Children are supported to learn and get along with each other. Following challenging behaviours from some older children, further training has enabled practitioners to implement more effective strategies. If children are finding a task tricky, practitioners understand why and offer an alternative. Practitioners and parents work together to support children's behaviours through shared dialogue and feedback. Practitioners are aware of how 2-year-olds need support with their behaviour. Through identifying feelings and emotions, awareness is raised on how others may feel and 2-year-olds are supported to be kind to their peers. Practitioners in the pre-school room encourage a culture of kindness, care and respect through circle times, role playing and exploring emotions. Leaders have effectively used spaces and resources to consider children's age and stage of development, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All children, including those with SEND, benefit from using sensory areas, as these provide them with time and space to work through their emotions in a safe environment. Leaders work with parents to emphasise the importance of attendance. Absences are monitored promptly, which also helps to safeguard children. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Children's individual needs are met. Children's likes and dislikes are acknowledged alongside any dietary or medical needs, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders place a strong emphasis on secure key-person systems, starting in the baby room. Practitioners and parents talk about how they work closely with each other. Children have an 'all about me' profile in each room. A key person overview details current development, and any next steps are shared with the new room as children move up. This helps new key persons and room practitioners to identify starting points for progression and ensure all children, including those with SEND, remain emotionally secure as they build on positive relationships. Practitioners follow safer eating and safe sleeping practices to maintain children's wellbeing. Children with a limited diet are encouraged to extend their tastes and try new food through group food activities. Children try different fruits at snack time and try various fillings as they make their own wraps at lunchtime. While children benefit from a varied diet, staff do not consistently make effective use of snack and mealtimes as a learning opportunity. For example, practitioners do not consistently use these opportunities to help children to develop long-lasting healthy habits where they understand and make their own healthy choices and decisions. Appropriate hygiene practices are promoted with all children. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders have recently introduced a new curriculum, which helps children to develop a range of skills over time. The curriculum is planned so that all children are included and supported to engage in relevant learning experiences. Activities and areas for play generally take account of children's varying interests, needs, ages and stages. Leaders provide clear expectations to staff of what they expect children to achieve when they move to the next stage of their learning. This helps practitioners to support children to build on a range of skills as they progress through the nursery and then on to school. Some practitioners skilfully leave out words in songs and rhymes for children to join in. They encourage actions and movement while building on familiar songs and rhymes, to help language to become embedded. New words are introduced through focus activities such as painting, exploring worms, planting, and making 'spring soup' with flowers, citrus fruits and water. Children are supported to develop their social skills as they engage and play cooperatively with their peers. Mathematical language, including counting, is generally introduced as children play. Planning is sometimes too broad, with many different possible learning opportunities. Due to the varying skill levels of practitioners, some of them find it more difficult to adapt and respond to children's emerging thinking. As a result, practitioners are not consistently using every interaction with children as a highly effective learning opportunity. For example, mealtimes are sometimes rushed and not used by some practitioners as a positive learning experience. While singular words are a curriculum focus, some practitioners are not yet emphasising single words as they speak in sentences to younger children. Inclusion Expected standard Children's and families' needs are supported from the start of their nursery journey. Management have introduced a more detailed registration form, and as a result, they can identify any initial support needed to meet children's needs. Practitioners profile children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and produce identified targets to work towards. These are shared with key persons, and strategies are generally well implemented to support children with SEND. Management do not rigorously monitor the progress of these targeted interventions. This sometimes results in revised targets and adaptations not always being promptly made to consistently ensure every child achieves to their full potential. Practitioners adapt the environment to help children's varying needs for learning and development. Management and practitioners have recently identified that movement is a big need for some children. They have therefore provided resources and room spaces to take account of this, such as soft play and sensory spaces. As a result, managers and practitioners have noticed that children are more focused in activities. Management have used additional funding to support the needs of children. For example, additional funding has been used to purchase spinning chairs and wobble cushions, which have also helped to focus children's attention. This funding has also been used appropriately to support other children who are facing barriers to their learning. For example, varying books, such as simpler pictures and key words ranging to more words in the same story, have recently been purchased. This means that stories can be adapted and enjoyed by more children. Leadership and governance Expected standard Leaders have identified a need for more robust induction and monitoring of some processes. They review practice and procedures when incidents occur, and this has resulted in improvements within health and safety induction procedures. This has supported practitioners to have a more secure knowledge of the policies and procedures from the beginning of their employment. Leaders support staff in their ongoing knowledge of these through staff meetings and quizzes. As a result, practitioners build on their knowledge to maintain the required standards and support children's welfare. Leaders' rigorous monitoring and evaluation of some aspects of the curriculum is not embedded throughout the nursery, including the provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Therefore, practitioners do not consistently make a significant, positive difference that secures excellence for all children. Practitioners are supported through one-to-one reviews and wellbeing time. They have the opportunity to identify their own development and training needs. Recent training requested on sensory development and supporting additional needs has had a beneficial impact on practitioners' practice. As a result, practitioners comment that they are more confident with behaviour management. Each term, practitioners have an opportunity to develop their continuing professional development through online training. This is then shared within the team to raise standards. Leaders have identified how important oral health is and provide families with an information pack containing a toothbrush and toothpaste to encourage oral health at home. Improvements have been made since the last inspection to staff's questioning techniques with older children. For example, staff working in the pre-school room ask thought-provoking questions during children's play. The curriculum for mathematics in each room is now more clearly identified and implemented generally well, starting in under the 2's room and broadening the learning intent in pre-school. This helps children make progress in this area over time. 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 What it's like to be a child at this setting Children enjoy their time at Sunbeams nursery. Through child-centred play and supportive practitioners, children achieve from their starting points. The setting has a well-resourced variation of spaces, both indoors and outdoors. Upon registering and settling in, there is prompt identification of any need or support. This includes children and families with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who may face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. Children settle in securely as their needs and emotions are promptly responded to. They self-select their own play and materials, while developing their independence and confidence. Children with SEND play alongside their peers, and practitioners support them to manage their feelings and emotions. All children build positive relationships with practitioners and peers as they learn to play cooperatively together. Children are supported in their transitions throughout their nursery journey. They are prepared and ready to learn as a result of visits and key information on their starting points being shared. Families comment that they feel supported and welcome. Regular contact and general day- to-day feedback inform parents about their children. Families comment on how the setting values their children's uniqueness. They additionally comment on how homely the setting feels and how children enjoy their time in nursery. Open nights and community events further promote parental involvement and build parent partnerships. The setting shares the expectation for regular attendance with parents. Daily checks track absences and promote the importance of attendance. Children are safe. Safer recruitment and ongoing checks Inspector: Naomi Harling About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2552803 Address: Kirkgate 39 Kirkgate Shipley Yorkshire BD18 3EH Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 28/08/2019 ensure practitioners are suitable. A recent implementation of an enhanced induction process has increased children's safety. Next steps Leaders should help staff to understand that every interaction that they have with a child is an opportunity for high-quality teaching and learning, so that every child can excel in their learning and development. Leaders should rigorously monitor targeted interventions for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so future adaptations are more promptly identified and made. About this inspection The inspectors spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs coordinator, assistants, 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. A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection. Registered person: Sunbeams Early Years Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Bradford Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 1 April 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 69 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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