URN 2863818 · Inspected 2026-05-08 · Published 2026-06-22 · Inspector: Sarah Taylor-Smith
Bridges Day Nursery Limited Unique reference number (URN): 2863818 Address: 1-2 Franks Bridge Cottages, Smarden Road, Headcorn, Ashford, TN27 9SX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 11/11/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Bridges Day Nursery Limited Inspection report: 8 May 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 Although children have only been in attendance for a short time, they have made leaps in their progress since starting at the nursery. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or barriers to achievement have their needs well understood. Staff adapt their teaching well to provide support where appropriate. Children are confident and learn suitable social skills. For example, children happily chat to visitors to the setting and open up discussions with staff. Children of all ages enjoy stories. For instance, babies pick up books and gesture that they would like to explore the book with an adult. This shows their understanding of how to share their views and knowledge of what books are for. Children learn a range of skills and knowledge that help prepare them for their next stage of education. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard In the short time that staff have known children, they have gained a detailed knowledge of children's individual needs. Staff have built close bonds through the key-person approach, which supports children's needs effectively. Children settle quickly and learn the routines within the nursery. For example, babies crawl to the table when they see staff get the chairs out ready for snack. Children's individual sleep and care routines are carefully continued from home. Leaders promote attendance at the nursery to enable children to fully benefit from regular sessions. Staff have set out clear boundaries for children to understand. Children relish the opportunity to show their good behaviour. For example, children proudly show off their stickers that they have earned through tidying up. This positively reinforces good behaviour. Staff are aware of where some children may need additional support due to their special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, staff calmly help children to manage turn-taking through regular, clear discussions to help children manage difficult feelings. Children form firm friendships with others. For example, they often seek out their friends to take part in activities that reflect their shared interests. Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard Staff provide children with regular access to the garden, and they benefit from a range of activities. For example, older children learn to kick a ball around cones. They show their mathematical knowledge during this time as staff encourage them to count how many cones they have put out. Some inconsistencies in teaching, which leaders are aware of, mean that children do not always receive the same quality of learning experiences across the setting. Children show their independence at managing tasks for themselves. For example, children serve their own lunch and know to scrape their food into the bin and place the plate in the sink. Staff structure children's conversations to help them learn about healthy food. For instance, children show their emerging knowledge and categorise food as healthy or unhealthy. Staff skilfully role model how to positively manage feelings. For instance, staff help children to understand that it does not matter if they do not knock over the cones they intended to hit. Staff help children to cheer each other on between their turns. This helps children to approach activities positively and learn how to support each other. Curriculum and teaching Expected standard Leaders have an ambitious curriculum for children. It is designed to support children's personal, social and emotional development at the very start to enable them to develop from a strong base. Leaders' approach is inclusive to ensure that they are able to successfully support children of varying ages and barriers to achievement and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff help children to understand and celebrate differences within the setting. For example, they kindly discuss with older children how they may need to adapt the game to support younger children to be involved, based on the different skills they each have. Staff quickly learn about children's individual needs and put support in place where needed. Children have a range of opportunities to develop their communication and language skills. For example, staff working with babies sing songs as they pop bubbles. Older children learn that the shape on the snail's shell is called a spiral. Staff skilfully follow children's interest to explore other shapes around them. However, leaders are aware of some of the variations of children's learning experiences and already have plans in place to address and embed these in practice. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders have a range of experience in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with barriers to achievement. They swiftly assess the support that children need. Leaders update their training regularly to ensure that they are aware of the latest guidance and procedures. They establish effective partnerships with parents and other professionals to help inform the support in place. Leaders regularly monitor children's progress and review if the strategies they have in place are effective. Children receive suitable support to help them make progress. For example, leaders review session times and activities to see how best to support children. Parents feed back that the support from leaders has been highly positive. Any additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, is used to support the individual needs of children, in discussion with parents. They regularly monitor the impact this has had on children's development. Leaders recognise some inconsistencies in practice and are actively supporting staff to strengthen inclusive practice further. Leadership and governance Expected standard The provider, who is part of the leadership team, is very passionate and committed to developing the nursery, with children at the heart of every decision. The nursery has only been open a short time and the staff team is newly formed and still developing. The provider has been meticulously building the team to ensure they have the right staff to support children to flourish in the nursery. The provider has a secure understanding of the strengths within the setting and what they need to work on next. For example, they are currently looking to expand the use of the building and move the older children into their own space to enable staff to broaden children's learning experiences. Staff report high levels of wellbeing and are enthusiastic about the setting's continued growth. Leaders carry out regular check-ins with staff during induction. In the future, staff will receive regular one-to-one supervision meetings. Leaders are establishing links with local schools that children will move on to. Parents speak highly of the staff and how their children have settled into nursery life. They are aware of how leaders are building the nursery and feel they can see how carefully everything has been planned. However, leaders are aware that they would like to build partnership working further with parents to fully benefit children's development. What it's like to be a child at this setting The new nursery has only been open a short time. Children settle with ease upon arrival, despite not having attended for very long. Children are warmly welcomed by staff and other children as they arrive, showing a strong sense of belonging. Children enjoy close relationships with staff, who are enthusiastic and have the needs of children at the heart of everything they do. All children enjoy taking part in activities across all areas of learning. Children are curious and eager to learn. For example, children enjoy role play and happily chat about the different roles they will take on. They are keen to play with their friends. Children animatedly explore different insects using magnifying glasses in the garden. They are engrossed in discussions about the different bugs that they find. They hear a wide range of vocabulary as they learn that bugs are 'delicate'. Children engage in further discussions and learn about the knots in the wooden fence. Babies sit with staff and enjoy looking at and touching sensory books. They show knowledge of what to do, which shows that these aspects are a regular part of their day. Inspector: Sarah Taylor-Smith About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2863818 Address: 1-2 Franks Bridge Cottages Smarden Road, Headcorn Ashford TN27 9SX Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Children know that their views are listened to. For example, babies show that they would like more bubble play by showing staff where the bubbles are stored. Older children confidently speak to staff, who listen attentively. Physical development opportunities regularly feature in children's daily routines. For instance, older children have the opportunity to climb, kick footballs and run outside. These times support children who learn best outside particularly well. Babies explore their emerging physical skills as staff organise the garden so they can access toys on the ground or pull themselves up to stand. Next steps Leaders should continue to develop and broaden the curriculum so that learning experiences are consistently strong for all children. Leaders should further develop their partnership working with parents to build on current practice and share information about children's learning to support their progress. About this inspection The inspector spoke with children, leaders, staff 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. Registration date: 11/11/2025 Registered person: Bridges Day Nursery Limited Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Local authority: Kent Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 8 May 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 48 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. 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