What does Ofsted say about us?
All nurseries in the England are regulated by Ofsted and most will receive a visit from an inspector every 4 years. The inspector will spend a day within a setting reviewing the procedures and watching the staff as they care for the children.
Nurseries are very special places for the children who attend, and it must be very hard for inspectors to fully do justice to any setting. We have always been delighted with the wonderful thing our inspectors have chosen to say about our nurseries.
Below you will find the summary sections of our latest reports and links to the full documents.
Farmoor (between Cumnor and Farmoor)
– Ofsted rating (2013) – Outstanding
– Ofsted rating (2019) – Good
Eynsham (between Eynsham and Church Hanborough)
– Ofsted rating (2013) – Outstanding
– Ofsted rating (2022) – Good
Bletchingdon (between Kidlington and Bicester)
– Ofsted rating (2018) – Good
– Ofsted rating (2024) – Good
Bletchingdon Setting Summary
Staff show genuine interest in the children and their families and form strong bonds with them.
Experienced staff create a calm, cosy and homely environment that children adore.
Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum for all children. This is based on the secure knowledge of children’s current skills and interests and takes account of what they want children to learn next.
Children become deeply engaged in their play … and demonstrate an eagerness to explore and learn more.
Staff reflect a positive and respectful culture and have high expectations for children’s behaviour.
Children demonstrate very good levels of self-confidence and self-esteem and behave impeccably well.
Children display exceptionally positive and mature behaviours.
They are motivated to explore and play extremely well together.
Staff sensitively support and promote children’s emotional security, resilience, independence and development. Children thrive in their nurturing environment. They build very strong emotional bonds with their key person.
Eynsham Setting Summary
The provision is good Children delight in being in this welcoming, safe and well-resourced environment. They are greeted by enthusiastic and caring staff as they arrive at the setting.
Staff set high expectations and are good role models.
As a result, children are polite and behave well.
Since the onset of COVID-19, staff have placed a sharp emphasis on supporting children to manage their feeling and emotions.
For example, children are able to identify and describe feelings, such as happy, shy and angry. This is contributing towards their increased self-control and confidence.
All children show a love of books. They smile with delight as staff read them their favourite stories.
Staff’s enthusiasm and use of intonation really capture their attention and develop their listening skills. Children benefit from a language-rich environment that builds on their communication skills.
Younger children begin to link words together. Older children speak in complex sentences and recall prior learning. They use words in the right context, such as ‘lava’ and ‘overflow’.
Children benefit from a curriculum that is carefully considered and well planned, overall. The manager clearly identifies what she wants children to learn as they move through the nursery.
Staff benefit from regular supervision and support to develop their knowledge and skills.
Children are happy and engage confidently with staff, who know them well. They have formed strong attachments with their key person. This helps children to feel safe and secure.
Children are provided with healthy meals and snacks. Mealtimes are social occasions and children’s independence is supported well by staff. Children pour their own water and scrape their plates when they have finished their lunch.
Relationships with parents are strong. Parents praise the staff team for the care that their children receive.
The manager and senior leadership team place a high priority on the well-being of staff. As a result, staff feel valued and enjoy working at the nursery.
Farmoor Setting Summary
Children show consistently good levels of well-being. They show that they thoroughly enjoy their time at nursery. They approach their play and learning confidently and happily.
There are warm attachments between children and the staff who look after them. This is especially evident with babies and very young children. For example, babies who have recently started nursery respond very well to the cuddles and smiles offered by kind and reassuring staff. This good practice helps children feel safe and secure.
Partnerships with parents are strong. For example, staff provide parents with lots of suggestions about how they can help children prepare for the move to school. Staff and parents work well together to make sure that children have the independence skills they will need in this new environment.
The manager and staff continue to review the provision in order to make ongoing improvements. For example, they have improved the learning environment for older children so that it is even more inviting. Staff use resources to good effect, indoors and outdoors, to inspire children to play purposefully and to take part in a wide range of learning experiences.
Children make good progress and the overall quality of teaching is good. Staff are especially effective at supporting children’s social, communication and creative development. Children show especially strong skills in these areas. On occasions, staff miss opportunities to build further on children’s existing mathematical knowledge.
The newly appointed manager is developing further systems for monitoring the quality of teaching and providing staff with feedback on their performance. However, these systems are not yet fully effective in supporting staff to raise the quality of their teaching to the highest level.
