Horwich Day Nursery

Needs attention

Last inspected Dec 2025

Ofsted rating for Horwich Day Nursery

Last inspected 12 December 2025

Actions the provider must take

What it's like to attend

• Children show a strong sense of belonging as they independently hang their coats and bags upon arrival.
• Children have a designated tray, where they store their personal belongings, reinforcing their sense of ownership and routine.
• Children develop a love of books as they listen with interest to stories shared by staff.
• Staff promote attentive listening by reminding children to use their 'listening ears'.
• Staff engage children by asking a range of questions throughout the story to check understanding.
• This helps children to foster a positive attitude towards reading and storytelling.

• 1Children do not consistently make the progress expected from their starting points. Learning is not always built securely over time, particularly during child-led play, and this limits how well children develop the foundational knowledge needed for future learning. Although assessments are accurate, they do not consistently inform well-sequenced teaching that helps all children move forward at an appropriate rate.
• 2Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with emerging gaps in communication and language are identified promptly, and targeted strategies help some children begin to close gaps. However, support is not yet embedded well enough to ensure sustained progress across the curriculum.
• 3Children who speak English as an additional language benefit from visual supports that help them access routines and activities, but barriers to language development remain because teaching is not yet consistently of high quality. Overall, progress remains uneven, and not all children are securely prepared for their next stage of learning.
• 4Children's attitudes to learning are affected because, at times, activities are not adapted well enough to meet their individual needs. In these situations, some children are less engaged and do not sustain interest, meaning they do not benefit fully from the otherwise positive environment staff create.
• 5Leaders have not secured the necessary improvements in the quality of education, inclusion or staff practice. Systems for monitoring, supervision and professional development do not focus sharply enough on improving teaching or tackling weaknesses in curriculum implementation. As a result, practice remains inconsistent, and leaders are not yet driving the sustained improvement needed across the team. Staff report anxieties about workload and expectations during busy periods, and these concerns have not yet been addressed effectively. This limits leaders' ability to create a culture of professional challenge where staff feel confident to improve their practice.