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Shambles Day Nursery

Ofsted: Expected standard·10 The Shambles, Bradford-on-avon, BA15 1JS · Wiltshire
Number of places
45 places
Age range
1–4 yrs
Last inspected
Apr 2026
Local authority
Wiltshire

About this day nursery

Shambles Day Nursery, located in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, provides childcare for children aged 1 to 8 years. Re-registered in April 2021, the nursery operates throughout the year, closing only for bank holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year.

The setting prides itself on a welcoming environment that fosters curiosity and exploration, ensuring children are happy and settled. The dedicated staff team, including a manager with early years teacher status and other highly qualified professionals, are committed to delivering an ambitious and stimulating curriculum.

All children, including those with special educational needs, are well-supported, with staff identifying individual needs and working with SENCOs and other professionals to ensure good progress.

Our ethos

Shambles Day Nursery values each child as a unique individual and fosters curiosity and wonder through discovery and imaginative play. They utilise their local surroundings and host weekly Forest School sessions year-round, embracing a healthy, natural setting to develop children's confidence, independence, and well-being.

What it's like

Children are happy and settled, enjoying a welcoming learning environment that fosters curiosity and exploration. They form strong bonds with staff and play harmoniously with peers, including those with additional needs, developing social skills for school readiness. Staff effectively identify individual learning needs and provide targeted support, ensuring all children make good progress.

Welcoming environmentCuriosity and explorationPhysical developmentAmbitious curriculumEffective partnerships

Pricing & funding

Charges are based on an hourly rate. Fees are all-inclusive, covering meals, snacks, baby formula, nappies, consumables, and standard trips, with the exception of swimming. Fees are reviewed annually in April.

Good to know

  • Fees include all freshly prepared meals, snacks, baby formula, nappies, and consumables.
  • Fees include trips and activities, except for swimming.
  • Fees are reviewed annually in April.

Key facts

Session types

Morning session (9am-1pm), Afternoon session (1pm-5pm), Full day session (9am-5pm)

Food

All freshly prepared meals, snacks, formula for babies, nappies and consumables are included in the fees.

Opening hours

7:00am - 6:30pm Monday to Friday

Age range

3 months+

Term time / All Year

All_year

Established

2021

Ofsted Inspection — new report card

Expected standard

Last inspected Apr 2026

Headline: Expected standard

Grade summary

Exceptional
—
Strong standard
—
Expected standard
Needs attention
—
Urgent improvement
—

Each dot represents one of the six inspection categories. Headline is the average of the six grades, rounded up.

Category grades

AchievementExpected standard
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routinesExpected standard
Children's welfare and wellbeingExpected standard
Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
InclusionExpected standard
Leadership and governanceExpected standard
Age range
1 to 4
Registers
Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register
Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Shambles Day Nursery

Last inspected 9 April 2026

What it's like to attend

Children are happy and settled, enjoying a welcoming learning environment that fosters curiosity and exploration. They form strong bonds with staff and play harmoniously with peers, including those with additional needs, developing social skills for school readiness. Staff effectively identify individual learning needs and provide targeted support, ensuring all children make good progress.

Inspector highlights

  • Children are happy and settled and have fun in a welcoming learning environment which promotes their curiosity, exploration, and motivation to learn.
  • Staff get to know the children well, their interests and their abilities. They provide activities that focus on the most important areas children need to learn next.
  • Children have plenty of exciting opportunities to develop their physical skills.
  • The provider and manager are passionate about delivering an ambitious and stimulating curriculum and have extremely high expectations of staff and children.
  • Partnerships with parents are effective. Staff share information to help parents support children's learning at home, such as language development, behaviour, and potty training.

Areas to develop

  • 1Ensure staff consistently engage the quieter and less confident children in activities, to further increase their enjoyment and learning.
  • 2Make full use of opportunities to increase levels of challenge for the older and most-able children to extend their learning to the highest levels.
  • 3Review staff professional development systems to provide staff with consistently constructive and effective feedback, to fully promote their emotional well-being and confidence.
Inspection #10247159 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

SEND provision

All children, including those with additional needs, play harmoniously with their peers and develop their social skills in readiness for school. Staff identify areas where children need extra support and work with the special educational needs coordinators (SENCos), and other professionals as required, to help close any gaps in learning. As a result, all children make good progress.

Outdoor space

Children have plenty of exciting opportunities to develop their physical skills. This includes supervised woodwork sessions using real hammers, saws and screwdrivers. Children show good balance and coordination as they scramble across the cargo net above the playroom, and gain strength using the climbing wall. Staff plan daily outdoor exuberant play, such as to local parks and the 'secret garden'.

EAL / language support

Children become confident communicators. Staff use small group times alongside Makaton successfully to develop children's language and attention skills. Children enjoy listening to stories and staff encourage them to talk about the pictures and to predict what might happen next. Children join in with songs and rhymes throughout the day.

Inspection history

Date: July 2022

The most recent inspection point has been hidden because the parsed entry didn't match the headline Ofsted rating (Good). We're re-checking it against the original report.

  • August 2022Good
  • July 2022Good

Frequently asked about Shambles Day Nursery

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This listing has been compiled from official Ofsted records, the nursery's own website, details provided directly by the nursery where available, and other trusted public sources. We regularly review and update listings to keep the information as accurate as possible. Learn more