Spring Gate Nursery School

Needs attention

Last inspected Apr 2026

Ofsted report for Spring Gate Nursery School

Last inspected 23 April 2026

Actions the provider must take

What it's like to attend

• Staff are friendly as they welcome children, chat to parents, and gather pertinent information about the child's day.
• New children are provided with support to help them settle quickly.
• Children and staff forge relationships, with children happily chatting to staff and involving them in their play.
• Children's behaviour is managed well, with some staff having attended specialised training to support children with emotion management, using personalised strategies effectively.
• Leaders recognise weaknesses in the provision and are building the staff team and making improvements.
• Staff well-being is a high priority, with leaders making adjustments for those needing additional support and regular supervision meetings.

• 1The curriculum is not yet embedded into practice to ensure that all children make the very best progress. Some staff are unaware of the purpose of activities and what children can learn from them. In addition, staff do not plan a variety of age-appropriate experiences for children that incorporate their individual next steps for learning. Consequently, there are times when some children are not as involved as they could be.
• 2Children enjoy the messy play, exploring different textures such as gloop mixed with chai seeds, quinoa and oat flour prepared for them by the staff. However, the activity is cleared away while children are still playing with it. This leads to some children losing interest and wandering around with nothing to do.
• 3The environment is not always organised well enough. Younger children and babies are in the same room as the older children. This results in babies being confined to one space and unable to explore their surroundings. Furthermore, when children are outside, babies are carried around by staff as there is little for them to play with. This does not support their ongoing learning and development experiences.
• 4The premises are safe and secure, and staff are vigilant in ensuring children's safety. They implement safer sleeping procedures, and check all foods thoroughly to ensure they are safe for children with allergies. Routines such as nappy changing are carried out in a respectful manner, which maintains children's dignity and privacy at all times. However, some general routines are disorganised. Children wander around during snack times while others are still eating. In addition, they wait for long periods before going outside while staff apply sun cream. This leads to the environment becoming chaotic and impacts valuable learning time.
• 5Parents are happy with the support and care their children receive. They say that children enjoy coming, and staff share information at the end of the day about what children have been doing. However, staff do not consistently share children's next steps with parents to help them fully support children's ongoing learning at home.