Willow Tree Day Nursery in Kettering

Expected standard

Last inspected Jul 2026

Ofsted report for Willow Tree Day Nursery

Last inspected 14 July 2026

What it's like to attend

• The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders fulfilling their responsibilities and establishing an open culture.
• Children develop independence skills such as toilet training, handwashing, and taking responsibility for small tasks.
• Babies and children listen with pleasure to favourite stories, helping to develop a rich range of language and communication skills.
• Practitioners ensure all children are confident to follow routines and understand expectations, promoting positive behaviour.
• Leaders and practitioners offer ongoing support for parents and carers, with regular exchanges of information and an online system for feedback.
• Key people implement safe sleeping and eating practices, adapting arrangements for each child and ensuring good hygiene procedures.
• Leaders comprehensively identify what children need to learn across all areas of learning, preparing them for future learning.
• The nursery fosters a sense of belonging and trust through well-established key person roles and support for children to manage their feelings.
• Leaders effectively use additional funding to promote disadvantaged children's interests and engage them in learning opportunities.
• Leaders reflect on the quality of provision, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and are highly responsive to feedback.

• 1Leaders should support practitioners to enhance their interactions with children further to ensure that learning opportunities are consistently developed and extended throughout activities and routines.
• 2Leaders should target and continue to tailor the professional development programme to promote practitioners' skills and knowledge, particularly in mathematics.