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Cloud9 Childcare

Cloud9 Childcare is a day nursery in Ossett for children aged 0 to 4, with 90 registered places. Ofsted report card, 22 April 2026: Strong standard in 4 areas, Expected standard in 2 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Ashfield House, Illingworth Street, Ossett, WF5 8AL

Key facts

Type
Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
0 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
90 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
22 February 2024 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 22 April 2026

Who runs it

Cloud9 Childcare is run by Cloud9 Childcare Ltd (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Strong standard
  • Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard
  • Achievement: Strong standard
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
  • Leadership and governance: Expected standard
  • Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 22 April 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive at this welcoming, homely setting with confidence and separate from parents with ease. They feel safe and secure in the care of nurturing staff. Older children independently wave goodbye, while younger children accept a warm welcome and a cuddle before going happily with their key person. Children consistently benefit from the responsive relationships staff build with them. Leaders and staff work closely with families to promote the importance of attendance, recognising that it supports children's learning and safety.

Children thrive as they lead their own play in an environment that values their uniqueness. They move flexibly between different areas, including dedicated sensory rooms, while staff maintain close supervision to ensure they are safe. Children show high levels of resilience and confidence. They persevere with challenging activities and develop strong self-belief through the encouragement they receive from staff.

Children explore the community on regular outings, where they learn essential road safety skills. They wear high-visibility jackets and follow instructions to 'look left, look right and listen'. Children feel a sense of belonging through engagement, such as learning about Remembrance Day. They make wreaths from dried leaves and discuss history, including the significance of remembering soldiers and animals. Staff help them to create meaningful links through a visit to the local cenotaph.

Children achieve consistently well from their starting points. Babies copy animal noises and use shells to scoop and pour sand to develop fine motor skills. Toddlers use tongs to self-serve lunch and line up animals to count and categorise them. Pre-school children develop high levels of independence as they manage personal care and use paintbrushes to create marks. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning receive targeted, sensitive support. For example, children use sensory fidget boxes to help them remain focused and settle during mealtimes. As a result, children gain the essential knowledge and skills they need and leave the setting ready for the next stage of their learning.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff and leaders identify individual needs through a responsive key-person system and 'All About Me' forms that gather essential information on children's interests and routines. Staff use ongoing assessments, including the progress check at age two, to consistently track development and spot learning gaps. When staff identify concerns, they implement internal support, including personalised activities and visual profile sheets available in rooms. This ensures all staff quickly understand children's needs and targets to maintain consistent care and continuity.

Staff set small, achievable targets to help children progress before they initiate timely referrals to outside agencies. Staff complete targeted training in areas such as communication, special educational needs and/or disabilities and barriers to learning to ensure they have the expertise to meet these needs. Leaders reduce barriers to learning through reasonable adjustments, such as maintaining resources at low levels to ensure they remain accessible. Staff are deployed flexibly to provide one-to-one support for children who require help to manage their feelings and behaviour.

For children who speak English as an additional language, staff introduce key words from their home language into everyday conversations. They also use visual aids and gestures to build communication confidence and ensure children feel understood. Early years pupil premium funding purposefully supports disadvantaged children, for example through the engagement of a dance teacher to enhance physical development. Leaders monitor progress and review support termly to assess the impact of interventions. Staff provide dedicated support for children known, or previously known, to children's social care to ensure they receive consistent care.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders design an ambitious curriculum and maintain a clear understanding of the quality of teaching. They reflect regularly to improve practice, such as rearranging the baby room to enhance resource accessibility. Staff purposefully target early language skills. For example, during a Goldilocks-themed activity, children learn vocabulary such as 'soft', 'big' and 'small' while retelling the story. Staff build children's mathematical knowledge during play by counting claps with babies or helping pre-schoolers incorporate circles into their artwork.

Staff use ongoing assessments to identify what children know and can do. They use this data to plan precise next steps, ensuring staff offer challenge and help children embed learning. For instance, staff use children's previous fascination with frogspawn to introduce a chia seed experiment. Children explore scientific concepts as they observe the 'slimy' texture and watch seeds grow over time. Physical skills evolve progressively as children dig in the sandpit and use large tweezers, leading to refined mark making. Personal and social growth remains central. 'Show and tell' sessions allow children to speak confidently, while activities such as discussing favourite milkshakes encourage peer interaction.

Leaders and staff adapt teaching to ensure the curriculum remains accessible to everyone. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to learning, receive the support they need to engage fully in their learning and make continuous progress.

Achievement: Strong standard

Through the inclusive curriculum, children gain the skills and confidence required for their next stage of learning. Younger children learn how to be part of a group and begin to share, which evolves into social confidence as pre-schoolers independently ask peers, 'Can you play with me?' This development is evident in their physical skills as children progress from using chunky crayons to using thin paintbrushes, demonstrating refined fine motor control.

Independence is a priority. Children learn to manage their own personal care and gain the confidence they need for the next stage of education. For example, younger children put on their own hat during role play, while older children learn to put on their own shoes and coats.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing barriers to learning reach their potential from their individual starting points. For instance, children who previously struggled with transitions now follow the daily routine with confidence. They respond well to consistent support, moving from a need for one-to-one guidance to participating independently in group activities. As a result, children reach their milestones and leave well prepared for the transition to school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Children demonstrate highly positive attitudes to learning and consistently follow expectations for behaviour. They show a clear understanding of boundaries, which helps them feel safe and secure. Staff model kindness and use positive phrasing, such as 'gentle hands', to guide children's interactions. Younger children learn the social routines of the day, such as warmly welcoming their peers to the table for snack as they wake from their naps. This culture of care is reflected by older children, who show empathy and kindness by offering cuddles to their peers when they need reassurance.

Children follow instructions well and learn to line up sensibly when moving between indoors and outdoors. Staff encourage a 'can-do' attitude, supporting children to stay determined when they encounter difficulty. For example, children show great focus and resilience as they keep trying to hammer golf pegs into a box. Staff offer motivating praise, telling children they have 'big strong muscles' to build their self-belief and perseverance.

Staff use calm and consistent redirection to help children understand expectations. For instance, when children become overly energetic indoors, staff gently explain the importance of using 'indoor voices'. Children respond positively to this guidance, showing a developing ability to regulate their own actions. As a result, children behave with great respect toward their peers and the setting's animals, such as the resident fish, rabbit and tortoise.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Individual care needs are met through detailed routines. Sleep arrangements are tailored to age, with staff present to ensure children's safety. For babies, weaning records track new foods and provide staff with accurate information. Dietary requirements are managed using a system of photos and colour-coded plates to identify children with allergies at mealtimes.

Children's physical wellbeing is a priority. They have constant access to fresh water and develop independence from an early age. Babies select their own bottles, while staff introduce vocabulary such as 'hydrate' to explain the importance of drinking to older children. Children manage their own hygiene and practise skills such as doing up zips or applying sun cream. Staff teach children about sun safety, discussing the weather and UV levels to help them understand why they wear hats and need protection when outdoors. Staff promote healthy eating and oral health, while children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive tailored support through care plans to navigate routines with confidence.

Staff emphasise the importance of regular attendance and support families to ensure children benefit from a consistent routine. Leaders are typically mindful of children's use of technology at home and discuss reducing screen time with parents. However, they have not yet established a consistent approach to educating children about online safety or sharing guidance with all families. As a result, a shared approach to promoting digital wellbeing and managing the risks of technology is not yet fully embedded across the setting.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders reflect continually on their practice, recently expanding the setting into purpose-built rooms to meet growing community demand. To maintain staff morale, leaders prioritise wellbeing through meaningful recognition. This includes the use of 'proud clouds' to celebrate individual achievements and highlight positive moments within the team. New staff typically receive a full induction to ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities from the start. Staff feel supported and value the open-door policy, which encourages transparent communication.

Leaders identify specific training needs through regular observations, ensuring staff access a range of targeted training to help them support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Termly supervision sessions allow staff to reflect on their strengths and areas for development.

Partnerships with parents are a strength. Parents value the family-oriented environment and express a level of trust that their children are safe and cared for. Staff typically use a digital app for two-way communication, while prioritising face-to-face rapport to build trust. Leaders support school transitions by joining local networks and updating teachers on children's progress. Generally, these transitions are well managed. However, partnerships with other early years settings are not yet consistently effective. For children attending dual settings, a joint approach is not always in place. As a result, the sharing of baseline assessments and information is sometimes delayed, which has the potential to impact negatively on the continuity of care and learning.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should refine the strategies used to support children and families in understanding the risks of digital technology and keeping safe online.
  • Leaders should strengthen partnerships with other settings that children attend to ensure a consistent joint approach is established and developmental information is shared promptly.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 22 April 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 22 April 2026: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 4, Expected standard in 2

Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.

The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.

Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.

Source: Ofsted reports

Funded childcare hours in England

All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.

Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.

Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.

The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.

Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)

Other nurseries nearby

  • Kip McGrath Ossett LLP - Day nursery, Ossett WF5 8AD, under 0.1 miles
  • Little Stars Day Nursery - Day nursery, Ossett WF5 0BN, ages 0 to 5, 60 places, 0.6 miles
    Ofsted, 23 May 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • SWAP - Day nursery, Ossett WF5 9ND, 0.6 miles
  • Rainbow Childcare - Day nursery, Ossett WF5 9AQ, ages 0 to 4, 74 places, 0.9 miles
    Ofsted, 9 August 2023: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Blossom Tree Bloomers - Day nursery, Ossett WF5 9PL, 52 places, 1.0 miles

Schools nearby

Cloud9 Childcare on the Ofsted website