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Explorers Childcare LTD

Explorers Childcare LTD is a day nursery in Shrewsury for children aged 1 to 9, with 82 registered places. Ofsted report card, 19 June 2026: Expected standard in 1 area, Needs attention in 5 areas; safeguarding standards met.

The Old Church, New Street, Shrewsury, SY3 8JN

Key facts

Type
Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
1 to 9 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
82 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
13 August 2020 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

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

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 19 June 2026

Who runs it

Explorers Childcare LTD is run by Explorers Childcare Ltd (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

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

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 19 June 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 are welcomed into this inclusive setting and develop warm relationships with staff who know them well. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those receiving support from other agencies and children who face other barriers to learning are typically included in daily routines and activities. Staff work closely with families and other professionals to identify and respond to children's individual needs. Speech and language strategies used throughout the nursery help children to communicate their needs and emotions and participate confidently in daily activities.

Children enjoy attending the setting and are eager to take part in activities. They benefit from opportunities to play, explore and learn alongside their friends. At times, they do not consistently benefit from the learning experiences planned for them. At times, children spend too long waiting during routines and transitions, and staff do not always engage them purposefully in their learning. Some activities become overcrowded, limiting opportunities for children to explore, investigate and learn independently. Staff do not always adapt activities effectively enough to meet children's individual needs. As a result, children do not consistently achieve as well as they could.

Children feel happy and settled in the setting. They develop caring relationships with staff and seek support from familiar adults when needed. Despite this, the quality of their experiences is too variable. Children do not consistently receive the same quality of teaching, support and guidance throughout the day. Opportunities to build on their learning and respond to their individual needs are sometimes missed. Staff do not always identify and respond promptly to potential risks or maintain consistent expectations during routines and activities. As a result, children do not consistently benefit from the experiences they need to flourish and prepare for their next steps in learning.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders make inclusion a clear priority. They have supported staff to identify and understand children's individual needs and barriers to learning. Leaders work closely with families, professionals and other settings to help identify and coordinate the support children need. They attend appointments with families where appropriate and support children through carefully planned transitions. Funding is used to provide additional adult help, specialised resources and extra sessions for children who need them. This generally helps children to access support when emerging barriers to learning and wellbeing are identified.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), disadvantaged children and those who face other barriers to learning are generally included in all aspects of nursery life. Staff use a range of communication, sensory and visual strategies to help children take part in learning experiences. Leaders use assessment information to monitor children's progress and identify when additional help may be needed. As a result, children with SEND and those who face other barriers to learning are generally supported to make progress from their individual starting points.

Leaders have acted proactively where access to external services is delayed, including securing additional specialist advice for children and their families. Staff generally use information from families and professionals to help reduce barriers to learning and wellbeing. As a result, children with SEND and those who face other barriers to learning typically access the curriculum alongside their peers and take part in nursery life.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is implemented consistently across the nursery. They have not identified and addressed weaknesses in staff practice quickly enough or ensured that all staff receive the support and guidance needed to deliver the curriculum effectively. As a result, children do not consistently experience the curriculum as leaders intend. There are variations in the quality of teaching across the setting. Some children benefit from teaching that responds closely to their interests and developmental needs. This approach is not implemented consistently across the nursery. Some children spend too long waiting during routines and transitions, while some learning experiences become overcrowded, reducing opportunities for children to access resources and participate fully.

Staff generally understand what leaders want children to learn. As a result of inconsistencies in teaching practice, the quality of learning experiences children receive varies across the nursery. This affects all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and others who face barriers to learning, and means that they do not achieve as well as they could.

Leaders have developed a curriculum that focuses on the knowledge, skills and behaviours children need for their future learning. Staff use assessment information to identify children's starting points and next steps. Communication and language development are prioritised throughout the nursery. For example, staff use signing, songs, stories and regular interactions to help children develop their understanding and express their needs. Leaders have also invested in resources to support children's learning and curiosity.

Achievement: Needs attention

Children do not consistently achieve as well as they could. Variations in the quality of teaching and learning mean that some children make less progress than others from their starting points. As a result, children's achievement varies across the nursery, and they do not consistently develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they need for their future learning.

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning generally benefit from targeted support, specialist advice and additional resources. This helps them to make progress from their individual starting points and access learning alongside their peers.

Variations in the quality of teaching, alongside aspects of the organisation of children's learning experiences, mean that children are not equally well prepared for their next stage of learning.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Leaders do not ensure that staff apply consistent expectations for children's behaviour, participation and independence across the nursery. Some staff support children effectively to understand boundaries, manage their behaviour and take responsibility for their environment. This approach is not implemented consistently. As a result, children are not always clear about what is expected of them and do not consistently develop the attitudes and behaviours that support successful learning.

Leaders do not ensure that staff implement routines consistently to support children's engagement and participation. Staff do not always make the most of opportunities to encourage children to participate independently in daily routines and take responsibility for their environment. Some children spend too long waiting during transitions and routine parts of the day. At times, this leads to children becoming disengaged or less focused on what they are doing. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning generally benefit from targeted support that helps them remain engaged and participate in nursery life.

Staff develop positive relationships with children and help them to feel happy and settled within the nursery. They support children to recognise and express their feelings through a range of approaches, including activities that develop emotional understanding. Many children show kindness and consideration towards others and enjoy taking part in nursery life.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Leaders' systems for identifying, reporting and addressing health and safety concerns are not yet sufficiently embedded to ensure that staff consistently identify and respond to all health and safety concerns promptly. As a result, potential risks are not always identified and addressed as promptly as intended, reducing leaders' ability to consistently promote children's safety, welfare and wellbeing. Recent improvements to recording procedures will support this work.

Staff develop caring relationships with children and know them well. Children are generally happy and settled and seek reassurance from familiar adults when needed. Staff support children's emotional wellbeing and help children to develop a sense of belonging within the nursery community. Staff promote children's welfare through effective hygiene practices and established routines that support safe eating and sleeping. They work with families to encourage regular attendance and support children to access nursery life consistently. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning generally receive the support they need to participate in daily routines and experiences alongside their peers.

Staff understand children's individual care needs and promote their physical and emotional wellbeing throughout the day. Children benefit from a nurturing environment where staff support them to develop confidence, resilience and positive relationships with others.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

Leaders do not identify weaknesses in practice across the nursery effectively enough. They understand some of the setting's strengths and areas for development and take steps to bring about improvements. They do not recognise or act on significant inconsistencies in teaching, behaviour expectations, risk management and the organisation of children's experiences quickly enough. As a result, weaknesses remain unaddressed, and children do not consistently receive the quality of experiences leaders intend.

Leaders provide supervision and coaching to support staff development. They do not always use these opportunities effectively to identify precise areas for improvement or evaluate the impact of staff practice on children's experiences. Leaders are committed to developing staff expertise and provide a varied range of high-quality continuous professional development opportunities. For example, some staff visit other countries to learn about and reflect on different approaches to early years practice. Leaders also support staff wellbeing and workload, contributing to a positive working environment.

Leaders develop effective partnerships with parents and carers. Families are kept informed about their children's experiences, and leaders work collaboratively with them to support children's learning, development and wellbeing. Leaders prioritise support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning. Parents value the support and communication they receive from the nursery.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider must:

  • further strengthen leaders' oversight of health and safety systems so that potential risks are identified, reported and addressed promptly, helping to minimise risks and promote children's safety, welfare and wellbeing (by 3 August 2026)
  • improve leaders' oversight of teaching, learning and staff practice so that weaknesses are identified and addressed promptly, and children consistently benefit from high-quality experiences across the nursery (by 3 August 2026)
  • ensure staff apply consistent expectations for children's behaviour, participation and independence so that children understand boundaries, engage positively in routines and develop attitudes that support successful learning (by 3 August 2026)
  • provide targeted coaching and support for staff where weaknesses in practice are identified so that teaching, the organisation of children's experiences and the implementation of the curriculum are consistently effective across the nursery (by 3 August 2026)

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 19 June 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 25 November 2022: Full inspection, Outstanding (report)

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

  • Activate Camps@Shewsbury School - Pre-school, Shrewsbury SY3 7BA, 0.5 miles
  • Stagecoach Shrewsbury - Sixth Form College - Day nursery, Shrewsbury SY2 6AA, 0.6 miles
  • Nesscliffe House Nursery School - Pre-school, Shrewsbury SY3 7EY, ages 2 to 4, 20 places, 0.7 miles
    Ofsted, 22 September 2022: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Little Greenfields Pre-School - Pre-school, Shrewsbury SY1 2QD, ages 1 to 4, 28 places, 0.7 miles
    Ofsted, 12 May 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Holy Trinity Preschool - Pre-school, Shrewsbury SY3 7LL, ages 2 to 4, 24 places, 0.8 miles
    Ofsted, 20 June 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

Explorers Childcare LTD on the Ofsted website