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Finkley Hudson's Field Nursery & Preschool

Finkley Hudson's Field Nursery & Preschool is a day nursery in Salisbury for children aged 0 to 4, with 60 registered places. Ofsted report card, 21 July 2026: Needs attention in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.

154 Castle Road, Salisbury, SP1 3SA

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
60 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
14 August 2023 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

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

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 21 July 2026

Who runs it

Finkley Hudson's Field Nursery & Preschool is run by Amanur Limited (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Needs attention
  • 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 21 July 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 typically enjoy their time in this nursery and arrive enthusiastically. Babies enjoy positive interactions. They develop a love of learning as they engage in new experiences from their safe base. However, children's learning and development is not supported consistently by all staff. This means that children do not all make suitable progress. There are high numbers of temporary staff. These staff are unfamiliar with individual children's needs and interests. They are not familiar with the setting's routines. They do not always ensure that children are suitably supervised. Older children are often left to wander around the space without focus. They do not regularly receive the support the need to further their learning. These breaches to requirements mean that children are not consistently well prepared for their next steps. Older children are not able to build and maintain positive, supportive relationships with staff as staffing is inconsistent. This impacts on their sense of belonging and prevents these children from growing in confidence and security.

Children enjoy a wide range of trips and visits in the local area. For instance, they often visit the local park and shops. These wider experiences help children to build their knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Where teaching is best, and staffing is consistent in the baby room, babies grow in curiosity and confidence as they engage with familiar staff. For example, children experiment with flying pieces of cloth in the wind after staff show them how. They explore the noises made by different musical instruments, developing their understanding of cause and effect. Children benefit from the opportunity for their parents to regularly visit the setting. For example, they are invited to attend sports day and regular parent and grandparents' play sessions. These events support children in feeling part of a cohesive community. Leaders help parents to understand the importance of regular attendance. They work with families where there are barriers to this.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Needs attention

Leaders have an oversight of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities but they have not ensured that support for these children is implemented effectively. Some staff have an awareness of children's individual needs and how to support them appropriately, especially in the baby room. However, too many staff are not familiar with the children in their care and are unaware of the strategies and systems that are in place to support their needs. This means that children's needs are not always met effectively. For example, children with behavioural needs are not supported by staff who understand the strategies that work for them. Without suitable support, they struggle to control their emotions and become upset.

Leaders have not ensured that all children children's needs are swiftly identified and addressed. Some children do not receive wider support from specialist services in a timely manner, as regular staff changes cause delays. This means that children are not effectively supported to make progress. Staff do not make suitable adaptations, in order to enable all children to participate in all learning opportunities. For instance, when playing football in the park, some children wear reins which restrict their movement. This means that these children do not benefit from the same opportunities to develop their physical skills.

Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention

Leaders have a vision for what they want children to learn but this is not yet embedded in the practice for all age groups. In the baby room, staff ensure that the curriculum is delivered effectively. However, for older children, staff do not demonstrate sufficient knowledge and understanding of the children. They do not tailor their teaching to match children's developmental needs. Staff in the baby room ensure that children's progress is carefully monitored and used to inform their teaching. However, older children's learning is not effectively assessed and supported. Staff engagement with older children is often passive and supervisory. For example, children play in the garden and staff stand back and watch them. They do not engage the children in interactions which further their learning and development. This means that older children often lack focus and do not develop their knowledge and understanding.

Where practice is best, staff support children to develop their physical skills. For instance, they encourage older babies to walk short distances to build their stamina and walking confidence. Babies develop a love of books and often choose to share these with staff. Staff support babies to develop their emerging communication skills. For example, they repeat key words for them to copy. These staff understand children's individual needs and adapt their teaching accordingly.

Achievement: Needs attention

Some children make suitable progress and move forward in their development. However, other children do not because support for their learning does not help them to build their skills. At times, children, including those who face barriers to their learning, do not engage in learning opportunities. They move without focus around the space. Some children passively watch.

Children do not all have suitable support to develop their independence. For example, they do not complete age-appropriate tasks, such as pouring their own water. While they are able to practise skills like using a knife and fork with play dough, they are not supported to use this skill when eating their meals. This means that children do not always develop the skills that they need for their next stage of learning, including school. Babies develop positive language and communication skills. For example, they use simple Makaton signs communicate their needs. Some older children communicate effectively. However, other children do not receive the tailored support that they need, in order to communicate their thoughts and feelings.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Needs attention

Some staff support children to understand rules and routines. For example, when out on trips, children know that they need to keep their visibility jackets on so that they stay safe. Routines and expectations for older children are inconsistent. Babies benefit from warm, consistent relationships with staff. However, staff working with older children are not familiar with children's individual needs and the routines in place. For instance, some staff give children contradictory instructions. This means that the children do not understand what is expected of them. Older children experience unnecessary delays. For example, they wait for extended periods for lunch. This happens because leaders have not ensured that the routine is managed effectively. Children's behaviour deteriorates as they become bored waiting.

Some staff overlook incidents of poor behaviour. Where it is addressed, staff do not use consistent methods to support children that meet their developmental needs. This means that children do not learn to adjust their behaviour appropriately. For example, when settling to sleep, some children play and make noise. Staff do not respond to this behaviour which means that other children are unable to settle and sleep. Younger children learn to collaborate well in their play. For instance, they work together to move a seesaw in the soft play area. Leaders work effectively with parents to encourage regular attendance. They alter sessions if barriers to attendance emerge.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Needs attention

Leaders and staff do not promote children's welfare effectively across the setting. Children receive attentive care during their time in the baby room. However, this does not continue consistently as children get older. Babies are well known and form close relationships with their key person. However, multiple changes to the staff team means that this is not the case for all children. Older children's care needs are not consistently met. For example, staff do not encourage them to meet their own care needs. This means that some children spend much of the day with dirty faces and unwiped noses. Leaders also fail to ensure that hygiene practices are consistently followed. For instance, when children are out on trips, staff do not always enable children to wash their hands before they eat. This means that children do not learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy.

Babies are safely supervised at all times. However, staff do not always supervise older children effectively. For example, they sometimes walk away during mealtimes. This means that children are not always suitably supported while they are eating and are at increased risk of choking. Babies sleep soundly in calm spaces where they are consistently supervised. Staff understand their routines well and ensure that they adapt their approach to suit each child's individual needs. For instance, they regularly check weaning stages with parents and adapt their food offering in response.

Leadership and governance: Needs attention

There have been changes to leadership since the last inspection. Leaders have experienced considerable challenge with staffing in recent months. This has impacted on the quality of provision in the setting. Leaders have identified where practice needs to improve and they understand the areas that need to be focused on. Some improvements have started but they are not yet having an impact on the quality of the provision. Although leaders have delivered some staff training in relevant areas, this has not led to the necessary improvement. Leaders have not ensured that staff have an effective knowledge of the children that they care for. They have also not ensured that all staff supervise children effectively and prioritise their wellbeing and welfare.

Staff typically feel well supported by leaders. However, they have experienced considerable pressure as a result of recent staffing challenges. Staff also understand where rapid improvement is required. They have felt unable to meet children's needs effectively during such a period of staffing instability. Leaders have not ensured that all staff receive a suitably thorough induction for their roles. This has contributed to the inconsistency in practice. Leaders are conscious of staff wellbeing and have recently developed new systems to reward the staff team. The wider leadership team have recently started a period of intensive support for the setting. However, this support is in too early a stage to have yet had an impact. Parents generally speak positively about their experiences. They value the clear communication from leaders and the consistency of staff in the baby room.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider must:

  • ensure that staff are suitably deployed to supervise children effectively and consistently meet all children's care needs (by 14 August 2026)
  • ensure that provision is made for effective hygiene procedures when risk assessing trips and visits (by 14 August 2026)
  • implement effective procedures to ensure that all staff know and understand children's special educational needs and/or disabilities, and that they use consistent approaches to support their development (by 14 August 2026)
  • strengthen staff practice to ensure that staff routinely use their knowledge of children to engage in high-quality interactions that promote children's learning and development (by 14 August 2026)
  • ensure that staff are familiar with the expectations of the setting and that they use consistent strategies to support children's behaviour (by 14 August 2026)
  • ensure that all staff receive a suitable induction so that they are familiar with expectations and can benefit from targeted support to develop their practice (by 14 August 2026)

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 21 July 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 12 June 2026: Actions after a complaint (report)
  • 4 February 2026: Actions after a concern (report)
  • 4 February 2025: Full inspection, Good (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

  • Ladybirds Pre-school - Pre-school, Salisbury SP1 3PN, ages 2 to 4, 38 places, 0.3 miles
    Ofsted, 22 September 2021: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • St. Marks Pre-School - Day nursery, Salisbury SP1 3BL, ages 2 to 4, 40 places, 0.6 miles
    Ofsted, 10 March 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Bishopdown Farm Community Preschool & Farm Friends - Pre-school, Salisbury SP1 3GZ, ages 2 to 11, 37 places, 0.8 miles
    Ofsted, 29 November 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Kindred Salisbury - Day nursery, Salisbury SP1 3BQ, ages 0 to 4, 54 places, 0.9 miles
    Ofsted, 25 April 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Busy Bees Preschool - Day nursery, Salisbury SP2 7EJ, ages 2 to 4, 44 places, 1.1 miles
    Ofsted, 27 January 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

Finkley Hudson's Field Nursery & Preschool on the Ofsted website