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Heathfield House Day Nursery

Heathfield House Day Nursery is a day nursery in Warrington for children aged 0 to 4, with 68 registered places. Ofsted report card, 4 February 2026: Strong standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Delenty Drive, Warrington, WA3 6AP

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
68 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
16 November 2017 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 4 February 2026

Who runs it

Heathfield House Day Nursery is run by Heathfield House Day Nursery 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: Strong standard
  • Leadership and governance: Strong standard
  • Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 4 February 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 to a very happy, warm and welcoming setting. They settle quickly into familiar routines supported by caring staff who swiftly notice if anyone needs a quiet word or reassuring cuddle. This helps every child feel safe as soon as they start their day. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from safe, calm transitions that help them feel secure. Children benefit from a wide range of experiences that appeal to all children and their age and stage of development. Staff confidently understand children's interests and use these to engage them in meaningful play and experiences. Children enjoy their learning and become absorbed in their play for sustained periods of time.

Leaders are passionate about inclusion and ensuring that all children benefit from an ambitious curriculum. Staff skilfully build on what children are doing, and this enables all children to make excellent progress in their learning and development from different starting points. Children with SEND and those who face barriers make secure progress because staff identify needs early and adapt teaching quickly. Staff consistently introduce new ideas, extend conversations and build rich language. Children take part in storytelling, early mathematics sessions, mark making, role play and problem-solving. Children show real pride in their achievements and enjoy celebrating their success with staff and friends. Staff give children time to try and explore their curiosity, and this builds knowledge and resilience. Throughout, children and babies show independence, their developing skills and confidence.

Children form warm, trusting relationships with staff and play kindly with their peers. They show care for one another and their community. Parents describe the setting as a wonderful place and say they feel involved in their children's learning. Leaders promote regular attendance so children benefit from consistent routines that support their wellbeing. Children thrive here as they feel understood and valued.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders are passionate about inclusion and are relentless in their efforts to remove barriers to children's learning. Leaders are unwavering in seeking the right support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They robustly monitor intervention plans and review the precision. This leads to a prompt and accurate identification of children's needs and personalised ongoing support. Established and successful partnership working ensures that referrals are made quickly and all children make accelerated progress from their starting points.

The support for children with SEND is highly effective. All staff are aware of the individual needs of all children, and focused individual plans are immediately put in place and adaptations made when appropriate. Leaders use additional funding to support children's individual needs. For example, all staff attend training to meet the needs of children and additional training to provide speech and language interventions. Staff work in partnership with outside agencies and families. They ensure that they share targets with parents and staff working with children. As a result, children receive coordinated support to prepare them effectively for their future education.

Staff confidently make adaptations systematically and skilfully. Specialist equipment and training, such as in sign language, enhance practice and ensure a sustained impact on children's daily experiences. Parents are kept fully informed, and children's individual needs are taken into account at times of transition.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders ensure that children benefit from an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum that builds on what children can do and what they need to learn next. Staff use meetings to identify any gaps in children's learning. Where gaps are identified, staff quickly plan effective strategies to address them. This ensures that the curriculum is adapted and targeted for all children.

Staff teach children with special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. Leaders and staff regularly measure children's progress against robust individual plans. They consistently use assessments to gather relevant evidence for timely referrals. Staff skilfully teach children to recall previous learning and embed new knowledge. Staff understand the value of books and rhymes to develop children's communication skills and build vocabulary. Leaders promote the importance of storytelling and ensure that children listen to a variety of tales from different traditions and cultures.

Leaders make astute decisions to bring about improvements. They use staff's strengths effectively by making best use of their skills and knowledge. For example, staff are able to provide support for parents about potty training and identify specialist equipment for individual children with specific needs. Leaders and staff plan trips and outdoor learning activities to build children's strength and coordination. Staff consistently help children develop ambitious mathematical language through songs and counting rhymes with actions.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children consistently make strong progress through the curriculum, particularly in communication and language, because they engage in frequent opportunities for conversation and meaningful dialogue. Children develop independence, confidence and skills that prepare them effectively for transition and future learning. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and other disadvantages take part in clear targeted interventions that enable them to make secure progress from their starting points.

Children develop high levels of curiosity and concentration as they focus their attention in different activities. Children demonstrate resilience and perseverance as they practise using their early mathematical skills to repeat patterns, adding one more to extend their learning.

Children thrive on praise from leaders and staff. They happily work collaboratively in planned activities, including daily routines, such as snack time and tidying up. Children learn to be kind and helpful, developing positive social skills that equip them for school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff support children's positive behaviour through well-established routines and by promoting regular attendance, while consistently considering the children's individual needs and stages of development. Children are motivated learners. Key persons know their children very well and sensitively build secure, trusting relationships that give babies and toddlers the confidence to explore.

Staff consistently promote self-care and independence, creating motivated and enthusiastic learners. For example, toddlers follow familiar routines to set out the table for lunch. They chat to each other about their day and patiently wait their turn to tidy up. Children quickly learn the independence skills they need. For example, they learn how to dress themselves for outdoor play. Younger children take managed risks when using the outdoor equipment. Babies choose their own learning resources to extend their activities and happily interact with trusting adults. Consequently, all children have a sense of belonging and behave extremely well.

Leaders and staff share high standards that children understand. Children are kind, gentle and considerate of each other's feelings. They demonstrate an understanding of respect for one another. This approach enables children to deepen their knowledge of empathy and diversity. Leaders promote the value of attendance and punctuality at parents' meetings. This means children arrive on time, enabling them to experience the whole curriculum to benefit their development.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders consistently prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing throughout the setting. Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of children's individual needs and adapt routines to support children's independence. For example, the induction for babies is planned carefully to ensure the settling-in period will help them feel safe and has time allocated for their families to receive bespoke support.

Staff consistently model good manners and hygiene practices. Care routines are sensitively embedded and support children's individual needs. Children's opinions are highly valued. Staff encourage all the children to make their own choices and ideas and share their aspirations. Healthy choices are positively promoted, and staff encourage physical activity through daily outdoor play and highly enriching experiences, including cooking and gardening in the garden. Specialist teachers lead regular sessions focused on dance and different sports. These activities support children's physical development and wellbeing.

Children learn to challenge themselves, for example, before a trip to the park, they discuss what sounds they might hear and animals they might see. Since the last inspection, leaders have adapted timetables and developed resources to support engagement in attendance, learning and wellbeing. Experienced staff have created safe spaces that help children learn to cope with their emotions and build children's sense of emotional security.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders and those responsible for governance work closely to create a culture of high expectations and professionalism. Leaders have a sharp understanding of the setting's effectiveness, and their vision is shared effectively with staff. Leaders robustly monitor the impact of the curriculum and engage in constant, reflective practice to ensure that all children's needs are precisely considered. This ensures that the setting's strengths are celebrated and that focused support for all, including the most vulnerable, is quickly put in place.

Leaders have established positive relationships across the community and work successfully with other settings. Effective use of capital funding has enabled leaders to raise standards across the provision, and aspects of their work are shared often with the local authority. Leaders are unwavering in their support for disadvantaged children and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are passionate about providing an inclusive setting where every child can flourish and act swiftly to close any gaps. They know the families and children extremely well.

Staff develop detailed subject knowledge as a result of an extensive range of professional learning, mentoring and coaching provided by experienced leaders. Staff say their views are valued, and they thoroughly enjoy working at the setting. They feel happy and very well supported with their workload and wellbeing.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 4 February 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 4 February 2026: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 6
  • 25 February 2020: 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

  • St Nicholas House - Day nursery, Birchwood Park WA3 6YL, ages 0 to 4, 120 places, 0.2 miles
    Ofsted, 1 December 2021: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Locking Stumps Pre school - Pre-school, Birchwood WA3 7PH, 16 places, 0.3 miles
  • The Village Pre-School (Gorse Covert) - Pre-school, Warrington WA3 6TS, ages 2 to 4, 26 places, 1.1 miles
    Ofsted, 14 June 2022: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Wind In The Willows Childcare (Longbarn) - Day nursery, Warrington WA2 0QQ, ages 0 to 4, 26 places, 1.2 miles
    Ofsted, 24 July 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Let's Be Kids (Cinnamon Brow) - Day nursery, Warrington WA2 0SF, ages 0 to 11, 40 places, 1.4 miles
    Ofsted report card, 9 April 2026: Strong standard in 1 area, Expected standard in 4 areas, Needs attention in 1 area; safeguarding standards met

Schools nearby

Heathfield House Day Nursery on the Ofsted website