Highfield Community Pre-School CIO
Highfield Community Pre-School CIO is a pre-school in Keighley for children aged 2 to 3, with 20 registered places. Ofsted report card, 23 September 2026: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.
Highfield Community Centre, 21 Drewry Road, Keighley, BD21 2QG
Key facts
- Type
- Pre-school (Sessional day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Ages
- 2 to 3 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered places
- 20 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 15 November 2017 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 16:00
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 23 September 2026
Who runs it
Highfield Community Pre-School CIO is run by Highfield Community Pre-School CIO (Ofsted register).
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
- Achievement: Expected standard
- Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
- Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
- Leadership and governance: Expected standard
- Safeguarding standards met
Source: Ofsted, inspection on 23 September 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 settle into this caring pre-school where they feel safe, valued and eager to learn. Children and their families are welcomed with warmth and kindness by leaders and staff. From their starting points, children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and those known or previously known to social care, make clear and sustained progress. They benefit from meaningful experiences that build on their existing knowledge and skills. For example, while children explore cornflour and water, staff encourage them to make marks and describe the texture. Children are supported to use vocabulary such as 'smooth' and 'runny' to help them to express their ideas. This supports children to approach learning with curiosity and enthusiasm and develop the skills and knowledge they need for their next stage of learning.
Children build secure relationships with staff and their friends. They happily include others in their play and learn alongside their peers. Children behave well and show kindness, respect and consideration for others. Staff help children to recognise their emotions and resolve minor disagreements. Children develop resilience as staff encourage them to keep trying when tasks become challenging. Children's individual interests, strengths and achievements are recognised and valued. This helps children to develop confidence and thrive. Children become increasingly independent as they manage daily routines and make choices in their learning.
Children achieve well from their individual starting points. They feel safe and secure throughout the day. Leaders build respectful relationships with families and work closely with them to support children's learning and wellbeing. Families contribute valuable information about children's interests, routines and achievements at home. This helps to reduce barriers to learning and enables children to make continued progress. Leaders promote attendance well. If children are absent, staff promptly contact parents to check on their welfare and offer support to help children return. Children leave the pre-school well prepared for their next stage in learning and eventual move to school.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Expected standard
Leaders and staff identify children's individual needs at the earliest opportunity. They use ongoing assessment and regular monitoring to identify any gaps in children's learning. Timely support helps to reduce barriers to learning and enables children to make progress from their starting points. Staff adapt teaching, routines and resources to meet children's individual needs. For example, they use visual prompts and small-group activities to help children develop communication, confidence and positive relationships.
Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and those known or previously known to social care, receive support that reflects their individual circumstances. Children who speak English as an additional language benefit from a diverse staff team who speak the languages used by children. Staff use children's home languages alongside English to support their communication. Leaders work closely with parents and other professionals to review children's progress and adapt strategies when needed. Early intervention helps children access the curriculum and learn successfully alongside their peers.
Leaders make effective use of additional funding to meet children's individual needs. Resources and targeted support are carefully matched to identify priorities. Staff remain alert to changes in children's circumstances and respond promptly when additional support is needed. Leaders include parents as active partners in planning the support their children receive. They work together with staff and parents to share information and review children's progress. This provides a consistent approach between home and the setting, helping all children to make progress.
Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
Leaders have a clear vision for the curriculum and typically maintain effective oversight of teaching across the setting. Staff understand children's individual starting points, interests and development needs and use this knowledge to shape a broad and balanced curriculum. Leaders regularly review and reflect on the quality of the setting and identify opportunities to further enhance children's learning and development.
Staff provide engaging experiences that build on what children already know and can do. They typically use interactions and purposeful teaching to extend children's knowledge and skills. Staff typically develop children's communication and language skills effectively. Children enjoy daily story and song time. However, staff do not consistently identify opportunities to extend children's language skills through purposeful questioning or, at times, allow them sufficient time to respond when questions are asked.
Staff weave mathematical learning naturally through children's experiences. Children develop their understanding of number, shape, measure and mathematical language through purposeful play and daily routines. For example, children build a ramp for their toy cars. Staff encourage children to work together and experiment with ways to make the cars travel faster and slower. Staff know children well and make appropriate adaptations to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning can participate fully. Teaching is responsive to individual needs and helps children make secure progress from their starting points.
Achievement: Expected standard
All children typically make secure progress from their individual starting points. They develop knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. Children's progress is monitored, and assessments are used effectively to identify where additional support is needed.
Children develop confidence as they explore their interests and take part in a broad range of experiences. They develop their physical skills and enjoy daily outdoor play and walks in the local community. Children strengthen their hand and finger muscles through mark-making and construction activities. They develop mathematical understanding as they compare size, quantity and shape during play. Children enjoy books and develop an understanding of stories, characters and familiar rhymes.
Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning are supported to achieve well alongside their peers. Their needs are identified early and they receive appropriate support to help them reach their milestones. All children develop the essential skills and knowledge needed to confidently progress to the next stage of their learning and eventual move to school.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
Children thrive in a caring and welcoming environment where expectations for behaviour are clear and typically understood well. Staff build warm, trusting relationships with children and provide praise and encouragement for their efforts. This helps children develop confidence and positive attitudes to their learning. Children learn to cooperate with others, share resources and take turns. Staff support all children to recognise and manage their feelings and resolve minor disagreements appropriately.
Staff consider children's age, stage of development and individual circumstances when supporting behaviour. Children who need additional support benefit from appropriate adjustments, including access to sensory resources and one-to-one support. Overall, daily routines are well established and help children feel secure and develop independence. Staff provide guidance during transitions and encourage children to take responsibility for simple tasks. However, at times, staff do not fully consider the organisation of some routines, such as snack times. For example, younger children become restless waiting for their snacks and wander off before their food has arrived. At times, this leads to confusion about which children have washed their hands and delays routines further.
Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance with families. They monitor attendance and follow up concerns promptly. This helps children benefit from the routines, relationships and learning opportunities provided. Overall, children are settled, confident and increasingly independent in their behaviour and attitudes.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
Leaders and staff prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing from the moment they start. Staff develop secure and responsive relationships with children and understand their individual needs. This enables them to provide tailored support for children's feeding and personal care routines. Children seek reassurance from familiar staff when needed and settle quickly. Staff promote children's independence through encouragement and age-appropriate expectations.
Staff support children to develop an understanding of healthy lifestyles, personal safety and self-care. Children learn to recognise risks and understand how to keep themselves safe. They benefit from daily opportunities to be physically active and develop their coordination through outdoor play and activities. Staff provide children with opportunities to talk about their feelings and use calm, reassuring approaches to help them recognise and manage emotions. This supports children to develop confidence, resilience and emotional security.
Leaders promote an inclusive approach to welfare and wellbeing. Staff make appropriate adjustments to meet children's individual needs, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They use visual prompts, adapted communication and additional reassurance where needed. Leaders promote an inclusive environment where all children are valued and supported. Staff work closely with families to understand children's circumstances and respond appropriately to their changing needs. This helps children feel safe, valued and well cared for.
Leadership and governance: Expected standard
Leaders are typically proactive and reflective and have a clear understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development. They use monitoring, feedback and observations to identify priorities for improvement. Leaders take action to address weaknesses and review the impact of changes to ensure all children continue to receive a quality education.
Leaders value the staff team and promote staff wellbeing through regular team meetings and supervision sessions. Staff feel valued and report that they can raise concerns with leaders. Leaders consider workload when introducing changes and provide opportunities for staff to contribute to decisions. Professional development is relevant to the needs of the setting and staff. Staff share how recent training in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has had a positive impact on their practice.
Leaders work closely with parents and regularly share information about children's learning through daily conversations and an online platform. They personalise settling-in sessions to help children settle smoothly into the pre-school and understand children's individual needs. Parents feel involved in their children's care and education. They comment on the supportive staff and how much their children enjoy attending each day. Leaders prioritise inclusive practice and ensure that all children, including those with SEND, disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to social care, are fully included. They work effectively with other professionals, including the local authority, speech and language therapists and social services, to secure appropriate support for children. This effective partnership working helps ensure that children receive timely support and make progress from their starting points.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders should strengthen routines, in particular during snack times for younger children, to better meet the needs of all children.
- Leaders should support staff to strengthen the teaching of communication and language skills, ensuring the use of purposeful questions and allowing children sufficient time to respond.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 23 September 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
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
- Learning Cubs - Keighley - Pre-school, Keighley BD21 2AU, 0.2 miles
- Ems Tutors - Pre-school, Keighley BD21 2BH, 0.2 miles
- Headstart Tuition Centre Limited - Day nursery, Keighley BD21 1NR, 0.3 miles
- Tiny Stars Day Nursery - Day nursery, Keighley BD21 1PG, ages 1 to 8, 51 places, 0.4 milesOfsted, 10 April 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Cavendish Lodge Day Nursery - Day nursery, Keighley BD21 3EL, ages 2 to 4, 45 places, 0.4 milesOfsted, 23 September 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Schools nearby
- Victoria Primary School - Primary, 0.1 miles
- Keighley St Andrew's CofE Primary School and Nursery - Primary, 0.2 miles
- St Anne's Catholic Primary School - Primary, 0.3 miles
- Our Lady of Victories Catholic School - Primary, 0.3 miles
- Holycroft Primary School - Primary, 0.4 miles