Hoppers of Dinton pre-school
Hoppers of Dinton pre-school is a day nursery in Aylesbury for children aged 1 to 4, with 34 registered places. Ofsted report card, 18 March 2026: Expected standard in 4 areas, Needs attention in 2 areas; safeguarding standards met.
Dinton Village Hall, Upton Road, Dinton, Aylesbury, HP17 8UQ
Key facts
- Type
- Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Ages
- 1 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered places
- 34 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 10 January 2024 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:30 - 18:00,Friday : 08:00 - 17:00
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 18 March 2026
Latest inspection
- Inclusion: Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention
- Achievement: Expected standard
- Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
- Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
- Leadership and governance: Needs attention
- Safeguarding standards met
Source: Ofsted, inspection on 18 March 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
What it's like to be a child at this setting
Although leaders are working hard, not all changes and improvements are fully embedded. There have been further changes to staffing and this has impacted on staff fully embedding their newly designed curriculum, which is still in its infancy. Therefore, not all staff are able to identify what their intentions for children's learning are through their planned activities.
Nevertheless, children are confident and happy to come into the friendly setting. Staff nurture babies and they help them in a calm and caring way to find activities that they enjoy. For example, babies have regular opportunities to learn through play and exploration as they use their senses to explore the range of textures available to them, such as exploring the citrus fruits in the water. Toddlers enjoy exploring dough with a range of tools and threading pipe cleaners with coloured beads. Pre-school children are gaining confidence in early writing skills and learn new words, such as pickles and gherkins. Older children demonstrate a broad range of independence skills. For example, they use cutlery competently, set the table for their friends and serve themselves at lunchtime.
All children, including disadvantaged children, are well cared for and supported emotionally. They have access to learning experiences and benefit from equal opportunities because staff reduce barriers to their learning by making adaptations and following their individual interests.
Children demonstrate a sense of belonging in this setting. New children settle quickly into the environment and form secure attachments with their key person. Their key persons now work with parents and carers to gain understanding of the children's interests, care needs and stages of development prior to joining the setting.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Expected standard
Leaders and staff identify children's needs at an early stage. Effective partnerships between parents, carers and agencies ensure that children receive tailored and timely support. This has been enhanced since the last inspection with changes to the settling-in sessions, which now include home visits to support this important transition into the setting. Staff monitor children's progress closely and review the impact of interventions, adapting strategies as needed. For instance, staff use stories, songs and rhymes to enhance children's vocabulary and communication skills.
Despite weaknesses in curriculum and teaching, staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, (SEND), effectively. Leaders with specific responsibility for children with SEND, receive relevant training to strengthen their understanding of inclusive practice. Staff work closely with external professionals to ensure that children receive the support they need. They work well with the local authority, putting action plans in place for children.
Leaders target funding effectively to strengthen children's learning. For example, leaders use funding to purchase resources to help support disadvantaged children's communication and language skills. In addition, they use funding to purchase resources to support individual children's growing confidence. They use strategies, such as sensory activities, visual supports and adapted games, to ensure that children, including those who face barriers to their learning can fully participate.
Curriculum and teaching: Needs attention
Leaders have not yet fully embedded their newly designed curriculum. There are still some differences in practice across the provision. For example, staff plan and provide activities for the children. However, staff do not have a secure understanding of the learning intentions of activities. This mean staff do not fully tailor their teaching to support children's learning at times. Therefore, while children enjoy activities, these do not always support them to make progress in their learning. For example, staff do not precisely focus on individual children's next steps. This means that children from 2-years-old to 4-years-old, participate in the same activities. This reduces children's engagement at times.
Overall, staff prioritise communication and language development. They sing to babies to build their vocabulary and encourage older children to listen to age-appropriate stories to improve their language skills. Staff introduce mathematical language into children's play. Children's personal, social and emotional development is supported by a range of activities. For example, children can express themselves by selecting an emotion stone to match how they are feeling.
Staff use observations and assessments to check what children know and can do. This starts with the home visit, followed by a starting point assessment. Staff update the online application and share with parents regularly.
Achievement: Expected standard
Although on some occasions teaching is not tailored to children's individual needs, children make effective progress. For example, babies are developing well. They develop personal, social and emotional skills that prepare them well for future learning. Children of all ages make steady progress in their physical development. Babies develop core strength, balance and coordination as staff encourage them to take steps as they hold their hands.
Children learn to persevere at tasks and show keen motivation to learn. Toddlers celebrate as they manage to put on their indoor shoes independently, as they enter the setting. Older children develop important skills, such as toileting, dressing and making friends, which prepares them well for their transition to school.
Children of all ages are typically achieving well from their starting points and generally achieve across all areas of the curriculum. Disadvantaged children make continual progress from their starting points. Overall, pre-school children are well prepared for starting school. For example, they develop high levels of independence and show positive behaviours for learning.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
Staff monitor children's attendance and punctuality effectively, including the attendance of disadvantaged children. Leaders and staff monitor attendance daily and take action if children do not arrive at the setting. They communicate with parents and carers about the importance of being punctual and to check the wellbeing of the child.
Leaders and staff set high expectations for behaviour. Staff build warm and trusting relationships with children. These relationships help children feel a deep sense of belonging. Children are growing in confidence. Staff model positive behaviour through a kind and gentle approach. Children reflect this behaviour in their own interactions. For example, pre-school children discuss taking turns and sharing while they explore resources with the dough outside, agreeing who should use it first and then they could swap over. Relationships between staff and children are warm and respectful, with praise and high fives being in abundance. Weaknesses in relation to curriculum and teaching do not impact on children's attitudes to learning. They are motivated, interested and listen to their friends.
Staff provide children with high levels of care, comfort and love. They use the child's interests and distraction well when children become unsettled. Staff are very positive role models to children. They praise children for what they do well and know children and home routines well. For example, they use these to nurture young children and recognise when children may need a nap.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
Staff talk to children about the importance of maintaining their health and hygiene. They teach children how to wash their hands correctly to remove any germs. Children are provided with a range of healthy and balanced meals, which they enjoy. Staff talk to children about what their bodies need, including rest, water and healthy food. Children get lots of opportunities to play outside and get fresh air.
Leaders have effective strategies in place to ensure children are accounted for throughout the session, supporting the safety and wellbeing of all children. For example, older children know in the garden they are not allowed to go outside of the coned area. Babies have their own secure areas, both inside and out, which allow them to explore safely.
Leaders have embedded their key-person system since the last inspection. They have made a range of positive changes to improve and enhance this. For example, all children now have the offer of home visits ahead of starting at the setting. Children have developed strong bonds with the staff who care for them. Children who have recently started at the setting show their confidence with staff as they seek them out. This includes children with little or no language who use gestures with staff to make their wishes known.
Leadership and governance: Needs attention
Although leaders are working hard, not all changes and improvements are fully embedded. There have been changes to staffing and leaders recognise recruitment is still a challenge. Leaders have worked with the local authority, appointed new staff and embedded their key-person system. Additionally, leaders have started to embed the new curriculum, but this is still in its infancy. Staff have regular supervision meetings with leaders and they attend a range of training. However, leaders have not monitored staff's knowledge and practice effectively to ensure that their vision for the setting's curriculum is understood and implemented.
Leaders have knowledge of the setting's strengths and areas for development. With this in mind, they have made changes to improve and embed partnership with parents. For example, they now undertake some home visits, share next steps, use an online application and have daily handovers with parents.
Leaders have effective strategies in place to support children's welfare. They work closely with other professionals to provide appropriate support for children. Leaders ensure that decisions about additional funding, including funding for disadvantaged children, are targeted on what the children receiving the funding need. All staff feel supported in their roles. They feel listened to and comment positively on leaders.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider must:
- improve and embed an ambitious education programme that consistently engages and clearly supports what individual children need to learn next to build on what they know and can do (by 20 June 2026)
- develop effective systems for support, coaching and training for staff to ensure they have a full understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and any inconsistencies in practice are swiftly addressed (by 20 June 2026)
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 18 March 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Inspection history
- 18 March 2026: Full inspection, report card: Expected standard in 4, Needs attention in 2
- 15 May 2025: Full inspection, Requires improvement (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
- The Little Firefly Forest School - Day nursery, Aylesbury HP17 8PZ, ages 2 to 4, 12 places, 1.1 milesOfsted, 26 July 2022: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
- Stone & Fairford Leys Childcare Limited - Day nursery, Aylesbury HP17 8PL, ages 0 to 12, 38 places, 1.4 milesOfsted, 21 November 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Partou Haddenham Day Nursery & Pre-School - Day nursery, Haddenham, Aylesbury HP17 8DS, ages 0 to 4, 47 places, 1.7 milesOfsted, 3 July 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- The Outdoors Project Aylesbury and Thame - Day nursery, Aylesbury HP17 8DS, 1.7 miles
- JR Haddenham - Day nursery, Aylesbury HP17 8DS, 1.7 miles
Schools nearby
- Haddenham Community Infant School - Primary, 1.7 miles
- Haddenham Community Junior School - Primary, 1.7 miles