Hugo and Holly Day Nursery
Hugo and Holly Day Nursery is a day nursery in Gloucester for children aged 1 to 4, with 55 registered places. Ofsted report card, 5 August 2026: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.
3 Brunswick Square, Gloucester, GL1 1UG
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
- 55 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
- Registered
- 23 June 2004 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Opening hours
Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 17:30
Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 5 August 2026
Who runs it
Hugo and Holly Day Nursery is run by Hugo and Holly Day Nursery Partnership (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 5 August 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 happy, confident and enjoy coming to this welcoming nursery. They make choices about their play from an early age, selecting books, resources and activities that capture their interests. Babies enjoy songs, stories and sensory experiences. They begin to communicate their preferences and explore the world around them. As they grow, children become increasingly curious and build on their own ideas. Older children sustain their interest in water play, as their exploration develops naturally from filling and emptying containers to investigating colour mixing. They readily share their own experiences during conversations, talking about family holidays and the world around them. Children build on their ideas through play. They celebrate their achievements with the encouragement of familiar adults.
Children build warm relationships with practitioners who know them well as individuals. They confidently seek reassurance from familiar adults, celebrate their achievements and happily play alongside their friends. Practitioners understand children's interests, personalities and individual needs. This helps children to take part in nursery life, develop alongside their peers and make progress from their individual starting points. Children become increasingly confident communicators, solve simple problems and grow in independence. Babies learn to feed themselves and older babies proudly put on their own bibs and aprons. Toddlers begin to manage everyday self-care, while older children wash their hands before meals and collect their belongings when needed.
Children behave well and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. They enjoy healthy meals, daily outdoor play and familiar routines that help them to understand what happens next. Children develop friendships, learn to cooperate with others and show pride in their growing independence. Children seek out practitioners for support and encouragement. This helps them to feel valued and secure throughout the day. Children leave the nursery as confident and curious children. They develop the knowledge, skills and independence they need for the next stage in their learning.
What Ofsted found in each area
Inclusion: Expected standard
Leaders typically identify children who require additional support through assessment, including when completing progress checks for children aged between 2 and 3-years-old. They review children's progress with families, and plan, review and adapt support as children's needs change. Leaders work closely with speech and language therapists, health services and receiving schools to reduce barriers to learning. For example, children receive timely referrals for additional support, while reviews ensure support reflects their changing needs.
Practitioners know children well. They understand children's interests, communication needs and the strategies that help them to regulate their emotions. Practitioners adapt communication to help children who speak English as an additional language, participate fully in nursery life. They use familiar strategies to support children who become overwhelmed. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who receive early years pupil premium funding, receive support tailored to their needs. This helps children who face barriers to learning and wellbeing, including communication, language and emotional regulation, to participate fully and typically make secure progress from their starting points.
Leaders typically prepare children well for the next stage in their learning. They share assessments, support plans and relevant information with receiving schools. Leaders invite teachers to visit children with identified needs where appropriate. This helps children to move on with increasing confidence and supports continuity in the care and learning they receive.
Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
Leaders have designed a curriculum that helps children to build knowledge and skills progressively across the early years. They have identified strengthening children's mathematical development as a current improvement priority. Curriculum planning reflects this focus and supports children to build on previous learning as they move through the nursery. Leaders monitor curriculum implementation through observations, professional discussions and regular supervision sessions.
Practitioners generally use questioning, mathematical vocabulary and well-chosen resources to support children's thinking and extend learning. They encourage children to solve problems, test their ideas and work collaboratively. Practitioners generally adapt their teaching so that children with differing needs can participate fully in learning alongside their peers. Where teaching is most effective, practitioners scaffold children's learning effectively and use interactions to build on children's responses.
However, practitioners do not implement the curriculum consistently through their teaching and interactions across the nursery. Although they know children's starting points, interests and next steps, they do not consistently use this information alongside their understanding of children's existing knowledge and skills to adapt teaching precisely enough. As a result, children do not consistently benefit from teaching that builds securely on what they already know and can do, or extends their knowledge and skills.
Achievement: Expected standard
Children typically make secure progress from their individual starting points. As they move through the nursery, they develop the knowledge, skills and confidence expected for their age. Babies become increasingly confident in communicating their needs and feeding themselves. Older children recognise colours, count and solve simple problems. They manage everyday routines with increasing independence. These achievements prepare children for the next stage in their learning.
Children who receive additional support, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language and children who receive early years pupil premium funding, typically make secure progress. They develop increasing confidence, communication and independence, enabling them to participate alongside their peers.
Although children generally achieve well, variations in the implementation of the curriculum mean that they do not consistently build on their existing knowledge and skills across all rooms. Consequently, children do not consistently make the progress they are capable of.
Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
Leaders establish clear expectations for behaviour, attendance and daily routines across the nursery. They monitor children's attendance carefully and follow up absences promptly with families. They work in partnership with parents and carers to promote regular attendance. Practitioners understand children's individual needs and implement agreed strategies to support positive behaviour and emotional regulation. This helps children with differing needs to participate successfully alongside their peers.
Children behave well and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning throughout the day. They cooperate with their friends, take turns, share resources and respond positively to practitioners' guidance. Children confidently follow familiar routines. They move calmly between activities, wash their hands before meals, help to tidy away resources and remain settled during mealtimes. Children wait patiently for their food, respond positively to familiar expectations and demonstrate increasing responsibility for everyday routines.
Practitioners respond calmly when children need support with their behaviour, helping them to re-engage positively in play. However, they do not consistently use these interactions to help children recognise and talk about their feelings or understand how their behaviour affects others. As a result, practitioners do not consistently implement leaders' intended curriculum through these everyday interactions.
Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
Leaders promote a nurturing culture, where children's welfare and wellbeing are central to nursery life. They know children's individual care needs well. Leaders work closely with parents and carers and other professionals to understand their health, care and developmental needs. Leaders ensure that practitioners have appropriate information to support children's care throughout the day. For example, leaders review children's individual support regularly and adapt strategies as needs change.
Practitioners provide warm and responsive care that reflects children's individual circumstances. They respond sensitively when children become upset. Practitioners use familiar and personalised approaches to help children settle and communicate. They support babies' health and wellbeing by ensuring drinks are accessible and encouraging them to recognise their own bottles and drink throughout the session. Practitioners encourage children to develop independence through feeding and personal-care routines, and they promote healthy habits through nutritious meals, outdoor play and appropriate rest. As a result, children develop secure relationships with familiar adults and confidently seek reassurance and support when needed.
Practitioners adapt care appropriately for children with differing health, care and developmental needs. This helps children to participate fully in daily routines and experiences. Consequently, children are well cared for and experience positive emotional wellbeing throughout their time at the nursery.
Leadership and governance: Expected standard
Leaders provide clear strategic direction. They have established an ambitious vision, centred on children's communication, independence and emotional wellbeing. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the nursery's strengths and areas for improvement. They use self-evaluation, quality assurance, observations and professional discussions to identify priorities for development. Leaders have introduced positive changes to the curriculum and learning environment to strengthen children's experiences. The provider maintains effective oversight of the nursery and supports leaders' ongoing improvement work. This helps to sustain a clear focus on continuous improvement.
Leaders support practitioners through regular supervision sessions, professional learning and opportunities for reflection to develop their knowledge and skills. They promote staff wellbeing through an open-door culture, with wellbeing discussed through supervision and informal check-ins. Leaders monitor practice through observations and professional discussions. They use this information to identify strengths and areas for further development. However, professional learning has not yet secured consistently high-quality teaching and interactions across all rooms. Consequently, practitioners do not consistently implement leaders' intended curriculum or build systematically on children's existing knowledge and skills.
Leaders establish positive partnerships with parents and carers. They work effectively with health, education and other professionals to meet children's individual needs. Leaders value families' contributions, and work closely with them to support children's progress and wellbeing. These collaborative partnerships help to ensure that children and families receive coordinated and responsive support. This improves children's experiences as they move through the nursery.
What the setting must and should do next
The provider should:
- Leaders should strengthen practitioners' knowledge and skills to ensure they consistently implement the intended curriculum through high-quality teaching and interactions across all rooms.
- Leaders should ensure that children's next steps are precise, measurable and consistently used to inform teaching so practitioners build systematically on children's existing knowledge and skills.
Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 5 August 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
- Leap Tutors Education and Training Services - Day nursery, Gloucester GL1 1JJ, under 0.1 miles
- The Family Haven - Day nursery, Gloucester GL1 1UY, ages 0 to 4, 28 places, under 0.1 milesOfsted, 14 December 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Into-Play @ The Quays - Day nursery, Gloucester GL2 5HQ, ages 0 to 4, 68 places, 0.4 milesOfsted report card, 3 June 2026: Strong standard in 2 areas, Expected standard in 4 areas; safeguarding standards met
- My Ohana Nursery Gloucester - Day nursery, Gloucester GL2 5JQ, ages 0 to 4, 79 places, 0.4 milesOfsted report card, 25 February 2026: Strong standard in 1 area, Expected standard in 5 areas; safeguarding standards met
- Kip McGrath Education UK Ltd - Pre-school, Gloucester GL1 1DG, 0.5 miles
Schools nearby
- Gloucestershire College - Post-16, 0.3 miles
- St Paul's Church of England Primary School - Primary, 0.3 miles
- The King's School, Gloucester - All-through, 0.5 miles
- Al-Ashraf Secondary School for Girls - Senior, 0.5 miles
- Al Ashraf Primary School - Prep, 0.6 miles