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Kids Planet Walton-on-Thames

Kids Planet Walton-on-Thames is a day nursery in Walton-On-Thames for children aged 1 to 4, with 80 registered places. Ofsted report card, 11 February 2026: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Embroiderers Guild House, 1 Kings Road, Walton-On-Thames, KT12 2RA

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
80 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
7 July 2025 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:15

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 11 February 2026

Who runs it

Kids Planet Walton-on-Thames is run by Kids Planet Day Nurseries Limited (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 11 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, including those who experience barriers to their learning, benefit from the substantial improvements made since the previous inspection. In this lively but calm environment, children flourish as they grow in confidence and independence. Leaders and staff demonstrate a secure understanding of early education and recognise the importance of building on children's skills as they grow. This prepares children for their next steps in learning. Staff are guided by children's interests when planning experiences for their learning. This enhances children's motivation to learn as they remain engaged in activities. For example, staff enthusiastically engage children in imaginative play during a 'colour monster' walk where they explore different emotions through physical movement. They stomp to portray anger and march proudly to represent pride. Staff make every effort to ensure that all children are included and join in with their friends. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, develop confidence to describe how they feel.

Leaders and staff work closely with families to promote good attendance, ensuring that children benefit from continuity in learning and social development. The effective key-person arrangements provide consistent care and routine. Children develop secure attachments, which help them feel safe and valued. The youngest children demonstrate confidence as they explore their environment, supported by staff who are a trusted base of reassurance. Staff are positive role models and teach children to be kind through activities, such as bathing their baby dolls. They encourage children to be gentle as they wipe the doll's face and ensure that they are cleaned well. Children develop nurturing behaviours and strengthen their understanding of relationships and responsibility.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders and staff support inclusion by building trusting relationships with families, gathering detailed information to understand and swiftly respond to each child's unique needs. Staff make every effort to explore children's cultures and embrace similarities and differences. Children who speak English as an additional language are valued and appreciated. Additional funding is used effectively to offer children a wider range of experiences and interventions, supporting their individual needs.

Staff support children's emotional literacy effectively by using a variety of strategies to help them recognise and understand their feelings. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are provided with safe, calming spaces where they can regulate their emotions and develop a greater awareness of how they feel. Staff work in close partnerships with parents and other professionals as required to put individualised plans in place. Children's plans are reviewed regularly to monitor progress and explore any further adaptations needed. Children with SEND are well supported to make the progress that they are capable of. For instance, children receiving support for their emotional wellbeing have their own SEND suitcases. These are filled with individualised items that are special to them. They spend quiet time with their key person to explore their suitcases, which reduces the likelihood of children becoming overwhelmed, supporting their overall wellbeing.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The newly revised curriculum is well sequenced and understood by staff. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make progress in a well-planned and purposeful environment. Children develop a love of books from an early age. For example, the youngest children explore books independently, often taking them to staff to read. Staff are responsive and use exaggerated facial expressions to share their delight as they point out simple objects on the page. Children's personal, social and emotional development is supported well. Staff read to older children in a way that captures their attention and encourages their participation. Children eagerly listen with increasing interest and comment on what they hear and see, which supports their communication and language.

Staff help children to build on their mathematical awareness and physical development in all aspects of the routine. For instance, younger children are encouraged to count the steps as they come down the stairs, while older children compare and measure the length of their wings as they pretend to be birds in the garden. However, some staff do not always take advantage of teachable moments that arise during play, such as using descriptive language as they pour and empty containers in water play. At these times, children are not fully supported to extend their skills and knowledge further.

Achievement: Expected standard

Through a well-sequenced curriculum, children, including those who face barriers to their learning, make meaningful progress from when they started. Regular assessments enable staff to understand children's achievement and identify further areas to be developed. Children typically achieve well across all areas of learning as they transition through the rooms and become ready for their next stage of learning.

Children become confident communicators as they share their ideas, thoughts and interests. They demonstrate interest in learning by asking questions, offering examples and giving explanations of questions asked of them. These essential communication skills equip children well for a successful transition to school. The youngest children explore language by babbling, repeating single words and experimenting with different sounds. They enjoy singing and listening intently to staff as they talk and read them stories. This supports their early communication skills well.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Staff offer consistent guidance and support to help children establish positive routines. This provides structure and helps children feel safe. Children learn and play in a stimulating environment where expected behaviours are commonly understood. Staff help children learn expected behaviours in accordance with their age and stage of development. They have established strong relationships with children, which supports their emotional security. Children demonstrate trust in those that care for them. Staff support children's transitions during the routines effectively. For example, they use now and next boards, providing clear guidance about what will happen next. Children become comfortable in familiar routines. Overall, children are generally polite, play well with one another and seek each other out to share their experiences. Staff support older children to begin to understand the impact their actions have on others. They are supported as they learn to take turns and play games together. Staff offer children generous praise for their achievements as they willingly share resources and learn right from wrong.

Leaders monitor children's attendance carefully to ensure that children are safe, accounted for and supported in their daily routines. Staff talk to parents about the importance of regular attendance to prevent any gaps in learning occurring.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Staff support all children, including those who may face barriers to their learning, to begin to recognise the feelings of others. They model emotional language well, describing their own feelings and those of others in everyday situations. This helps children develop empathy as they learn how to socially interact with each other. The well-established key-person system and tailored settling-in sessions support children to build secure attachments. As a result, children settle in quickly and are ready to learn. Staff are caring, warm and attentive to children's individual needs. They share their knowledge of safer sleeping practices, drawing on information gained from recent training. They closely follow home routines and offer expert advice to parents on supporting feeding practices and children learning to use the toilet.

Children secure solid foundations on how they can lead healthy lifestyles. They are provided with healthy, home-cooked meals and learn that physical exercise, alongside times when they can rest, helps maintain their wellbeing. However, staff do not always recognise times when they can extend children's learning of how to keep themselves and others safe. For instance, children are asked to clean up water spills and tidy after messy play, but staff do not always explain why these actions are important for safety. This can limit their ability to take responsibility and to keep themselves and others safe.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders have worked tirelessly to make the necessary improvements since the previous inspection. For instance, staff have undergone in-depth training that has improved their knowledge of responding appropriately to safeguarding concerns in line with local partnerships guidelines. Leaders actively promote a culture of wellbeing, ensuring that the emotional health of staff, children and their families is prioritised. Positive relationships underpin daily practice and benefit children feeling secure. Leaders are generally reflective and monitor provision to evaluate areas of improvement. For example, they recognise that some children need further support to manage their emotions, before they reach a point of distress. Staff successfully identify these times and give children time out of the busy environment to explore personalised resources in a quiet space. This helps all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to remain calm before they re-enter the room.

Staff are provided with regular opportunities to meet with leaders, review their workloads and reflect on ways to improve their personal effectiveness. Staff share high levels of support and discuss the positive impact of recent training, such as supporting outdoor learning for children. The bespoke coaching and teaching staff receive increases their confidence and capability to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Leaders have reviewed and strengthened their risk assessments to ensure that children are well protected. They have improved procedures to make sure children are carefully accounted for as they transition into and out of the garden. The increased measures typically enhance staff efficiency, allowing children to play and learn in a well-organised environment that keeps them safe.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should support staff to identify where teaching can be enhanced to extend children's knowledge and skills even further.
  • Leaders should strengthen staff awareness to recognise opportunities to support children further as they learn about why they do things to keep themselves and others safe.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 11 February 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 11 February 2026: Full inspection, report card: Expected standard in 6
  • 19 September 2025: Full inspection, Inadequate (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

  • Fennies Walton - Day nursery, Walton-on-Thames KT12 1FN, ages 0 to 4, 103 places, 0.1 miles
    Ofsted, 28 November 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Walton Montessori Nursery - Day nursery, Walton-On-Thames KT12 1LZ, ages 0 to 4, 48 places, 0.2 miles
    Ofsted, 1 February 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Danesfield Manor School & Nursery - Day nursery, Walton-On-Thames KT12 3JB, 6 places, 0.4 miles
  • Little Bear's Day-Care Limited - Pre-school, Walton-on-thames KT12 1ET, ages 2 to 4, 36 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 17 January 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Walton on Thames Day Nursery & Pre School - Day nursery, Walton-on-Thames KT12 1GH, 99 places, 0.4 miles

Schools nearby

Kids Planet Walton-on-Thames on the Ofsted website