Sign up free
Skip to main content

Paddocks Pre-School

Paddocks Pre-School is a day nursery in Wallingford for children aged 2 to 4, with 32 registered places. Ofsted report card, 20 November 2025: Strong standard in 3 areas, Expected standard in 3 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Paddock Road, Wallingford, OX10 9LT

Key facts

Type
Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
2 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
32 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
7 June 1993 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:45 - 15:15

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 20 November 2025

Who runs it

Paddocks Pre-School is run by Paddocks Pre-School Playgroup Committee (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Strong standard
  • Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
  • Achievement: Expected standard
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard
  • Leadership and governance: Expected standard
  • Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 20 November 2025. 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 settled at this warm, nurturing, 'home-from-home' pre-school. Staff plan individualised settling-in procedures for new starters. As such, children seek out reassurance from familiar adults and cuddle up to their key person as they enjoy sharing stories and rhymes together. Staff are knowledgeable and give children practical and emotional support. This helps children to build trusting bonds with the staff and to feel safe and secure. Staff teach children to care for each other, share and take turns during play. Children behave very well.

Staff swiftly identify any children at risk of falling behind. Staff work closely with parents to ensure that timely referrals are made, and children receive the support they need. Partnerships with other professionals, including speech and language therapists, are effective in helping children to achieve their goals. All children's progress is closely monitored, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported very well.

Relevant and achievable next steps in learning are planned for all children through a well-sequenced curriculum. Children's communication and language are well supported. Staff engage in conversation with children as they play, helping them to build their vocabulary. Staff introduce new language as they enhance the vocabulary of children. For example, while mixing different-coloured paint, staff show children labelled colours on a chart to consolidate the learning.

Staff create an environment for children that captures their imagination and curiosity. Children independently move around the room, selecting the experiences they would like to engage in. They show sustained concentration and focus on these activities. For example, they independently use dressing-up resources and excitedly make up imaginative games. They dance, sing and show they are having a wonderful time with their peers and the interactive staff.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

Parents are extremely positive about how the setting has identified their children's needs to help their children receive any specialised additional support. Staff work closely with parents, sharing regular updates on children's learning. They encourage parents to be actively involved in children's development and learning at pre-school. Leaders and key persons work closely with parents and build strong links with the local school. They share detailed information with parents and other settings children may attend, and they support children's transitions as they move on in their education. Leaders make informed decisions of how best to support children to have their individual needs met and to make progress. Great care and planning enables staff to know how to best spend any funding that children are in receipt of. Key persons have highly effective links with outside agencies, who are welcomed into the setting to support children and staff. Staff access a wide range of training and research specific areas of need to ensure that support for children is relevant and effective. In addition, leaders support staff to rigorously monitor the progress of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to ensure that the targeted support is used to best support children's learning and development.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The well-planned and sequenced curriculum meets all the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage. Staff and leaders strive to ensure that the curriculum celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the community and helps to develop children's respect for themselves and others. Staff and leaders support children's physical development well. They use funding to provide extra activities and opportunities to enhance children's physical development, which not only benefits specific children with their experiences, but all children. Younger children engage in story time and offer ideas as they recall what might happen next. This builds on what children know and can already do. Older children work collaboratively in small groups to expand and consolidate their understanding and knowledge of letters and the sounds they represent. However, the curriculum for mathematics is not as strong as in other areas of learning. This means that, although children acquire some mathematics skills incidentally, staff do not always provide children with opportunities to develop their early counting and number skills through their play. On the whole, staff deployment is usually effective. However, at times, staff deployment and interaction mean that children do not always receive the individual support they need to engage fully with some activities.

Achievement: Expected standard

Typically, children make good progress from their starting points. Gaps in all children's learning are closing consistently, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children achieve well to develop their physical skills, such as climbing, running and using wheeled toys, in the newly developed outdoor environment. Children show a natural curiosity and desire to explore. They enjoy selecting and looking at books independently, developing their literacy skills. In general, children achieve and succeed in their learning in communication and language. They confidently and excitedly offer suggestions to open-ended questions at story time and show great delight in their achievements. Children practise using mark-making tools, such as paints and coloured pens, to build their dexterity and control. Children's transition to school is smooth and seamless.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Staff skilfully provide activities and offer targeted support to ensure that all children participate fully. Staff adapt activities and sensitively offer reassurance based on all children's needs, enabling them to settle quickly and build their confidence and self-esteem. Parents are made aware of the importance of regular attendance and punctuality. Furthermore, leaders identify and tackle any barriers families may be facing to enable children to regularly attend. Any absences are followed up, and individualised support is offered to parents to support children's attendance alongside other family commitments. Staff are excellent role models, teaching children how to express their emotions and the importance of mutual respect. Children behave extremely well and play harmoniously with their friends, sharing resources and taking turns. Staff set clear expectations for behaviour and manage routines consistently well. Children are aware of the routine and what is expected of them. The tailored routines and collaborative working with families ensure that all children's needs are met and their progress is routinely monitored effectively.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the children attending. All staff are very aware of all children's individual and varying needs and are highly responsive to any changes in their circumstances. Children are consistently well supported to embrace their independence skills. For example, they routinely butter their own toast and pour their own drinks at snack time. In addition, when getting ready for outdoor play, children are encouraged to find their coats and shoes from the cloakroom area. Children build secure independence skills and develop an understanding of personal safety. Staff make thoughtful use of funding to support individual children, such as obtaining sensory resources and apparatus to support children's physical development. Staff recognise the importance of developing and supporting children's personal, social and emotional skills. This area has been a focus to enable children to understand and regulate their emotions and behaviour. Children are developing the skills to be more able to recognise and deal with their own feelings and the impact their behaviour may have on others. Staff have a genuine interest in the children's lives and wellbeing.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

The provider works closely with leaders and staff to create an ambitious vision and bring about a positive impact for children attending and staff. Detailed action plans identify areas for improvement, which are put in place at the earliest opportunity. Leaders and parents work closely to seek funding and bring about positive changes. Leaders support staff well and place high importance on their wellbeing and enjoyment in their roles. For example, they conduct regular supervision sessions and wellbeing check-ins, as well as providing opportunities for staff to access additional training linked to their interests. Staff engage in training opportunities to further their knowledge and understanding of how children learn and safeguarding children. Recent training has developed staff understanding of how to support children to regulate their emotions and encourage them to communicate their needs. Leaders have identified training to further support staff to develop their engagement skills with children. However, for some staff, this is still work in progress. The pre-school works in close partnership with parents to support the learning of disadvantaged children and children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities. In addition, leaders and key persons work in partnership with parents and other agencies to develop a shared approach to children reaching their full potential.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should enhance staff's understanding of the mathematics curriculum and how to introduce the language of mathematics into their interactions with children as they play and learn.
  • Leaders should continue to support staff's confidence to recognise when they can extend activities to further enhance children's engagement.
  • Leaders should strengthen staff deployment to ensure staff engage fully with all children to increase children's enjoyment and extend their learning.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 20 November 2025. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 20 November 2025: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 3, Expected standard in 3
  • 14 January 2025: Full inspection, Requires improvement (report)
  • 17 May 2019: Full inspection, Outstanding (report)
  • 26 June 2015: Full inspection, Outstanding (report)
  • 22 June 2011: Inspection (report)
  • 14 November 2007: Inspection (report)
  • 18 January 2005: Inspection (report)
  • 20 May 2004: Inspection (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

  • Toddler Town - Day nursery, Wallingford OX10 0BG, 25 places, 0.4 miles
  • Rainbow Pre School - Pre-school, Wallingford OX10 8FE, ages 2 to 4, 45 places, 0.5 miles
    Ofsted, 7 June 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Full Circle Sports WSP - Pre-school, Wallingford OX10 9RB, 0.6 miles
  • Elite Camps Wallingford - Pre-school, Wallingford OX10 8HH, 0.6 miles
  • Stagecoach Wallingford - Pre-school, Wallingford OX10 8HH, 0.6 miles

Schools nearby

Paddocks Pre-School on the Ofsted website