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Primrose House Montessori

Primrose House Montessori is a day nursery in Haywards Heath for children aged 0 to 4, with 44 registered places. Ofsted report card, 20 August 2026: Strong standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.

The Kiln, 76 Franklynn Road, Haywards Heath, RH16 4DJ

Key facts

Type
Day nursery (Full day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
0 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
44 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
20 November 2025 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 20 August 2026

Who runs it

Primrose House Montessori is run by Happy Days Day Nurseries Limited (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

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

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 20 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 show a genuine enthusiasm for being at the nursery, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), or those who face other barriers to their learning and wellbeing. Children arrive full of energy, eager to begin their daily routines and activities. They explore their surroundings with complete confidence, freely interacting with their friends and choosing their own activities independently. From the outset, children build secure bonds with familiar adults, receiving personalised comfort and reassurance whenever needed. This responsive environment ensures that every child feels a deep sense of belonging and safety.

Children's learning is an active and joyful experience, with children remaining highly focused throughout the day. They develop excellent early communication skills through effective interactions with staff, who change their teaching to suit each child's level. Children also stretch their language skills during free-flow play, independently introducing new vocabulary into their games. Mathematical concepts are introduced naturally as children independently use number language and work together to solve real problems fairly. Children, including those with SEND, alongside those facing other barriers, thrive due to tailored teaching that allows them to hit vital milestones. This enables all children to smoothly navigate to the next stage of their education.

Harmonious relationships and social courtesy are visible across all age groups. Children have a genuine voice in the nursery, forming their own 'council' to have their say, such as by voting on daily snacks and activities. Through these experiences, children learn to regulate their feelings and respect group decisions, even when they do not always get their own way. For example, during outdoor play, children work together beautifully. They show great courtesy as they take turns navigating the garden's climbing walls. They build long-lasting healthy habits and immense physical confidence. There is a focus throughout the nursery on independence. This ensures that all children are very well prepared for the next stage of their education, including school.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

Staff identify children's starting points within the first 2 weeks of them beginning at the nursery. Leaders have a very flexible approach, promoting a tailored settling-in process for each child. This supports children's emotional wellbeing. Staff identify children's barriers through thorough and prompt assessment processes. Leaders systematically put adaptations and support plans in place to reduce any barriers. For example, staff work with external specialists who support children who have complex medical needs in order to safely and consistently manage their needs.

Children's progress is consistently monitored and updated on a regular basis. Staff make adaptations to how children with individual needs are assessed, in order to put in place achievable goals for all children. For example, staff break down learning outcomes, while remaining in line with the general assessment scheme, focusing on what matters to help each child learn and succeed.

Leaders proactively make use of advice and guidance from the local authority and external professionals. For instance, leaders support staff to integrate ideas and targets shared by speech and language therapists into their nursery next steps. Leaders actively seek additional funding and use it meaningfully to support individual children. For example, leaders deploy additional staff at key times to support children as needed. They monitor the effectiveness of additional funding to ensure that it is having the desired impact on children's progress, as well as on their wellbeing.

Curriculum and teaching: Strong standard

Leaders maintain a clear view of teaching quality and use focused action plans to build consistency across the staff team. For example, all staff have received training in how to use music and movement in activities, as well as how to understand children's brain development. This has led to staff learning how to use music and movement as a proactive strategy to help children wait, listen and focus during activities. Leaders are very reflective on staff's practice, carrying out observations to make teaching even better. They provide advice and guidance to staff to continually strengthen their practice and interactions.

Leaders have designed an adapted Montessori curriculum that combines traditional independent life skills with full coverage of the early years educational programmes. For example, children have opportunities to attend a designated Montessori space, as well as freely accessing other play and experiences, such as enjoying dress-up role play. Staff heavily prioritise communication and language in all interactions. Children receive support with how to say words and sounds more clearly. For example, staff model how to stick their tongues out to make the 'th' sound for the word 'Thursday', which children copy. Additionally, staff extend children's language during free-flow play. For instance, they introduce vocabulary relating to money into shopping games, such as by asking children how much items cost.

Staff naturally weave mathematics into everyday play, which supports children's own enjoyment in this area. For example, children independently count out cards to 10, sharing them out with friends and adults. Staff extend the activity by asking children open questions, such as about how to share the leftover cards fairly. Staff skilfully adapt their teaching to support children with barriers to learning. For example, they blend both signing and spoken language when reading stories to help children who need extra support with communication. Staff's knowledge of the children and understanding of the curriculum implementation mean that children benefit from highly effective teaching. This enables children to continually build on what they know and can do, preparing them for future success.

Achievement: Strong standard

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), or those who face other barriers to learning and/or wellbeing, make highly successful progress from their starting points. Children with SEND learn new ways to manage routines through visual 'now and next' boards to show them what activity will follow their current one. All children are well supported to understand their growing emotions. They learn to understand their own and others' feelings, such as through turn-taking and playing cooperatively during games. This supports children's growing social skills.

Children are very well supported to develop new life skills. For instance, older children master essential independence skills as they learn to safely pour their own drinks from open jugs and practise using cutlery by cutting up their food at mealtimes. Children develop their own communication skills, learning new words and how to pronounce them. They enjoy stories and expand their knowledge as they practise their conversational skills, alongside learning more about their favourite books. All children receive support to become confident communicators.

Children benefit from their physical development being heavily prioritised across the nursery, using age-appropriate equipment. For instance, in the garden, older children use a climbing wall and stepping stones to practise balancing. In the younger room, children practise their core muscle skills on a corner playhouse with steps and a slope. Children's personal, social and emotional development is also a main focus through daily activities. For example, children learn about feelings by using monster characters during their play. This helps children to learn how to talk about and manage their own emotions.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Relationships between staff and children are incredibly warm and responsive throughout the nursery. Staff provide immediate reassurance to help children feel safe and learn how to manage their emotions. Staff teach children the expectations for their behaviour clearly and consistently. For instance, staff remind young children how to play safely on physical play equipment. Staff skilfully consider their use of tone, gesture and facial expressions to positively reinforce rules and expectations. This helps children as they learn right from wrong. Staff carefully consider each child's individual needs, age and stage of development when supporting them to maintain expectations. For example, they adapt their approach during daily routines by giving children who find it difficult to concentrate an active helper role or a chair next to the staff member leading the activity. This helps all children to engage and be included in group activities.

Children have their voice listened to in some aspects of how the nursery is run. They learn to respect others even when they do not get their own way. Because of this, children play harmoniously and cooperate beautifully. For example, during a group activity, children independently make room so that other children can sit down. They receive warm praise from staff for being so kind.

Leaders make sure that having a consistent approach to behaviour management is a top priority across the nursery. They have created a very clear action plan to give the team supportive training. For example, all staff have completed training that helps them to fully understand the potential causes of challenging behaviour, and how to respond. Leaders work very hard to promote the absolute importance of children's regular attendance and punctuality. They have strict monitoring systems in place to ensure that children always benefit from their full attendance.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Leaders and staff prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing, implementing highly effective care routines. They actively change their approaches to help every child feel safe and included. For example, leaders work closely with health visitors and social services to track children's changing home circumstances. They work collaboratively to protect vulnerable children. Additionally, staff implement highly effective systems for children with food allergies and intolerances. There is a colour-coding system for aprons, plates and place mats at mealtimes so that children can eat safely alongside their friends.

Daily care routines encourage children to build independent self-care skills and positive hygiene habits. For instance, children automatically wash their hands with minimal support before sitting down to eat. At lunch, staff teach babies to use cutlery, while older children independently serve their own meals and pour water from jugs into open cups. Staff teach children personal safety and risk awareness throughout the day. Furthermore, staff use age-appropriate stories and role-play games to teach children about road safety and how to stay safe online. This helps children's growing awareness of how to keep themselves safe.

Key persons form deeply secure attachments with children from their very first day. Staff use calm tones and gentle cuddles to offer immediate comfort whenever children feel unsettled. This responsive care helps children to successfully learn how to recognise and manage their feelings. For example, staff appropriately teach children how to use 'kind hands' and 'listening ears' during their play. This helps children to build excellent skills in regulating their emotions and confidence.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders maintain an accurate understanding of the nursery's strengths. Through regular time spent in rooms, leaders quickly identify development areas, and act on them swiftly. They have created a highly effective action plan to build consistency throughout the staff team. Leaders support staff to gain official qualifications, such as those for special educational needs coordinators. They enable these staff to join specialised local authority network groups. This allows the team to stay up to date and share expert knowledge across all rooms. It also ensures a completely uniform approach to supporting all children, particularly those who face barriers to their learning. The nursery recently joined a larger group. Leaders have used this change to strategically improve how the nursery runs every day. For example, they use the larger organisation's digital systems to manage staff training more effectively.

Leaders successfully manage staff wellbeing and workload through targeted support, coaching and regular supervision sessions. Staff feel very well valued and report that leaders are approachable. This is evidenced by the long-standing and happy staff team. This supportive environment creates a culture of high expectations and continuous improvement. Staff consistently ask for, accept and offer feedback to continually raise the standard of their daily interactions.

Partnerships with parents and carers and outside professionals are a major strength. Leaders maintain a highly effective two-way flow of information. This includes termly tracking and photos of children's progress sent directly to families. Parents, especially those of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those facing other barriers to their learning, particularly value the communication and guidance they receive. Leaders work diligently with health visitors and specialists through the referral process, ensuring these children secure vital support to thrive.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should ensure continued improvement in the setting's successful work to remove barriers for children who need extra help in order to realise a transformational impact on all children's achievement and wellbeing.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 20 August 2026. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

  • Sussex Tuition Centre - Day nursery, Haywards Heath RH16 4EA, 0.2 miles
  • St Paul's Pre-School - Day nursery, Haywards Heath RH16 3PQ, ages 2 to 4, 44 places, 0.3 miles
    Ofsted, 18 September 2025: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Busy Bees Day Nursery at Haywards Heath - Day nursery, West Sussex RH16 4SL, ages 0 to 4, 75 places, 0.3 miles
    Ofsted, 5 September 2025: Outstanding overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Wendy House Nursery - Day nursery, Haywards Heath RH16 4EX, ages 0 to 5, 51 places, 0.4 miles
    Ofsted, 17 January 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Go Wild Warden Park - Day nursery, Haywards Heath RH16 3JR, 0.4 miles

Schools nearby

Primrose House Montessori on the Ofsted website