Smart Start Wistow Community Pre School

Smart Start Wistow Community Pre School is a day nursery in Selby for children aged 2 to 4, with 15 registered places. Ofsted report card, 8 December 2025: Strong standard in 4 areas, Expected standard in 2 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Wistow Jubilee Hall, Jubilee Road, Wistow, Selby, YO8 3YP

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: 15 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered: 28 October 1992 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 15:15

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 8 December 2025

Who runs it

Smart Start Wistow Community Pre School is run by Smart Start Wistow Community Pre-School 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: Strong standard
Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 8 December 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

All children experience a warm, purposeful and nurturing environment where they feel safe, valued and well cared for. Staff know children and their families well and form secure, trusting relationships with them. They respond quickly and sensitively to children's needs. Clear boundaries and familiar routines help children feel secure, settled and ready to learn. Children are confident learners and understand what is expected of them.

Children show high levels of curiosity, enjoyment and confidence in their learning. They know their ideas are valued when staff listen and build on their thinking. For example, as children send pine cones down a pipe, they suggest adding water to make them move faster, showing early problem-solving skills. Older children use their imaginations well outside and work together to make pretend soup using leaves and pine cones. These experiences support creativity, cooperation and positive attitudes to learning. Children remain engaged for sustained periods and take pride in what they achieve.

Children flourish because their wellbeing and individuality sit at the heart of this pre-school. Leaders and staff work closely with families and other professionals to provide consistent support, particularly for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged children. Leaders promote the importance of regular attendance with parents so children benefit fully from all the learning opportunities provided. Staff use detailed information about children's needs to plan appropriate support. As a result, children are confident, curious, resilient and well prepared for their move to school.

Staff join children's play with purpose. They model language, introduce new vocabulary and weave early mathematics into everyday activities. Through conversations and questioning, staff extend children's thinking and understanding. Activities are adjusted so all children remain engaged, challenged and successful, helping them make strong progress. Children's personal development is nurtured well. They learn to share, take turns and understand the feelings of others. Staff notice when children may need comfort or time to regulate and respond sensitively. Consistent routines help all children develop a strong sense of belonging.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Strong standard

Leaders consistently promote a consistent culture of inclusion where every child is valued and supported to make the best possible progress. Staff identify children's individual needs early through accurate assessment and established partnerships with parents. This information is used effectively to inform a curriculum that reduces barriers and prioritises children's emotional wellbeing and sense of belonging. When gaps in learning are identified, staff act swiftly and sensitively so that support begins immediately, rather than waiting for formal assessments.

Staff adapt routines, activities and environments well to ensure that all children can participate confidently alongside their peers. For example, children receive one-to-one support at key times during the day, such as transitions to outside. Targeted language activities and tools are used to help children engage purposefully in learning. These personalised approaches help children feel valued, accepted and successful. Leaders monitor children's progress and review strategies regularly to ensure support remains effective. Additional funding is used purposefully to strengthen language development, social confidence and emotional regulation. For instance, funding has supported tailored staff training and the purchase of targeted resources to meet children's individual needs.

Strong partnerships with external professionals, local schools and other settings ensure a consistent approach to support and smooth transitions. Individual support plans are shared between settings. As a result, children make robust progress and are well prepared for their next stage of learning.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

The curriculum is ambitious and meaningful for all children, covering all areas of learning and enabling them to build knowledge and skills over time. Overall, staff work thoughtfully to support children to achieve their next steps in learning. For example, they develop children's fine motor and mathematical skills through painting and measuring activities. Children use rulers to draw lines, measure and compare sizes. These activities help children practise early number, size and coordination skills in meaningful contexts. However, systems to ensure that all staff are consistently and precisely aware of their key children's next steps are not yet fully embedded. This means teaching is not consistently tailored for children's different starting points, needs and stages of development.

Communication and language development is at the heart of daily practice. Singing and group times are embedded across the day and help to develop children's listening skills. These routines encourage children to join in with words and actions and build their confidence. Staff have warm, responsive conversations with children and introduce vocabulary during play and learning. The pre-school delivers a targeted speech and language programme in partnership with the local authority. This helps all children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language, to develop their communication, confidence and understanding. This reduces barriers to learning and enables children to make progress alongside their peers.

A strong culture of reading is evident across the pre-school. The curriculum is carefully built around weekly book and word themes, which provide a consistent and meaningful focus for learning. Books are chosen purposefully to widen children's understanding of the world. They are attractively displayed and easily accessible so children can revisit familiar stories independently. Staff use these themes to promote problem-solving, perseverance and creativity across the curriculum.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children typically make steady and sustained progress as they move through the curriculum. They use an increasingly wide range of vocabulary and communicate their ideas with growing confidence. Children take part in meaningful conversations, respond to open questions and express themselves clearly, showing secure communication skills. Leaders intend to strengthen systems to ensure all staff are consistently aware of children's next steps, ensuring children are fully supported to make the best possible progress.

All children are well supported from the outset. Leaders consistently involve external professionals, such as the local authority specialist team, to help develop and review support plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Children with SEND make secure progress from their individual starting points because additional support is identified quickly and matched precisely to their needs. This enables all children to access learning fully and achieve well alongside their peers.

Children demonstrate curiosity, confidence and increasing independence. They understand routines, manage small responsibilities, such as pouring their own cereal and milk, and interact positively with others. By the time children move on from the pre-school, they have developed the attitudes, skills and readiness needed for the next stage of their education, including school.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Strong standard

Behaviour across the pre-school is consistently calm, cooperative and positive. Leaders and staff develop a nurturing atmosphere where expectations for behaviour are clear and consistently reinforced. Staff are positive role models and demonstrate a gentle, respectful approach, which children mirror in their own interactions. For example, children often use their manners without being prompted.

Strong, trusting relationships support children's sense of security. Younger children seek out familiar adults for reassurance and settle with ease. Older children confidently play alongside others, take turns and include their friends in their games, demonstrating developing social skills and empathy. Children approach learning with enthusiasm, showing curiosity and a willingness to persist. Staff offer steady encouragement when tasks feel challenging. For example, when children practise using tweezers at snack time, they keep trying because staff provide patient guidance. Children proudly celebrate their achievements and begin to view themselves as capable learners.

Daily routines are very well embedded. Staff use gestures and singing to help children understand transitions, which promotes confidence and emotional security. Children enjoy contributing to everyday responsibilities, such as putting their dirty cloths in the correct basket after drying their hands. Leaders promote good attendance through constructive, supportive conversations with families.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Strong standard

Children's wellbeing is supported extremely well across the pre-school. Staff know children as individuals and respond with genuine warmth, care and sensitivity. Strong, trusting relationships are evident throughout the setting. Children settle quickly with their key person and show comfort and confidence in familiar care routines. Children confidently seek reassurance and support from staff when needed, demonstrating that they feel safe and emotionally secure within the environment.

Daily care routines are managed thoughtfully and consistently. Sleep, mealtime and toileting arrangements are sensitively adapted to meet each child's individual needs, including those who require additional emotional support. Parents receive regular updates about their child's day, which helps them feel well informed and meaningfully involved in their child's care and learning. Good hygiene practices are firmly embedded. For example, children are encouraged to wash their hands independently, which promotes independence and healthy habits.

Children are supported well to understand how to keep themselves healthy and safe. They benefit from daily opportunities to be active outdoors in the fresh air. Leaders make good use of the local community to complement the curriculum. Children enjoy regular walks, visits to the local park and trips to a nearby farm. Staff use consistent, nurturing language and books to help children recognise and express their feelings. This supports emotional regulation, positive friendships and a strong sense of belonging.

Leadership and governance: Strong standard

Leaders, including those with governance responsibilities, show a strong commitment to delivering high-quality education and care for every child. They have an accurate understanding of what the setting does well and reflect carefully when identifying priorities for development. For instance, leaders recognise the need to enhance outdoor learning so children have greater space to ride bikes and strengthen their physical skills. They have successfully raised money through fundraising activities to create an improved outdoor learning area, further supporting children's physical development.

Leaders make decisions that are clearly in the best interests of all children. They use additional funding and targeted support effectively to reduce barriers to learning and promote inclusion. Careful consideration is given to staff wellbeing and workload. Leaders provide clear guidance, regular supervision and access to emotional support. Staff report that they feel valued, supported and motivated in their roles.

Professional development is well planned and closely linked to setting priorities. Training strengthens staff confidence in key areas such as safeguarding, communication and inclusive practice. Leaders work well with external agencies and families to secure timely support for children. Parents are highly positive about the pre-school and describe it as a small, home-from-home community setting where children receive high-quality care and education.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

Leaders should further refine systems to ensure all staff know their key children's next steps, ensuring learning is well tailored to individual starting points, needs and stages of development.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 8 December 2025. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

8 December 2025: Full inspection, report card: Strong standard in 4, Expected standard in 2
7 September 2022: Actions after a concern (report)
26 February 2020: Full inspection, Good (report)
25 February 2014: Full inspection, Outstanding (report)
15 September 2009: Full inspection, Good (report)
8 March 2007: Inspection (report)
8 November 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

Maisy Moos - Day nursery, Selby YO8 3UZ, ages 0 to 8, 21 places, 0.4 miles
Ofsted, 14 May 2021: Good overall; safeguarding is effective

Schools nearby

Wistow Parochial Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School - Primary, 0.2 miles

Smart Start Wistow Community Pre School on the Ofsted website