The New Ofsted Report Cards: Rough Guide for Parents
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The New Ofsted Report Cards: Rough Guide for Parents

The New Ofsted Report Cards: Rough Guide for Parents
Since November 2025, Ofsted has been rolling out new-style assessments for early years providers, schools, higher education settings, and skills providers. Parents will therefore start to notice the new way of presenting Ofsted ratings. They are multifaceted, with comprehensive detail, and also provide contextual information and metrics that give greater meaning to assessment conclusions.

Key to the new Ofsted assessments is the new, multi-part Report Card. This combines a quick, colour-coded snapshot of the setting’s performance, with sub-sections that delve deeper into how the setting measured up against key areas. All of this replaces the historical approach that, until now, simply used short, some would say controversial, one or two-word “judgements” — Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, or Inadequate. Today, we take a look at the new Report Card, explaining how it is presented and what information this new assessment reporting will contain.

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The New Ofsted ‘Report Card’

Example showing the main (top) section of the new-style Ofsted report card.

As you can see in our example, the most prominent part of Ofsted’s new Report Card is a colour-coded area that indicates how the setting performed, at a glance. Coloured dots represent key areas and what ‘grade’ they achieved, although they’re not named at this stage. The distribution of coloured dots is a way to see, very quickly, how a setting is performing overall.

  • Areas judged to be ‘Exceptional’ are denoted by blue dots;
  • Those with a ‘Strong standard’ are awarded dark green dots;
  • Those reaching the ‘Expected standard’ are indicated by bright green dots;
  • If an area ‘Needs attention’, it’s indicated by an orange dot;
  • And finally, areas that need ‘Urgent improvement’ will be shown as a red dot.

If all is well at a setting, parents will see just greens and, if exceptional in any areas, blues. A good facet of this new approach is that, if a setting is doing well in many of its key areas, it will no longer “live or die” if there is a shortcoming in another key area. Yes, they may see an orange or red dot, but they’ll also be able to instantly spot that the setting is doing well in other areas (green and blue dots). So, it’s a more comprehensive and balanced way to represent a setting.

What Key Areas do the Coloured Dots Represent?

The coloured dots represent defined “key areas” assessed by Ofsted inspectors. The key areas vary a little depending on the type of setting being assessed, as listed in the tabulated sections below.

Key Areas for Early Years Settings

The key areas that Ofsted will assess for early years settings like nurseries are:

  • Safeguarding
  • Inclusion
  • Curriculum & teaching
  • Achievement
  • Behaviour, attitudes & establishing routines
  • Children’s welfare & well-being
  • Leadership and governance

Safeguarding on the Report Card

Safeguarding features prominently on the Report Card for all types of settings. It does so in a separate section of its own, below the top colour-coded section. There are just two possibilities for the assessment of the setting’s safeguarding: either Met or Not Met. And, as with many of the subsequent inclusions on the Report Card, the Safeguarding box is expandable. Users can click the ‘Show’ link to view detailed notes explaining what the finding means (see example below) and a further link that explains how safeguarding was evaluated by Ofsted. Both links can then be closed to return to the more compact view.

Safeguarding features prominently on the new Ofsted Report Card, directly under the colour-coded section.

The Key Areas Section of the Report Card

After the Safeguarding section comes the individual ‘key areas’ that we listed above and which were graded higher up in the colour-coded section. Grouped by attainment/colour (best/blue at the top), each now has an expandable box of its own. As with the Safeguarding box, users can click a ‘Show’ link that enables detailed Ofsted notes to be displayed. Such notes go into great detail about Ofsted’s findings about the metric in question. So, if the attainment is high, parents will be able to see how and why Ofsted thinks that to be the case. Likewise, if the attainment is lacking in some way, parents can see why Ofsted thought so and what they suggest the setting needs to do to improve matters.

The Key Areas of the new Ofsted Report Card each have an expandable section of their own.

Each of the sections expands as shown for the ‘Inclusion’ example below.

Example of one key area expanded to show the detailed Ofsted commentary.

What It’s Like at the Setting & More

Below the Key Areas sections come 3 useful inclusions:

  1. The ‘What it’s like to be a pupil at this [setting]’ section does ‘exactly what it says on the tin’ and, if expanded to show the detail, explains what life is like at the nursery, school, further education setting or skills provider in question. It’s a new and useful inclusion for parents to consider as part of their search for an appropriate provider for their child.
  2. The ‘Next Steps’ section provides recommendations from Ofsted about what the provider can do to improve things (as appropriate).
  3. The ‘About this inspection’ section comes next and, if expanded, explains more about the inspection process on the day the Ofsted Inspector visited.
  4. The report card then goes on to name the Inspector(s), as well as providing a link to download the Inspection Report as an Acrobat PDF file.

Useful additional sections follow those for the key areas.

The Facts & Figures Section

The final section in the Report Card contains contextual information that provides a kind of backdrop to the setting’s situation. Examples include the number of pupils attending, the capacity of the setting, the percentage of pupils with SEND and/or an EHC plan, whether the setting is in a deprived area, and so on. Click here to view an example. Such facts and figures provide some important context, including the highlighting of some challenges they may face, and may at least partly explain performance. As such, they are a useful set of new metrics for parents to factor in when finding a provider for their child.

Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham

Rated as a ‘Good Provider’ by Ofsted

Little Acorns Nursery & Preschool is in Padiham, Lancashire, near Hapton, Rose Grove, Burnley, Altham, Huncoat, Read, Simonstone, Sabden, Higham, and Wood End. Ofsted rates Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham, as a Good Provider of childcare in all categories.Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham, has not yet had a new-style Ofsted assessment. However, the setting has a ‘Good Provider’ status following the most recent Ofsted inspection back in May (2025). Indeed, Ofsted rated the nursery as ‘Good’ in every category. What’s more, at the time of writing, the nursery has a review rating of 5 out of 5 on Google and 10 out of 10 on DayNurseries.co.uk — it simply doesn’t get better than that! Parents can therefore rest assured that, if they send their child to Little Acorns Nursery in Padiham, they’ll be in safe and caring hands at a childcare setting that does everything it can to nurture their learning and development. That’s all in a safe, homely, and stimulating environment.

To register your interest for a nursery place, organise a tour of the setting, or ask any questions, please get in touch using one of the options below. We can’t wait to meet you and your child!

Apply for a Place Book a Tour Message Us 01282 680 822

Families outside Padiham, but living in nearby locations, may also find Little Acorns Nursery convenient for their childcare needs, for example, those in Burnley, Hapton, Rose Grove, Altham, Huncoat, Read, Simonstone, Sabden, Higham, and Wood End.

 

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Ofsted: Little Acorns Nursery is a ‘Good Provider’ - it's Official!
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Ofsted: Little Acorns Nursery is a ‘Good Provider’ – It’s Official!

Ofsted: Little Acorns Nursery is a ‘Good Provider’ - it's Official!
Ofsted rates Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham, as a Good Provider.We’re delighted to announce that Ofsted has published a stunning report for Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham. It’s now official that this excellent Padiham childcare setting is a ‘Good Provider’ — in every category! What’s more, the Ofsted inspector published some wonderfully positive comments about the nursery, staff, and quality of care as part of the report. Their findings are a testament to the high quality of the setting, the professionalism of its early years practitioners and leadership, and the positive impact the nursery has on babies and children in its care. Today, we take a deep dive into the details.

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• Overall effectiveness: Good
• The quality of education: Good
• Behaviour and attitudes: Good
• Personal development: Good
• Leadership & management: Good

Little Acorns Nursery Padiham - Ofsted Report May 2025.

A Welcoming, Safe & Secure Environment for Children

In her report, the Ofsted inspector recognised the warm, welcoming, safe and secure nature of the setting and early years practitioners:

“Staff work closely as a team to provide a welcoming environment for the children. They develop strong relationships with children and their families [and] show respect to the children […] This helps children to feel safe and secure.” — Ofsted.

Such a positive environment and approach by staff is clearly being reflected in the children:

“Children develop strong bonds with each other. They show kindness as they say to their friends, ‘Shall I help you?’”— Ofsted.

Independence & Self-Confidence in Little Ones

The inspector also had positive comments about children learning new skills, gaining in confidence, and becoming more independent — important for when they transition to school. Helped by “high aspirations for what children can do,” Ofsted follows up by saying “The expectations are well sequenced throughout the nursery, helping to build on children’s skills over time.”

Ofsted remarked that “From babies upwards, they encourage children to have a go” and, as a result…

“Children demonstrate high levels of confidence and self-esteem.” — Ofsted.

The Nursery’s Approach to the Early Years Curriculum

The Ofsted inspector seemed particularly impressed with the nursery’s approach to the early years curriculum, remarking that:

“Leaders have designed an aspirational curriculum that is implemented in a well-sequenced way throughout the nursery.” — Ofsted.

Targeted staff training, focused on the needs of the children, was also seen to be part of this success, with the Ofsted inspector commenting that it “has positively impacted on the implementation of the curriculum.” Indeed, the success of such an approach was seen to be working well right across the nursery, boosting children’s learning:

“Leaders and staff are aspirational for what all children can achieve, and they support all children to make good progress in their learning.” — Ofsted.

Assessment of children’s progress was also highly praised:

“Leaders have implemented clear assessment procedures to monitor the impact of the curriculum on children’s progress. They respond swiftly when they identify that children may benefit from extra help in their learning.” — Ofsted.

What About Children with SEND?

The approaches outlined above were seen to apply well to children who may need extra support and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities:

“Appropriate referrals are made and additional funding is used to support individual children’s needs.” — Ofsted.

Parents spoken to by the Ofsted Inspector also appreciated the nursery’s approach to extra help for children, including those with SEND:

“Parents who have children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) talk positively about the nursery’s commitment to multi-agency working. These positive links help all children, including children with SEND and those who receive additional funding, make good progress from their starting points.” — Ofsted.

Children’s Communication & Language

Ofsted recognised the nursery’s approach to boosting children’s language and communication skills in their report too. The inspector commented on our staff:

“They place high importance on supporting children’s communication and language skills” … and … “use their interactions to promote and extend children’s language.” — Ofsted.

Children’s Learning Steps

Ofsted’s inspector praised Little Acorns’ staff in their approach to learning steps, commenting:

“Staff have a clear understanding of each child’s next steps in learning. They plan engaging experiences that children enjoy.” — Ofsted.

The inspector went on to say that such activities and experiences help to “build on children’s knowledge” and then gave some examples.

Reading & Writing at Little Acorns

The Ofsted inspector commented favourably about the way in which staff at Little Acorns Nursery support the learning of the skills necessary to read and write. Children are also encouraged to develop a natural and active interest in books and reading. The inspector wrote, “Children are provided with the opportunities to develop the skills they will need for later writing” and “Leaders value the importance of providing lots of opportunities for children to enjoy stories. They provide a wide range of books for children to explore.”

Coordination and dexterity were noted to be an important part of these successes:

“Staff support children’s hand-eye coordination superbly” — Ofsted.

Ofsted recognised that staff “Staff support children’s hand-eye coordination superbly. They have consulted with the local schools and used this to enhance the curriculum to ensure children develop the dexterity needed to support later writing.”

Behaviour & Emotional Regulation at the Nursery

During their visit, Ofsted recognised that children behaved well and that their emotional regulation skills were being nurtured appropriately by the nursery’s practitioners:

“Children behave well. They listen to staff and join in with the daily routines. Staff use opportunities during children’s play to label and encourage children to talk about their feelings.” — Ofsted.

Healthy Lifestyles & Good Choices

The Ofsted inspector noted in her report that:

“Staff introduce opportunities to teach children about healthy lifestyles.” — Ofsted.

She pointed out that “Children benefit from many experiences to play outside in the fresh air and by walking in the community.”

Also, in regard to healthy eating, she remarked: “Staff talk to children at mealtimes about the impact of food on their bodies. Children are beginning to know how to keep their bodies healthy. They talk about the need to keep their bodies hydrated and check that their friends have also had a drink of water.”

Ofsted also recognised that children’s kindness is reflected in their treatment of the environment:

“Children show consideration for the environment as they are encouraged to recycle food after mealtimes.” — Ofsted.

Effective Safeguarding

One of the most important things at any nursery is, of course, to keep children safe and well. Little Acorns Nursery scored well in this regard too, with the Ofsted inspector reporting that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective” and:

“There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children’s interests first.” — Ofsted.

Good Provision

It’s wonderful that Ofsted has recognised the hard work and professionalism at Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham. It’s clear that it’s benefiting children and enabling them to be as school-ready as possible by the time they leave us around the age of five. And, if there are areas we can still improve on, we will implement such measures without delay — all with a view to making children’s experiences at the nursery simply outstanding!

A Nursery Place for Your Child at Little Acorns

High-quality childcare in Padiham — for babies (3m+) and children under 5

Little Acorns Nursery & Preschool is in Padiham, Lancashire, conveniently near to Hapton, Rose Grove, Burnley, Altham, Huncoat, Read, Simonstone, Sabden, Higham and Wood End.Ofsted rates Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham, as a Good Provider of childcare – in all categories.If you like the sound of the Ofsted inspector’s comments and need high-quality weekday childcare in Padiham, Lancashire, get in touch. You can register for a place, request a guided tour with your child, or ask us any questions. We’re here to help and would love to meet you and your child! We also support free, government-funded childcare places for eligible children as young as just 9 months of age.

Apply for a Place Book a Tour Message Us 01282 680 822

Little Acorns Nursery is located in Padiham (Lancashire), so is just a stone’s throw away for families living in Hapton, Rose Grove, Burnley, Altham, Huncoat, Read, Simonstone, Sabden, Higham and Wood End. If you need weekday childcare, come and see us – we’d love to meet you!

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