Ofsted has updated the way nurseries are inspected from 2025, with clearer report cards that show simple grades alongside short explanations of what each setting does well and where it can improve.

Nurseries are now graded on a five-point scale,  Exceptional, Strong Standard, Expected Standard, Needs Attention and Urgent Improvement, across key areas such as teaching, early years care, children’s progress, inclusion, leadership, wellbeing, and behaviour.

Monkey Puzzle Guildford’s most recent Ofsted report was published in May 2026, confirming that safeguarding standards were fully met and children’s safety and wellbeing remain a top priority. The nursery achieved Expected Standard across five key areas and Strong Standard in one of the inspection’s key areas, reflecting the high-quality care, learning and support provided by the team. Parents and carers can read the full Ofsted report here to learn more about the inspectors’ findings.

• Attentive and caring staff know children well, helping them feel safe, secure, and valued.
• Children are provided healthy, balanced meals to develop their physical health.
• Staff encourage children to learn important healthy lifestyle habits, including healthy eating and the positive impact of food on their bodies.
• Dietary requirements and allergens are managed carefully, using individual placemats to signpost requirements which older children recognise. 
• Strong partnerships with families and professionals ensure that support is tailored to each child’s individual needs.
• Continuity of care is important for all children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. 

• Children make steady progress across all areas of learning and development, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Strong communication and language skills are evident, with older children engaging in meaningful conversations as they play.
• Children demonstrate their mathematical knowledge and show a sense of pride and achievement. 
• Opportunities to develop children’s physical skills are evident.
• Increasing autonomy is shown through children choosing activities and shaping their play, as well as confidence in serving food and knowing to wash their hands before mealtimes.
• Children have shown to become increasingly independent, confident and ready for their next stage of education, 

• Staff help children develop independence through daily routines, which children know well. 
• Positive friendships are fostered, with children learning to take turns, cooperate, and build on each other’s ideas.
• Children show curiosity and interest in the play with many enjoying attending the nursery and engage well in the activities.
• Staff have developed caring and respectful relationships with children. 
• The importance of regular attendance is promoted, with close family relationships to support children’s consistent routines. This helps to promote a positive attitude to future attendance at school.
• Some staff have completed behaviour training but leaders recognise it is an area of development to ensure consistency across the nursery.

• Children benefit from a carefully planned and ambitious curriculum that builds on what they already know and can do.
• Staff provide meaningful learning experiences that focuses on children’s personal, social and emotional development.
• Ongoing assessment helps staff identify the skills and knowledge they want children to learn.
• Teaching is varied with regular singing and story time woven into daily routines to expose children to different vocabulary. 
• Staff weave in opportunities for children to count and compare sizes as they play. This promotes children’s understanding of early mathematics in readiness for later learning.
• Engaging activities are planned by staff, introducing children to new concepts like colouring mixing and planting. 
• Babies have ample opportunities to develop their physical development as staff encourage them to stand and cruise around the furniture.

• An environment designed to help children thrive and make progress is provided for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who face other barriers to their learning
• Staff are experts at completing observations when children start at the nursery, with regular ongoing assessments to help adapt and meet children’s changing needs.
• Children’s individual needs are identified early and supported effectively, helping them make strong progress in their learning and development.
• Strong partnerships with families helps support children’s progress and plan interventions. 
• Leaders actively seek and implement specialist advice and resources to enhance support for children, such as speech and language therapists,
• Leaders carefully identify precise training opportunities to enhance staff knowledge and teaching skills which has helped children to be increasingly able to sustain their concentration and continue to make strong progress in their communication and language development.

• Leaders maintain a clear focus on communication and language and inclusion in the nursery.
• Leaders plan training that is specific to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring that all children access a curriculum that is ambitious and broad.
• Staff wellbeing is prioritised by providing staff with professional development opportunities that help them to develop their practice.
• Regular feedback meetings and supervision helps identify an concerns with staff workload.
• A commitment to continuous improvement ensures the nursery is always striving to provide the very best outcomes for children.
• Strong partnerships with parents ensure families are actively involved in their child’s learning journey.
• Staff report feeling supported and confident in their roles.

• Children feel safe, secure, and genuinely cared for in a warm and nurturing environment.
• They make strong progress from their starting points through a fun and meaningful curriculum that builds on their existing knowledge and skills.
• Staff are animated and use facial expression to help children learn about their emotions and support their learning experiences. 
• Children are engaged in their learning and enjoy a wide range of stimulating experiences, including outside actitivies.
• Curiosity is developed as children learn about the world around them.
• Staff work closely with parents to promote children’s attendance
• Children form meaningful friendships and learn to play well together.
• Children develop independence through daily activities, preparing them well for their own self-care in time for starting school.

• Safeguarding standards were fully met, with Ofsted recognising a strong culture where safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, ensuring children feel safe, secure, and well protected.
• Children benefit from a strong safeguarding culture where concerns are identified, acted upon, and managed effectively.
• Safeguarding was recognised as a strength, with leaders creating an environment where children are safe and feel safe.
• Ofsted found that robust safeguarding practices and clear leadership help ensure the safety and wellbeing of every child.