Ofsted puts achievement and inclusion above the expected standard at the 39-place Swanley nursery, safeguarding met. What the June inspection found.

Ofsted has judged achievement and inclusion at Oaks Day Nursery in Swanley to be above the standard it expects, and the nursery’s safeguarding arrangements to be met, in a report published on 4 August. (Ofsted, Oaks Day Nursery, URN 2502386)

The nursery, at The Willows on Hilda May Avenue, takes children aged two to four and has 39 places. It is run by Edseco Ltd and has been registered with Ofsted since March 2019. Inspectors visited on 23 June.

What the grades say

There is no overall Outstanding or Good rating any more. Ofsted’s report cards grade each area separately on a five-point scale: exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention and urgent improvement. Safeguarding sits outside that scale and is recorded only as met or not met.

Oaks Day Nursery was placed at the strong standard for achievement and for inclusion, and at the expected standard for curriculum and teaching, for behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines, for children’s welfare and wellbeing, and for leadership and governance.

Grid of Ofsted's June 2026 report card grades for Oaks Day Nursery, Swanley: achievement and inclusion at the strong standard, curriculum and teaching, behaviour and routines, children's welfare and wellbeing and leadership and governance at the expected standard, safeguarding met
Graphic by Sevenoaks Online

The expected standard is the benchmark a setting is required to meet, not a near miss. Ofsted’s own definition is that the setting “is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care”, following the statutory framework and the professional standards expected of it. The strong standard means leaders are working above that. (Ofsted, Oaks Day Nursery)

What inspectors found

On achievement, the report says all children make rapid progress from their starting points, including children with special educational needs and disabilities and those receiving additional funding, and that even the youngest children are highly independent, washing up their own utensils after snack time.

On inclusion, it says leaders and staff “expertly identify” individual needs, use sign language and visual aids, and buy equipment to give to parents so that support at home matches support at nursery. Additional funding has gone on things including tree swings for physical development.

The criticisms are specific and small. Staff do not consistently build on children’s spontaneous ideas to extend learning, particularly in maths, and staff are already in further training to address that. On behaviour, inspectors found children typically behave well but staff do not always explain why a child is being asked to stop doing something, such as throwing an object, so children do not always fully understand what is expected of them. (Ofsted inspection report, 23 June 2026)

On leadership, the report credits the nursery with strengthening the link between home and setting, including a library that has encouraged families to read together, and says leaders protect staff wellbeing and keep workloads manageable.

How it compares with last time

The nursery’s previous inspection, on 4 February 2022, was under the old system and returned Good for overall effectiveness and Good for each of quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. (Ofsted inspection report, 4 February 2022)

The two regimes do not map onto each other, so this is not a rise or a fall from Good. Ofsted replaced the single headline grade with the per-area report card, and the only fair reading is the one printed on the card itself.

The register also carries one complaint record. In February 2024 Ofsted published the outcome of a regulatory visit made on 2 February that year, after the provider notified Ofsted of a significant event in November 2023 and the regulator received concerns the following January. Inspectors found some requirements were not being met and that the provider had already acted, reviewing its risk assessment and supervision procedures to keep children within sight and sound of staff. The nursery remained registered. (Ofsted, Complaint about childcare provision, 16 February 2024)

What it means for parents

If you are choosing childcare in Swanley, read the report card rather than looking for a one-word grade, because there no longer is one. A setting can be at the expected standard in most areas and still be doing something notably well in one, which is exactly what this report describes.

Every registered nursery, pre-school and childminder in the district has its own page on Ofsted’s report finder, carrying inspection dates, published reports and any complaint records, and you can search by postcode to see what is near you.

For the state school end of the same system, our report on Lady Boswell’s report card sets out how the five-point scale works in a primary school, and this year’s A level results from Sevenoaks schools show what the other end of the education pipeline produced this summer.

Sources

Image: Footpath off Hilda May Avenue by N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph and Wikimedia Commons. Graphic by Sevenoaks Online.