Curious Little Minds Goring

Warm relationships and uneven learning sit side by side at Curious Little Minds Goring. The church-hall setting has capacity for 25 children, with an accepted age range of 12 to 60 months. Its practical scale is clear. The more consequential question is how consistently each child receives the teaching and support they need.

At its January 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged safeguarding standards met but all six assessed areas as needing attention: achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership, with inconsistent teaching, staff deployment and responses to behaviour limiting progress and preparation for the next learning stage. This is a mixed picture rather than a reassuring quality endorsement. Safeguarding met the standard; education and care needed improvement.

Term-time opening runs from 8.30am to 3.30pm on weekdays, making the calendar an important part of the choice.

In January 2026, everyday materials provided opportunities for learning: children counted cups and cutlery around snacks, explored quantities through garden sand play and used tweezers to exercise their fingers. These are useful examples of how early mathematics and physical development can fit into ordinary routines rather than requiring separate lessons.

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. In parent language, that means education and everyday care belong together: conversation, play, movement and growing independence all contribute to a child's development. The January 2026 curriculum covered the learning areas, with experiences including conversation and searching through sand for hidden toy dinosaurs.

Outdoor activity had a practical place in the day. In January 2026, children could run outside and practise balancing using obstacles. An outside shelter had been added using additional funding to support children who preferred learning outdoors, while sensory resources were purchased for individual emotional and learning needs. These physical provisions matter because support can involve changing the surroundings as well as changing an activity.

The examples also give families a useful distinction to explore: access to an activity and adult help during that activity are separate things. A child can enjoy searching for dinosaurs, counting or balancing, while still needing a practitioner to develop the conversation or adjust the challenge. The January findings make that consistency central to judging the nursery's educational offer.

At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found affectionate relationships and comforting responses to upset children, but support for younger children and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) was inconsistent, transitions sometimes caused distress, behaviour was not always addressed effectively, and training had not reliably translated into daily practice. Kindness was a strength of the relationships. It did not resolve the weaknesses in how the day was organised.

In January 2026, staff gathered information about children's preferences and familiar routines to help them settle. Children sought adults' company during play, and staff offered physical comfort when they were unsettled. For a family choosing early childcare, those details matter: familiarity and a trusted adult help make an unfamiliar routine manageable.

Self-care was part of daily life in January 2026. Children practised finding tissues for themselves and putting toys away, while books and conversations introduced feelings. Staff knew children's dietary requirements and procedures associated with allergies and medical needs. These observations describe care at that time; they are separate from any current food or charging arrangement.

January 2026 support also involved families and outside professionals in identifying developmental gaps and planning interventions. The important distinction for parents is between recognising a need and delivering the response consistently. The improvement actions required guidance for less-experienced staff, staffing arrangements responsive to individual learning needs, and better handling of behaviour and younger children's routines, with a deadline of 10 February 2026. That date is past; the actions describe the position established at the January inspection.

St. Richards Church, Collingwood Road, Goring-by-sea, Worthing, BN12 6HZ is the nursery's address. Curious Little Minds occupies the church hall, so the physical setting is part of its identity rather than a purpose-built nursery description.

Opening hours are 8.30am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time. The closing time and term-time calendar are the practical boundaries families should weigh against work and other childcare commitments. The nursery has 25 places in total.

• Teaching after the January findings. Inconsistent adult support affected learning and preparation for the next stage. During a visit, ask to see how practitioners now adapt an activity for children at different developmental stages.
• Younger children and SEND. January 2026 transitions and staffing arrangements did not consistently meet individual needs. Ask how your child's changes of activity would be supported and how their planned support would reach the staff working with them.
• Term-time timetable. The nursery closes at 3.30pm and operates during term time. Consider how that calendar fits the hours and holiday cover your family needs.
• Improvement actions. The January actions carried a 10 February 2026 deadline. Ask what changed in staff guidance, deployment and behaviour support, and how leaders assess whether those changes work in daily practice.

Curious Little Minds Goring suits families whose childcare needs fit a term-time weekday timetable ending at 3.30pm. Its January 2026 picture included affectionate relationships, everyday learning materials and outdoor adaptations for individual needs. Those are useful foundations.

The educational and care weaknesses carry more weight in the decision, however. Families should judge the setting on clear examples of how teaching, transitions and individual support now work, especially for younger children or children with SEND. Warmth matters, but consistent support is the decisive issue here.