Sticky Fingers Worthing

Hourly childcare and a day built around art, music and movement give Sticky Fingers Worthing a clear practical identity, but its educational weaknesses deserve equal attention. At its January 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance as needing attention, while safeguarding standards were met. That is a substantial set of concerns for families weighing care arrangements against support for their child's development.

The nursery accepts children from three months to five years and has 36 places in total at Unit 1, 67 Victoria Road, Worthing. Baby Room, Toddlers and Preschool provide separate stage-based descriptions of the nursery day. Flexible hourly booking accommodates changing days and shift patterns, rather than requiring families to think only in whole days.

Rooms and Ages

Baby Room emphasises early exploration, creativity and interaction with other children, with babies encouraged to investigate their surroundings at their own pace. Toddlers combines communication and social development with activities involving both small movements and whole-body coordination. Preschool uses colourful spaces and practical play to develop early literacy, creativity and social skills ahead of school.

These descriptions give parents a useful outline of the intended progression between stages. The important distinction is between that intended experience and how successfully activities match individual children. At the January 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that teaching lacked sufficient ambition and consistency, activities were insufficiently adapted for different developmental stages, the key-person system did not adequately individualise care and learning, recommendations for children with SEND were not consistently passed to staff, and leadership monitoring and targeted training were insufficient. Those findings make the delivery of the room-based offer more important than its labels.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the framework for children's learning, development and care: here, the day includes play involving communication, movement, creativity and early number skills. It is the baseline, rather than an extra programme. Art activities include drawing, painting and making things with recycled materials; mathematical play includes sorting, puzzles and counting with toys or blocks.

Music brings together instruments, dance and singing, while language activities use puppets, pretend play and stories that invite children to repeat phrases. These are concrete ways to give children something to talk about, manipulate or respond to. Butterfly Yoga and Beefit are also named movement activities; Yoga and Beefit carry no additional charge. Their inclusion broadens the activity offer, although it should be weighed alongside the concerns about how learning is adapted.

In January 2026, babies responded to songs, and older children used conversation to express their ideas and needs. Children also handled tools with play dough and other sensory materials. These examples show the opportunities within the day, rather than establishing that every child received suitably challenging teaching.

Outdoor and Community Life

Outdoor play includes sliding and imaginative games involving nature. The movement offer also includes soft play and group games. Outings are included without an extra activity charge, which makes them part of the childcare offer rather than a separately priced addition.

Relationships provided an important counterweight to the learning concerns in January 2026. Babies received close physical reassurance during play and when settling to sleep, and children sought staff out for comfort. Book areas gave babies and older children a place to listen to stories together and discuss pictures. These are useful examples of how reassurance and communication fitted into everyday care at that time.

The January 2026 account also identified a practical weakness in communication: parents received feedback at collection, but some were uncertain about their child's key person, and learning priorities were not consistently explained. For a parent, a daily account of what happened is only part of the relationship. Knowing which practitioner takes responsibility for understanding their child matters too.

Care routines need the same scrutiny. In January 2026, staff offered privacy during nappy changes and responded when babies needed soothing or a quieter place. However, younger children sometimes drank from one another's drinks without staff intervening, and waiting for lunch or activities could lead to restlessness and inconsistent responses to behaviour. These examples make transitions and hygiene useful subjects for a visit.

Healthy snacks and meals formed part of the January 2026 day, alongside work with families on lunchbox choices. Staff joined children at meals and discussed food and health. For children needing additional support, that month's account described collaboration with external professionals, but recommendations did not consistently reach the practitioners responsible for daily care.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The booking model is pay by the hour, with flexibility over both attendance days and hours for parents working shifts. This suits families whose childcare needs change across the week as well as those organising a regular pattern.

The nursery operates throughout the year and closes on Bank Holidays, for which it makes no charge. A child's holiday attracts half the usual fee. That distinction matters when comparing the cost of a routine week with weeks when the family is away; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Getting There

The address is Unit 1, 67 Victoria Road, Worthing, BN11 1UN. Enquiries can be made through the contact form, by telephone on 01903-230582 or by email to sticky-fingers-childcare@hotmail.com.

Paid Extras

Outings, Yoga and Beefit are included without additional charges. That is a useful distinction between paying for the hours a child attends and paying separately for those activities.

• Learning matched to the child. January 2026 concerns included similar activities being used across developmental stages. On a visit, ask staff to demonstrate how an activity changes between Baby Room and Preschool, and how they decide the next step for an individual child.
• Key-person continuity. In January 2026, some parents did not know who held this role for their child. Ask how responsibility is communicated when staffing changes and how learning priorities reach families.
• Routines between activities. Waiting periods and inconsistent behaviour responses were concerns in January 2026. Discuss how lunch, activity changes and hygiene routines are organised for younger children.
• The hourly quotation. Flexible booking and reduced holiday charges affect the overall bill. Request a written quotation covering the intended attendance pattern, funded childcare arrangements, meals and non-food consumables.

Sticky Fingers Worthing suits parents seeking hourly childcare with flexible days, including families whose shifts change their attendance needs. Its art, music and movement activities give the day concrete variety, and the January 2026 account included affectionate relationships and sensitive comfort for babies.

The educational and organisational concerns carry considerable weight. Families should judge the nursery on clear examples of activities adapted to their child, reliable key-person communication and well-managed routines. Flexibility is a meaningful advantage, but it does not answer those questions about care and learning.