Ofsted rates the Hove SEND nursery Exceptional, its top grade, in all six areas of its new report card. What the inspector saw, and what the 24-place centre does.

A council-run nursery in Hove for children with special educational needs and disabilities has been graded Exceptional by Ofsted in every one of the six areas it was judged on. Exceptional is the top grade under Ofsted’s new report cards. The inspector also found the safeguarding standards met.

The Jeanne Saunders Centre on Connaught Road was inspected on 1 July 2026. The report was published on 11 September (Ofsted, URN 2805390). The council announced the result on 28 September (Brighton & Hove City Council).

The grades

Ofsted’s report cards use five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention and Urgent improvement. Ofsted defines Exceptional as practice “of the highest standard nationally”, adding that “other settings can learn from it”.

The centre was graded Exceptional for:

  • inclusion
  • curriculum and teaching
  • achievement
  • behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines
  • children’s welfare and wellbeing
  • leadership and governance
Ofsted report card for the Jeanne Saunders Centre, Hove, inspected 1 July 2026 and published 11 September 2026: Exceptional for inclusion, curriculum and teaching, achievement, behaviour attitudes and establishing routines, children's welfare and wellbeing, and leadership and governance. Safeguarding standards met. 24 places, ages 3 to 5.
The centre's report card, grade by grade. Graphic by The Brighton Times
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The council says the centre is “one of only a handful of settings across the country” given the grade in all six areas. Ofsted does not publish a national count alongside the report, so we have not been able to check that figure.

What the inspector found

The report was written by inspector Natalie Moir, who spoke with leaders, staff, parents, carers and children. It opens: “Children flourish and thrive at this extraordinary specialist centre.”

The detail is specific:

  • Communication. Children with very little communication “swiftly make connective sentences” using visual aids, choice boards and signing. Others begin to say their first words.
  • Individual plans. Every child has a “just right profile” and a support plan. Staff build each child’s targets into the whole day.
  • Moving on. Each child’s move to school is tailored, and the local authority uses it as an example to other settings. Staff keep supporting the schools through a child’s first term.
  • Families. Specialist nursery nurses support parents at home. The report says parents describe the support as “life changing”.
  • Getting there. The centre runs a minibus that brings children in from across the city, with home support for parents so children feel safe using it.

On leadership, the inspector called the leaders’ approach to inclusion “awe inspiring”. The report says they also run open groups for other local families and support other early years providers.

About the centre

The Jeanne Saunders Centre gives intensive early learning and assessment to children with complex needs, including severe language delay and autism, and supports their families. Ofsted’s record lists it as sessional day care with 24 places for children aged 3 to 5, registered on 28 August 2024 with the council as the registered person.

It moved in 2024. The council’s April 2024 plan was to leave Penny Gobby House, a four-storey former residential building on Palmeira Avenue that it called “increasingly unsuitable and inaccessible”. The new site is the Connaught Annex on Connaught Road, used by West Hove Primary School until 2022. The ground-floor space lets the centre take wheelchair users and children with mobility needs (council, 18 April 2024).

Councillor Emma Daniel, cabinet member for children, families and youth services, said the result “reflects the dedication, care and commitment of the nursery’s leadership and staff”. Headteacher Anne Rhodda said: “We have an amazing team who go above and beyond to ensure that every child matters and every day counts.”

What it means for you

  • If your child has SEND and is under five: the full report is free to read on Ofsted’s site. It shows in some detail what specialist early years support can look like, which is useful when you are weighing up any setting.
  • If you run a nursery or pre-school in the city: the report says the centre’s leaders already share their practice with other providers, and that its school transition work is used as an example by the council.
  • If you are comparing schools and nurseries: grades under the new report cards are not directly comparable with the old Outstanding to Inadequate scale. Ofsted explains the change in its guide to report cards.

Sources