Acorns Day Nursery Ltd

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children are happy and demonstrate that they feel safe. They have adapted well to changes to arrival arrangements, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children are confident and content to leave their parents at the main door.

They benefit from a welcoming environment in which they confidently play and explore. All children have good relationships with staff. Children show that staff are important to them as they snuggle up next to them to listen to stories.

Staff know the children well and demonstrate strong expectations for children to hear a range of language and develop their vocabulary.Children enjoy the activities on o...ffer and there is a strong focus on outdoor play. Toddlers and babies are inquisitive.

They enjoy sensory activities that support their play and exploration. For instance, they have fun investigating different materials, such as toy dinosaurs, mud and ice. Older toddlers enjoy experimenting with magnets and finding out what they connect with.

Additionally, they have fun pretending to make 'hot chocolate' and 'ice cream' using a variety of crafts, cooking utensils and foam. All children behave well. Staff praise children consistently, for example for helping to tidy away and being kind to others.

All children make good progress in their learning, including those who receive additional funding.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

Staff know the children well and plan and provide activities which are appropriate for their development. The key-person approach is well embedded.

Staff, overall, support children's ideas and encourage these. For example, they helped children find resources to make their 'hot drinks' and 'ice creams' outside in the play kitchen.Staff support children's emerging language skills well.

Staff working with young children use books and songs along with talking to them about what they are doing. Staff supporting older children provide an environment where children hear spoken language clearly and fluently. This helps to promote children's correct pronunciation of words and helps them to understand how to put words together to form sentences.

Children are provided with healthy and nutritional snacks and meals that promote their good health. Children are supported to develop self-help skills, such as at mealtimes. For instance, younger children are encouraged to use their cutlery and older children are promoted to self-serve their lunches and help prepare their snacks.

Children learn about the importance of washing their hands before coming in from the outside area. However, staff do not ensure that younger children who have crawled upstairs, have re-washed their hands before they eat their lunch.Staff support older children's understanding of mathematical concepts well.

For example, older children enjoy playing board games that encourage them to use and develop their counting and addition skills. This was seen during a board game where children took turns to spin the dial, calculated the numbers and then moved their counter to the corresponding number of places.Children build meaningful friendships and enjoy each other's company.

They enjoy playing games with each other and show enjoyment as they play. Children display good levels of confidence.The leadership team have a clear vision for the future of the nursery.

Staff comment that leaders are accessible and are on hand to offer well-being assistance as needed. Leaders have a clear vision for the intention they want the children to learn in each room. However, staff performance management is not sharply focused on developing some inconsistencies in staff practice to raise the quality of the overall provision further.

Children develop a good understanding of the world around them. Staff encourage children to be kind and thoughtful. For example, children previously had opportunities to visit the elderly.

However, these visits have ceased due to the pandemic. Despite this, staff have been proactive in supporting children's learning and keeping a connection within the community. Children learn about people's similarities and differences, such as through planned activities about cultural events and celebrations.

Staff work well in partnership with parents. Parents comment positively about the nursery and how their children are progressing. Staff communicate with parents through a variety of ways.

For example, they hold parent meetings, provide daily discussions and use an online app to share information, including photos of children, with the parents.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.All staff, including the designated safeguarding lead, demonstrate a strong understanding of their roles and responsibilities to protect children and keep them safe.

All staff receive regular training in safeguarding, including the 'Prevent' duty. The leadership team ensure staff's safeguarding knowledge is kept up to date, for example through discussions during team meetings and regular quizzes. Staff maintain a suitable environment for children.

They complete appropriate safety checks to minimise potential hazards. The leadership team follow robust vetting and recruitment procedures to check that all staff are suitable to work with children.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff in maintaining and consistently encouraging children to follow good hygiene practices review the arrangements in place for staff supervision and ensure that all staff receive consistent coaching and professional development opportunities to help improve their quality of teaching to the highest level.