Acorns In Adel Private Day Nursery And Pre-School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children thrive because they are happy, safe and feel secure. Staff create a warm and welcoming environment, which parents describe as 'homely with a family feel'. Staff are caring and nurturing.

They get to know children exceedingly well. As a result, children develop good relationships with adults and each other. This contributes positively to children's overall well-being and their desire to learn.

The manager and staff have high expectations for all children. Staff have a good understanding of the age range that they are working with. They adapt activities and the environment effectively to provide for each child's... next steps.

Staff make the most of every learning opportunity. Consistently high-quality, well-planned activities mean that children are motivated, curious and excited about their learning. Children's behaviour is exceptional for their age.

Staff support children to recognise feelings for themselves. This helps children to understand right from wrong. As a result, they are able to regulate their own emotions, play together happily and often manage situations themselves.

For example, even the youngest children in the toddler room negotiate when using construction pieces to lay out a path. They are gently guided by an adult. Children are delighted with the end product and spend time balancing, moving along and working out how to pass each other without falling off.

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

There is a strong focus on helping children make good progress in their communication and language development. 'Wow' moments such as introducing interesting objects or questions are used to 'spark children's minds and conversation'. Staff use a range of opportunities throughout the day to promote talk and discussions.

Staff are attentive to children's care needs. They respond promptly when children need changing or comforting. Children are encouraged to develop their own independence through a range of opportunities and tasks.

The environment is well organised and enables children to freely select toys and resources. Routines are well planned to support independence. For example, in the pre-school room, children set the tables and are responsible for serving their own food and drinks at mealtimes.

The setting has strong and effective relationships with parents. When children first start, staff ensure that they use information from parents, to help to settle children and provide for their individual needs. Ongoing communication with parents supports planning for children's next steps.

Parents receive information about their children's development and progress. Guidance is provided regularly on how they can help to support learning at home. Parents are highly complimentary of the setting, which frequently seeks their views and acts on any feedback given.

Staff provide a broad range of interesting experiences. These promote learning opportunities across the curriculum. For instance, children in the baby room develop their curiosity and physical skills by exploring sensory materials.

Children in the pre-school room use binoculars to record numbers that they see on the buses driving past. They are fascinated by the world around them and concentrate on activities for long periods of time. However, more time is required to fully embed the curriculum, so that all staff have a firm and common understanding of what it means for their practice.

There is a positive culture of celebrating families and promoting a sense of belonging. Stereotypes are challenged, so that all children feel confident in exploring the many resources and activities on offer. Children in the pre-school room take part in a weekly Spanish session.

They are eager to join in the activities and are confident to practise the new words that they are learning. Children who are learning English as an additional language make good progress because staff produce individual plans and learning opportunities to meet their needs.Leadership is strong.

The manager has high standards for the provision and the care provided. Staff benefit from regular supervision meetings and peer observations. They have access to training opportunities to develop their practice.

Teaching is consistently good across the setting, but not yet outstanding. Staff state that they feel well supported by the manager, through formal and informal discussions regarding their well-being.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The manager and staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. They have a good knowledge of how to identify potential signs and symptoms of abuse and the procedures that they would use to report any concerns. This includes the whistle-blowing procedure for reporting other members of staff if they had concerns.

Staff receive opportunities to update their understanding of wider safeguarding issues. The manager has robust recruitment and induction procedures in place. She completes rigorous checks to ensure that only those suitable to work with children do so.

Staff follow comprehensive procedures with regard to the recording of accidents and administering medicines. Staff use thorough risk assessments to keep children safe.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: nembed the curriculum securely and consistently across the provision, so that all staff have a firm and common understanding of what it means for their practice nidentify opportunities to further staff's professional development, to raise the good levels of teaching to consistently outstanding levels.

Also at this postcode