Little Acorns

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

Children enjoy the time they spend in this bright and stimulating environment. Their work and photographs are displayed, which gives them a sense of belonging.

Resources are easily accessible to enable children to make choices in their play. Children's mathematical language is good and they incorporate this into their play. They make spiders from play dough and count as they roll the pieces for the spiders' legs.

They know that to make the play dough smaller they can break the piece they have in half. Children look at books and staff read them stories. Staff introduce innovative ways to help children to extend their le...tter sounds and begin to spell simple words.

Children sound out letters and know that words such as 'mat' and 'bin' are real words and that 'wiv' is made up. They feed their words into Odd and Bob the robots and laugh as they chew them up and spit them out if they are wrong. Staff are extremely supportive of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

They are empathetic to children's personal circumstances and provide additional support to children and their families. For example, they organise interpreters so that parents are fully informed of what their children are doing. Children behave well.

Staff act as positive role models and offer children clear explanations. Children learn to share, take turns and respect their friends.

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

The setting benefits from a strong management team.

The providers are hands on and supportive of staff. They have action plans in place to make improvements that will benefit children. They meet with other providers and local authority advisers to share ideas and keep up to date with any changes.

Staff practice is monitored by the manager and providers. They recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the staff and can clearly explain how they support them to build on their skills. Staff attend training that is pertinent to the needs of the children and implement what they learn to raise the quality of their practice.

Staff plan monthly activities that are based on themes and children's interests. They continually evolve the activities to ensure that children's next steps in learning are consistently met. The manager monitors the planning to ensure that there are appropriate activities planned for every child who attends.

Staff accurately assess the progress that children make. The providers regularly track the progress made by individual and groups of children. This helps them to swiftly identify any gaps in children's learning and ensure that appropriate intervention is sought, when needed, to help every child reach their full potential.

Partnerships with parents are good. Parents are asked for information about what their child already knows and can do before they start. They are encouraged to update this information throughout their child's time at the setting.

This helps staff to have an accurate overview of children's interests and capabilities. Staff share children's next steps with parents and provide them with ideas of how they can support children's learning at home. Parents are happy with the care their children receive.

They say that children's communication and language have improved tremendously since they have been at the setting and that staff share lots of information.Staff know the children very well and are proud of their achievements. They recognise when children need additional support or reassurance to join in with activities.

Children enjoy the time they spend outside in the garden. They take part in activities such as bark rubbing and blowing bubbles. Children develop their physical skills as they move in a variety of different ways.

They can climb, balance and jump, and they ride bikes with dexterity, skilfully avoiding obstacles. However, the outside area is not consistently utilised well enough to fully meet the needs of those children who prefer to play and learn outside.Staff use the environment to support children's mathematical skills.

They encourage children to look at shapes, numbers and colours. They look at the church clock and count the number of gold triangles they can see on the clock face.Children are engrossed in activities and they concentrate well.

Staff interaction is positive. They sit with children, chat to them and ask questions. However, sometimes they are too quick to provide the answers, and questions are in quick succession, so children do not have time to process their thoughts and respond.

In addition, staff do not make the most of some activities or daily routines, such as snack time and circle time, to ensure that all children are able to fully participate.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff have a secure knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse and neglect.

They attend training to ensure their safeguarding knowledge is up to date, including wider safeguarding concerns. They fully understand the procedures to follow if they have any concerns and know where to seek advice or support. This includes the whistle-blowing procedure.

Recruitment procedures are robust to ensure that everyone working with the children is vigorously checked and suitable. The environment is safe and secure, and staff are vigilant to ensure the children are safe at all times.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: make the most of activities and daily routines to fully extend children's learning provide children with even more time to process their thoughts and respond to questions nutilise the outdoor area even more to fully support those children who prefer to play and learn outside.

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