Little Acorns Padiham

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision requires improvement Children arrive at the nursery happily and are welcomed by the kind and caring staff.

They seek out their friends and settle quickly into play. Overall, children's behaviour is positive. Staff in the pre-school room particularly have lovely conversations with children about the importance of sharing and turn-taking.

They offer suggestions to children about how they can communicate their needs to each other in a respectful way. This helps children to understand what is expected of them and teaches them about good manners. Children are developing some lovely social skills.

The quality of education varies considerab...ly across the nursery. Although leaders plan an effective curriculum, it is not consistently well implemented. Children spend a lot of time in unsupported play that lacks a focus on what they need to learn next.

Staff's knowledge and implementation of children's next steps in learning are inconsistent. They do not always help children to build on what they already know and can do. There are occasions throughout the day when routines do not fully support all children's needs and well-being.

This does not help children to make the progress they are capable of.

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

Leaders have a good understanding of what they want children to learn. When planning the curriculum, they consider children's interests and the skills and knowledge they already have.

However, the curriculum is not implemented well enough. Staff do not always consider leaders' intentions during their interactions with children or when planning activities and experiences. This does not help children to access a broad and balanced curriculum.

There are procedures in place for monitoring children's development and identifying what they need to learn next. However, staff do not always implement children's next steps consistently. Additionally, there are occasions when some staff are unsure of what children are currently learning.

Consequently, children are not consistently building on their existing skills and knowledge.Leaders use additional funding, such as early years pupil premium, specifically to support the children it is allocated to. For instance, they purchase sensory equipment to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders provide additional sessions for children who need them and one-to-one support for children with SEND. This works towards narrowing the gap between different groups of children.The nursery is currently undergoing some refurbishments.

Leaders and staff have not fully considered how this change affects children's routines, particularly in the toddler room. Children spend a long time before lunch in unstructured play. At these times, some children find managing their usually good behaviour difficult.

They become fractious, have disputes over toys and spend time wandering, not engaged in purposeful play. This hinders children's behaviour and attitudes to learning.Communication and language development is promoted well.

Staff in the baby room babble back and forth with babies, introducing new words, such as 'oval', as they play. Staff sing to children throughout the day, encouraging them to join in with words and phrases they remember. Older children are very chatty.

They are confident communicators and can hold lengthy conversations about nursery and their experiences at home.Good hygiene procedures are not well embedded. Staff wipe children's noses and support them to do this independently.

However, they do not wash their hands afterwards or teach children why this is important. On occasion, children access highchairs that have not been cleaned well enough. This does not promote children's good health or reduce the potential spread of infection.

Partnership working with parents is effective. Parents receive information about children's development and daily feedback about their day. Leaders provide parents with newsletters and invite them into nursery for parents' evenings.

Parents value the online app and share information about children's learning at home. This helps to provide some continuity in children's care and education.The new manager is dedicated to improving the quality of the nursery.

She works closely with the area manager and feels supported to make the necessary improvements. Staff are happy and settled in their roles. They have supervision meetings and receive some feedback on their practice.

However, this is not consistent enough to help improve their skills further. Consequently, there are weaknesses in the quality of education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage, the provider must: Due date implement robust hygiene procedures, such as handwashing, and ensure equipment is clean and suitable for children to access.03/07/2024 To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should: support staff to implement leaders' curriculum intentions more precisely during their interactions with children help all staff get to know children's next steps and implement them more consistently review the organisation of routines, particularly in the toddler room, to help children remain engaged in purposeful play and learning strengthen the procedures for supervision, coaching and mentoring to improve staff practice and raise the quality of education.