Acorn Wood Day Nursery

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is outstanding

Every child is valued and treated as an individual in this wonderfully welcoming and nurturing setting.

Staff forge strong relationships with children and their families. They have in-depth knowledge and understanding of children's interests and specific needs, which they use to shape learning. Children make choices about how they will learn from an exceptionally well-resourced environment.

Staff expertly scaffold children's learning through high-quality interactions. They seize every opportunity to extend children's learning. As a result, children make excellent progress.

Children are, without exceptio...n, confident and happy. They remain highly engaged throughout the day. Children are consistently polite and respectful.

They behave extremely well because they understand the daily routines. For example, they sing and sign a 'please and thank you' song at lunchtime. Mealtimes are wonderfully social occasions.

Children enjoy chatting to each other as they sit together at 'restaurant style' tables. They enjoy freshly prepared, nutritious meals. Children's personal, social and emotional development is extremely well supported.

The whole environment is exceptionally well planned and resourced. Toys and equipment are easy for children to access and move around as they choose so that they can investigate and explore. Children benefit enormously from the exceptional facilities and resources in the fabulous outdoor play areas.

They display incredibly high levels of engagement as they play outside. Children particularly enjoy climbing and balancing in different ways. For example, they travel across the climbing frame and skilfully balance as they step across the logs.

Children's physical development is exceptionally well supported.

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

Managers and the staff team have worked exceptionally hard to design an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum. The result is a highly engaging, coherently sequenced, child-led curriculum.

Children learn through play activities and high-quality continuous provision. They are expertly supported by experienced staff. Staff are knowledgeable about children's starting points and current interests.

They know what to teach, and skilfully scaffold learning through play and daily routines. Staff model being learners. For example, when joining children who are having a tea party, staff say, 'I wonder how many pieces of cake we will need.'

As a result, children make progress and are well prepared for the next stage of learning.Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive excellent support. The very experienced special educational needs coordinator works closely with parents and other professionals to develop individual intervention and support plans to further enhance children's learning and development.

These are reviewed regularly. Consequently, children receive the help they need to make progress.Children begin to develop their independence from a very early age.

Before going outside, children under two are supported to identify their own coats. Two- and three-year-old children identify their own belongings and are encouraged to try to put on boots and coats for themselves. Pre-school children are accomplished in completing these tasks independently.

Children are prepared well for the next stage in their learning, including the move on to school.Children have a positive attitude towards their learning. They benefit from a wealth of exciting opportunities and unique experiences.

For example, children thoroughly enjoy feeding the setting's resident pigs. Children behave exceptionally well. Staff are wonderful role models.

Children learn about sharing and taking turns and are caring and considerate. They are kind and respectful to others.Managers are extremely knowledgeable about early years education.

They have a clear passion for delivering high-quality care and education for all children. Managers are wholly committed to professional development and training for all staff. Staff continually strive to improve their professional knowledge and practice.

They benefit from regular training and professional development opportunities. These are sharply focused on enabling staff to implement the curriculum consistently well, thereby further improving the outcomes for children. Staff report consistently high levels of support for their well-being.

Parents are exceptionally happy with the high-quality levels of care and education their children receive. Staff ensure that parents are an integral part of their children's learning. They provide parents with an abundance of information and support, such as support with potty training and information about dental hygiene.

Parents are extremely appreciative of all the support and information they receive from staff, particularly for children with additional needs. This strong partnership means that there is a continuity of approach, which helps children to make excellent progress.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The safeguarding culture is strong. Children's safety, welfare and well-being are of paramount importance. All staff have completed safeguarding and paediatric first-aid training.

They know how to identify signs and symptoms that may indicate children are at risk from abuse. All staff know what to do if they are concerned about a child's safety and understand the importance of following the correct procedures to safeguard children. Staff complete thorough risk assessments and regular checks to maintain a safe environment for children.

Managers have robust systems for recruiting staff and monitoring their ongoing suitability. Staff supervise children well throughout the day. These measures help to ensure that children are kept safe.

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