Acorn to Oak Nursery and Preschool Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Staff work hard to maintain a safe and suitable learning environment for children, indoors and outdoors. They supervise children well during their play. Staff set high expectations for children's learning, including their behaviour. They help children to manage their feelings and emotions. As a result, children become calmer and can follow routines. They respond positively to praise from staff, which helps to promote their self-esteem and confidence. Staff are attentive to children's health. They provide children with easy access to water during outdoor play in hot weather, helping to keep them hydrated.

Staff design a highly ambitious curriculum tailored for each age group of children. After achieving forest school accreditation, they have implemented changes that promote children's exploration and discovery in the natural environment. This has particularly sparked older children's curiosity and independence. Children engage happily in group games and demonstrate early counting skills and an understanding of time. Staff are kind and gentle with children. They offer cuddles and soothing words, which are particularly beneficial for those children who are new and very young. Staff focus on developing children's communication and language skills, such as during group activities. Children enjoy listening, singing and using sign language. They are motivated to learn and play.

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

• The managers ensure that staff complete safeguarding training to keep their knowledge up to date. They follow procedures that are aligned with their local safeguarding partnership. Additionally, the managers implement appropriate risk assessment procedures, including for outdoor play, to protect children's safety and well-being.
• Staff assess children's learning and use the information to identify any gaps in their understanding. They make swift referrals to other professionals, such as speech and language therapists. This helps children to make good progress, including those who are at risk of falling behind in their learning, such as children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Staff promote children's play, inside and outside, effectively. Children show positive attitudes and are highly engaged in their activities. For example, younger children enjoy exploring water and sand with their senses, while older children find joy in activities such as sports. However, staff do not consistently enable older children to assess risks on their own. They give specific instructions on how to use resources but do not explain the reasons behind these rules. This limits children's understanding of safety during their play.
• Overall, staff promote an inclusive environment. Children learn about various cultural and religious events, such as Eid, Diwali and Lunar New Year. However, sometimes, staff do not make effective use of opportunities to help children to learn about what makes them unique. This means children do not fully develop a firm sense of who they are as individuals.
• Staff maintain close communication with parents and carers, engaging with them on a regular basis. Parents are pleased with the service provided and feel their children form close relationships with staff. They especially praise the outdoor curriculum. Parents find that staff promote their children's social and physical development effectively.
• The managers have very positive attitudes and welcome the views of other professionals to help evaluate the setting. They also involve parents in the evaluation process. For example, the managers have reviewed the snacks provided to children and broadened the variety of fruits available to them. This change has contributed to promoting children's well-being and health even more effectively.
• Staff feel supported and have opportunities to develop professionally, which helps them in their roles. For example, some staff have enhanced their understanding of how to develop children's love of the outdoors. Additionally, staff have completed training to help them to manage children's behaviour appropriately. They teach children to listen and behave well.
• The managers follow rigorous vetting and recruitment procedures for staff. They aim to reinforce the setting's whistle-blowing policy to ensure that any concerns are reported and addressed promptly. This includes instances where allegations are made against staff members. The managers are aware of the significant events that require notification to Ofsted.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• help children, particularly the older ones, to identify and manage age-appropriate risks for themselves to enhance their understanding of protecting themselves during their play
• increase opportunities for children to learn about the similarities and differences between themselves and others.