Acorns Playgroup Ltd

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children excitedly enter the safe and vibrant pre-school. They are happy and have excellent attachments to staff, who warmly welcome them. Children settle immediately, eager to start playing. They show the highest levels of confidence and self-esteem. Staff kept in excellent contact with families during the COVID-19 pandemic. This supported children's continued learning and emotional well-being. For example, staff encouraged families to take part in activity challenges, communicated using video, read stories and sang songs.

Children are deeply engrossed in a limitless range of first-class activities and experiences. They make impressive progress and develop a thirst for learning and a wealth of skills and knowledge. Children's interests and ideas are at the heart of staff's thinking when they implement the curriculum. For example, children make their own 'animal facts' booklet and create an erupting volcano. They also design and build their own pirate ship and make treasure maps, telescopes and hats.

Children demonstrate exemplary behaviour and play extremely well together. They solve problems while building impressive constructions, excitedly dig for 'treasure' in the large sand pit and make 'Chinese noodles' in the exploratory kitchen. Older children play a mathematical card game skilfully and ensure everyone plays fairly and follows the rules. Children are supported well to be respectful, kind and caring. For example, when the Australian bush fires threatened native animals, they were involved in sponsoring a koala.

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

• Children are supported superbly from the outset. For example, staff undertake home visits to support excellent settling-in programmes for children. Parents provide a wealth of information to help staff put together a full picture of children's development and skills before they start. Staff use this exceptionally well to tailor individualised visits to the pre-school, based on each child's specific needs.
• Staff methodically monitor and carefully consider how they will support children's learning. They skilfully capture children's progress through unique learning stories. Parents share information and photographs of many aspects of children's home lives. Staff complement and expertly build on children's learning and experiences, raising their achievements to a very high level.
• Staff have very high aspirations for all children. They swiftly identify any possible developmental delays and secure first-rate early interventions to help children to catch up. Staff provide intensive support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Parents receive high-quality information and staff inspire them to support their children's learning at home, for example by planting sunflower seeds and recording their growth. Staff help children to develop an awareness of positive role models within their families. For instance, they plan specific activity days to actively engage male figures in children's lives.
• Staff expertly promote children's emotional well-being and communication skills. They use a wealth of speech and language tools and programmes. For example, staff create visual aids to help overcome communication barriers and create a willow tree to support language in a more secure space. Staff ring a bell to indicate changes to the daily routine and use sand timers to support excellent turn taking.
• Staff continually expand children's learning, including through the use of online videos. Children learn how to make paper aeroplanes and note different shades of colours as they create self-portraits. Staff use mathematical language and highlight patterns and shapes, such as a 'pentagon', as children skilfully build complex three-dimensional structures.
• Staff enhance the environment to ignite children's ideas, stimulate conversations and help them to remember learning. For example, they display photographs of famous buildings from around the world in the construction area. Staff photograph children's wonderful creations, such as a robot made from boxes.
• Staff deepen children's knowledge expertly. For example, when creating their 'animal facts' booklets, children used an app-based interactive globe and the internet to research information. They printed off and cut out pictures and wrote the names of each animal. Children obtained astounding unique facts about a multitude of animals.
• Staff provide excellent opportunities for physical activity. Children carefully balance on tree stumps, crates, tyres and planks. They have great fun rolling hoops and swirling ribbon wands to Chinese music.
• Children develop a great love of books, songs and rhymes. Staff reinforce favourite stories, such as 'The Gingerbread Man', through ample activities, including baking. They provide each child with the book of the week to take home, and parents share videos of children retelling stories with great recall.
• Self-evaluation is exemplary and leads to comprehensive improvement plans, such as introducing 'stay and play' sessions and parents' evenings. The members of the already highly qualified and experienced staff team have an admirable passion and dedication to their continued professional development.