Golden Acorns

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are happy, settled and share warm and close relationships with the staff. They choose for themselves whether to play inside or out and enjoy a wide range of exciting and interesting learning experiences. Children have good opportunities to develop many skills as they follow their interests and share positive interactions with their peers.

Managers and staff have high expectations of the children and are committed to helping them make the best possible progress. Those children who are new and in need of support are offered plenty of reassurance and cuddles to build their confidence. Children are enthusiastic and curious. Whether they are exploring dinosaurs or serving pasta from the mud kitchen, they play extremely well together. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They are highly skilled at managing minor conflicts for themselves and have an excellent understanding of how their behaviour has an impact on other children's feelings.

During the COVID-19 pandemic national lockdowns, the setting only closed for a short while and then reopened for most children. For the children who could not attend, staff remained in contact and provided a range of activities in a 'work bag' to help all children feel included. Staff remain focused on supporting children's social development and emotional well-being, especially for those children who have had limited social experiences due to the pandemic.

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

• Children demonstrate high levels of focus and self-control. They have an excellent understanding of expectations for behaviour, and their play is inspirationally harmonious. Older children are seen placing a comforting arm around younger children to help and support them, for example when getting dressed for outside play. Children have an exceptionally positive attitude to learning, engaging in all activities with high enthusiasm and commitment.
• Managers and staff get to know the children well. They find out what children already know and can do and plan an exciting and varied curriculum based on children's interests and learning needs.
• Parents are very happy with the provision and are extremely complimentary about the staff. They feel very well supported and comment positively about how well the staff get to know their children and how happy their children are.
• Older children develop a love of books and stories. They listen well to a story at group time. They join in with familiar phrases and fill in the missing word from sentences of a favourite story. Staff use their voices well to bring stories to life for younger children. They use puppets, and children take turns to act out the story. However, occasionally, staff complete routine activities such as nappy changing and toileting while group activities are taking place. Consequently, noise levels rise, which makes it difficult for some children to concentrate and participate fully.
• Children take part in a wide range of activities which they thoroughly enjoy. They manoeuvre wheeled vehicles outside, skilfully negotiating pathways. They help one another to build a track and play out different play scenarios with the small trains. However, children do not have as many opportunities to count and use numbers, particularly in routine activities such as snack time.
• Children learn about the importance of keeping themselves healthy. They know to wash their hands after playing outside and before eating. Older children independently wipe their noses and know that they need to put the tissues in the bin afterwards.
• Managers and staff review the provision regularly and use reflection effectively to identify areas for improvement. They assess areas of the pre-school frequently to ensure that children use it well to support their learning. For example, they have divided the room into two areas so that younger children have their own space. This has helped the children to feel even more safe and secure.
• Managers and staff support children's communication and language skills well. They actively listen to children, while engaged in activities. They introduce new words such as 'hatching' and 'melting' while the children explore the dinosaurs, explaining what the words mean to increase children's understanding further.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• use daily routines more to develop older children's mathematical knowledge further
• review the organisation of changeover times to ensure that noise levels do not rise so children can fully concentrate.