Little Acers Pre School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children come into this happy, nurturing pre-school full of enthusiasm. They settle quickly and, after self-registering, they excitedly go off to play with their friends. They have very strong attachments to the staff and greet them with warmth, eagerly telling them their news.

Staff provide a broad and ambitious curriculum. Staff are extremely vigilant, watching what children are interested in and how they prefer to learn. For example, some children listen to stories more attentively in small, cosy areas, so staff create a draped area in the book corner. Key staff sensitively guide and support children through all areas of learning. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make very good progress.

Children have time to experiment, explore the excellent resources and pursue their own ideas. For example, children excitedly discover new ways to mix colours by brushing water over chalk marks and watching colours combine as they drip down. They competently use child-sized hammers, nails and wooden shapes to proudly create imaginative designs.

Staff consistently model respectful language, talk about emotions and have high expectations. As a result, children's behaviour is exemplary. Children share fairly, take turns, and can sort out any small differences of opinion quickly. They say 'quiet voices' and 'kind hands' to each other. Children delight in showing their friends how to cut out particular shapes in the play dough and confidently share the best building techniques.

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

• Staff support children's language and communication extremely well. When they read stories, staff consistently speak clearly with expressive intonation, which engages children's interest and keeps them focused as they join in anticipated rhymes. Staff use signing effectively. They play enthusiastically alongside children in the home corner, helping them to develop their imaginations and modelling new language. For example, children learn how to use particular words when asking a question and that 'orca' is another name for a killer whale. Children who are learning to speak English as an additional language, learn English quickly.
• Staff have launched a 'language of the month' initiative to celebrate different languages and cultures. Children learn to understand and respect similarities and differences within their community and the wider world. Both staff and children have 'All About Me' books, which highly value each person's uniqueness.
• Children enjoy going for regular woodland walks, where they learn to respect the natural environment. They listen to birds singing and make collections of natural materials. They have opportunities to climb on tree trunks and experience seasonal changes. Staff use opportunities to challenge children, for example, to think why a tree may have fallen down.
• Staff constantly promote children's independence skills with a can-do attitude, helping develop children's self-esteem and confidence. For example, children delight in helping staff to check outside areas for hazards before they go out to play. Children proudly point to wall posters, such as the number line and the shapes display, to show and consolidate their previous learning.
• Staff create story and interest bags that children can take home. These bags are beautifully made with considerable thought and care. They include rich learning activities inside, such as books, games, puppets and ideas for recipes or things to make. Staff continue to extend what is an exceedingly purposeful and effective resource to engage parents with children's learning at home.
• Parents speak very highly of the commitment of managers and staff to the safety and well-being of their children. Parents appreciate the regular and various means of communication, particularly the 'window of the week' posted on the online platform. Parents are happy that their children make such good progress and will be ready to move on to their next stage of learning with such excellent foundations in place.
• The inspirational manager and staff constantly strive to improve their already exceptional practice. They have highly effective processes for self-reflection, they cascade relevant training and share good practice with each other daily. The team works together extremely well, recognising and valuing their individual strengths. Staff attend regular supervisions, meetings and training opportunities to enhance their professional development.