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Little Acers Preschool at Lea and Garsdon

Little Acers Preschool at Lea and Garsdon is a pre-school in The Street, Lea for children aged 2 to 4, with 20 registered places. Ofsted report card, 17 November 2025: Expected standard in 6 areas; safeguarding standards met.

Little Acers Preschool, Lea and Garsdon, Lea and Garsdon CE Primary School, The Street, Lea, SN16 9PG

Key facts

Type
Pre-school (Sessional day care) (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Ages
2 to 4 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered places
20 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)
Registered
1 August 2023 (Ofsted childcare register, as at 30 June 2026)

Opening hours

Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 16:00

Source: Ofsted report, inspection on 17 November 2025

Who runs it

Little Acers Preschool at Lea and Garsdon is run by Little Acers Limited (Ofsted register).

Latest inspection

  • Inclusion: Expected standard
  • Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard
  • Achievement: Expected standard
  • Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard
  • Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard
  • Leadership and governance: Expected standard
  • Safeguarding standards met

Source: Ofsted, inspection on 17 November 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive happy and settled. They are welcomed by familiar staff, who know them well and respond sensitively to their needs. This helps children to form secure relationships and develop a strong sense of belonging. When children feel unsure, staff provide calm and timely reassurance. This helps children to settle at their own pace, feel safe and engage confidently. There are clear and consistent routines. These help children to understand what is expected and show kindness towards one another.

Parents and carers describe strong communication and trust in the staff team. They note visible progress in their children's confidence and language. Parents value the wide range of learning opportunities available for their children. Children achieve because they access a thoughtfully planned curriculum that provides purposeful and engaging learning experiences. Interactions between staff and children support the development of early communication, confidence and key skills. Adult-led learning helps children to focus and follow routines, while outdoor experiences, including forest school, encourage exploration and problem-solving through familiar stories.

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make progress. They benefit from targeted approaches and staff's partnerships with external professionals. These help children to gain the knowledge and skills they need to be ready for school. They are beginning to build independence. Children thrive because the environment is thoughtfully organised and provides rich opportunities to explore, investigate and build confidence across the day.

Indoor and outdoor spaces offer varied and meaningful experiences that nurture children's curiosity, resilience and enjoyment in learning. However, staff do not consistently strengthen the balance between adult-led and child-initiated learning to further enhance children's access to the full curriculum and support their engagement in areas they find less familiar. Children continue to benefit from a warm, inclusive and nurturing setting where they can grow, flourish and enjoy learning.

What Ofsted found in each area

Inclusion: Expected standard

Leaders have created an inclusive culture where, in the main, staff promptly and accurately identify children's individual needs. Staff use early observations and assessments effectively to pinpoint emerging gaps in children's learning, including in communication, emotional development and speech and language. Leaders respond promptly by implementing the graduated approach, working closely with key staff to build clear profiles of children's strengths and needs. On occasion, staff do not consistently support children to develop their independence around their self-care and hygiene practices or interact with children to the usual high standard during their free-play.

Staff reduce children's barriers to learning through thoughtful adaptations. They use children's interests to encourage their engagement, particularly for those who may find certain areas challenging. Leaders have planned how early years pupil premium funding will be used. They ensure that it targets support and demonstrates a measurable impact on children's progress. Leaders monitor children's learning through ongoing observations, discussion with key persons and strong partnership with external professionals, including inclusion support services and speech and language specialists. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive support, which helps them to make clear progress from their starting points in development.

Leaders prioritise staff's development, with team members proactively seeking additional training to strengthen their knowledge of supporting children with SEND. This contributes to consistent and sensitive practice that supports children's wellbeing. Relationships with families are positive and proactive, with concerns addressed early and support plans shaped collaboratively. Leaders also monitor children previously known to social care, ensuring that their needs remain a priority and that appropriate support continues over time.

Curriculum and teaching: Expected standard

Leaders have a clear understanding of their curriculum and how it supports children's learning and development. They use baseline assessments and guidance effectively to identify what children know and can do, which helps them to tailor teaching to children's different starting points. The curriculum is designed around themes that run through the environment and daily activities. This gives children purposeful opportunities to develop language, communication and early mathematical ideas, such as counting and using number words during play and routines.

Staff generally use interactions well to build children's vocabulary. In adult-led sessions, they model language clearly, use simple routines and give explanations that help children to stay engaged and understand what is expected. However, this quality of interaction is not consistent during children's free play. As a result, during these times, staff do not always extend children's learning effectively. Staff use outdoor learning effectively to reinforce children's understanding and promote their personal, social and emotional development.

Staff adapt teaching appropriately so that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities can access the curriculum meaningfully. They use children's interests to reduce barriers and increase their engagement. Leaders review children's progress through discussions, observations and partnership with external professionals. They recognise that increasing the frequency of purposeful interactions and rotating access to different activities will further strengthen the breadth and balance of children's curriculum experience.

Achievement: Expected standard

Children make secure progress through the curriculum, particularly in communication and language. Children grow in confidence, use an increasing range of vocabulary and engage well in conversations, stories and shared learning.

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make steady progress because their needs are identified early and they are given appropriate support to help them succeed. Staff use targeted approaches, including the BLAST programme, to support children's communication and language development. This contributes to children's confidence, engagement and progress, particularly for children with SEND. Children benefit from calm and well-organised spaces that help them focus and practise what they are learning, enabling them to achieve across different areas of the curriculum.

Children are typically well prepared for their next stage of learning because transition arrangements with the primary school are secure.

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines: Expected standard

Leaders have established a positive and nurturing environment. They have clear and consistent expectations for children's behaviour, which all children understand. Staff model these expectations confidently. For example, they use familiar phrases, such as 'good listening', 'good sitting' and 'good looking', which children respond to with focus and cooperation. Warm and trusting relationships are evident across the setting. Children seek reassurance from staff who know them well and respond sensitively to their individual needs. This supports children to feel secure, manage their emotions and engage calmly in daily routines.

Children show kindness towards one another. They collaborate in play and demonstrate growing confidence in shared activities. Well-embedded routines help children to transition smoothly between parts of the day and participate purposefully in their learning. Staff adapt expectations appropriately to children's age, stage of development and personal circumstances. This ensures that all children can meet the setting's routines successfully. Leaders also maintain strong communication with families, helping them to understand the importance of consistency, punctuality and regular attendance.

Leaders acknowledge the need to increase opportunities to strengthen children's readiness for the next stage of learning. For example, children do not have consistent opportunities to develop their independence within daily routines, such as toileting, dressing and handwashing.

Children's welfare and wellbeing: Expected standard

Children are cared for in a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment. Staff respond sensitively to their individual emotional and physical needs. The secure and trusting relationships between key staff and children help them to feel settled, confident and ready to explore. Staff show an awareness of children who may require additional reassurance. They adapt their interactions to support children to recognise and express their emotions calmly.

Care practices are generally effective and reflect leaders' focus on children's health, safety and wellbeing. However, occasionally, some staff do not always promote children's independence effectively with regard to their self-care, such as toileting. Staff promote children's understanding of healthy choices during mealtimes. They model positive social behaviour, good manners and calm routines. Staff have thoughtfully developed the outdoor provision to provide rich opportunities for children's physical development, exploration and sustained engagement in learning. Safe-sleep routines are well embedded, including regular checks and maintaining hygienic practices.

Leaders work closely with families to ensure that individual needs are understood, including for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who may face additional barriers to wellbeing. They maintain consistent communication with parents, which supports a shared understanding of children's needs and promotes continuity between home and the setting.

Leadership and governance: Expected standard

Leaders typically have an accurate and reflective understanding of the setting's strengths and priorities. They use this knowledge well to drive improvement. This is demonstrated through professional discussions and the actions already taken to enhance key areas, such as the outdoor environment and the use of technology. However, occasionally, there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and implementation of the curriculum, such as during children's free play and during routines.

Leaders consider staff's workload and wellbeing carefully. They ensure that routines are manageable, maintain open communication and provide regular opportunities for staff to discuss any pressures and seek advice. Access to relevant training further supports staff's confidence and professional growth.

Parents and carers speak highly of leaders' communication. They feel well informed and able to raise concerns. This reflects a strong and positive culture of partnership. Parents and carers describe their children's communication and language as being one of the most noticeable areas that they progress in in their learning and development. Positive relationships between staff and families support a shared understanding of children's progress.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

  • Leaders should enhance the organisation of the daily provision and implementation of the curriculum to provide children with consistent and purposeful support, so all children access and benefit from the full breadth of the curriculum.
  • Staff should strengthen children's independence, with particular regard for hygiene and self-care routines, such as toileting and handwashing across the day.

Ofsted's words, from the report on the inspection on 17 November 2025. Read the full report on the Ofsted website. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Inspection history

  • 17 November 2025: Full inspection, report card: Expected standard in 6

Ofsted report cards (England, from November 2025)

Since 10 November 2025 Ofsted has graded nurseries and pre-schools on a report card. There is no single overall grade. Instead, each of six areas gets one of five grades: Exceptional, Strong standard, Expected standard, Needs attention, Urgent improvement.

The six areas are inclusion; curriculum and teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children's welfare and wellbeing; leadership and governance. Safeguarding is judged on its own, as met or not met.

Expected standard means the setting does what Ofsted expects of every setting. Strong standard and Exceptional are above that; Needs attention and Urgent improvement mean Ofsted found things the setting has to put right.

Source: Ofsted reports

Funded childcare hours in England

All 3 and 4 year olds in England can get 15 hours of free childcare a week, for 38 weeks of the year.

Working parents of children aged 9 months to 4 years old can get 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year (Free Childcare for Working Parents), if they meet the earnings rules. You confirm your details every 3 months.

Some 2 year olds can get 15 hours a week when the family gets certain kinds of extra support.

The hours are used at a registered provider that offers them, so ask each nursery how it offers the funded hours.

Source: GOV.UK: Free Childcare for Working Parents, check if you're eligible · GOV.UK: Free childcare and education for 2 to 4 year olds (checked 31 October 2026)

Other nurseries nearby

  • The Malthouse Nursery - Day nursery, Malmesbury SN16 9DG, ages 1 to 4, 43 places, 1.6 miles
    Ofsted, 21 February 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • YMCA King's Nursery - Day nursery, Malmesbury SN16 9BU, ages 1 to 4, 52 places, 1.6 miles
    Ofsted, 16 August 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
  • Revolution Performing Arts - The Riverside Centre - Pre-school, Malmesbury SN16 9JS, 1.9 miles

Schools nearby

Little Acers Preschool at Lea and Garsdon on the Ofsted website