Little Acorns Bersted Green

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children are very happy and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nurturing and inclusive pre-school. The caring manager and staff are passionate about building children's confidence and self-esteem, and this is at the heart of their practice. For example, children's efforts and achievements are warmly rewarded through 'Star of the week' certificates and consistent praise. As a result, children are secure, confident in their abilities and are eager to try new things. They are very sociable, well behaved and form strong bonds with each other and with staff.

Overall, staff have high expectations for all children, particularly for those who speak English as an additional language or receive additional funding. Staff quickly get to know any gaps in children's learning, and they work hard to ensure all children achieve. For example, they have recently added more bilingual books to the 'lending library', helping to ignite all children's love of reading at home. Parents are thrilled with this support and at how well their children are progressing. Children's language development is given high priority, and they are learning to communicate well. They learn new words quickly, and the older children express themselves confidently, using full sentences. Children with gaps in their development are catching up quickly due to the strong and consistent support of the dedicated staff.

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

• The manager and the staff are supported very well by a strong and dedicated senior management team, led by the headteacher of the adjoining primary school. Together, they have a strong vision for the pre-school and reflect continuously on how they can improve. For example, staff are currently working towards qualifications in 'wild beach school' to help broaden children's experiences of nature and wildlife. Leaders monitor practice closely, offering targeted training, guidance and coaching to all staff. They are aware of the need to focus staff's upcoming professional development on further extending older- and most-able children's learning. For example, during the inspection, staff did not consistently make the most of their interactions to encourage problem-solving and offer higher levels of challenge.
• Leaders and staff implement a focused and well-planned curriculum, based on closing gaps in children's knowledge and preparing them for school. The pre-school caters for a high proportion of children who speak English as an additional language and receives additional funding and meets their needs particularly well. There is a strong focus on language and literacy, behaviour, social skills and physical development. All children make good progress and are well prepared for the next stage in their education. They recognise letters and their sounds, write their names and use tools, such as scissors and knives skilfully. Children are particularly physically active and show strong skills, coordination and balance as they confidently explore the stimulating garden. Children's move to the adjoining primary school is handled with the utmost care and consideration, giving them every opportunity to flourish.
• Staff support children's behaviour consistently well and children respond positively to their high expectations. Children are very kind, considerate and respectful of one another and spend a lot of time developing their play in groups. For example, children delight in cooking each other pretend meals, driving others around the garden on ride-along cars and searching for insects. They are very aware of the pre-school rules and confidently keep themselves safe as they climb, cut fruit and ride around the garden.
• The experienced and well-qualified staff know the children very well. They fully understand what children know and can do and use this to plan effectively for children's learning. For example, children enthusiastically discuss healthy food as they cut out pictures to stick on paper plates, making 'healthy meals'. They confidently know what is and is not good for their health, and staff introduce new words, such as 'kale', to broaden children's knowledge further. Overall, staff are very supportive and attentive to children's needs. However, at times, the manager and the staff do not deploy themselves in the best way to consistently give children the highest levels of support in their learning. For example, at times, during the inspection, although most of the children were in the garden, more staff than necessary remained inside. This impacted their ability to fully support some children's learning outdoors.

What the setting must and should do next

The provider should:

• focus staff professional development on giving older- and most-able children more opportunities to problem-solve and attempt challenges
• encourage staff to move more effectively throughout the setting to ensure they are in the right place to fully support children's learning at all times.