Little Acorns Day Nursery

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

This setting provides an exceptional level of care and education for all children. The leadership team's dedication to creating a nurturing and stimulating environment ensures that all children, regardless of background, receive the best start in life. The nursery excels in fostering children's development, promoting their well-being, and preparing them for future education.

All children thrive in this nursery. The ambition leaders have for all children is evident as soon as you walk through the door. The children have a wide range of home experiences. The support that the nursery gives to the most disadvantaged and their families is second to none. The nursery places a strong emphasis on the personal development and welfare of each child. Staff build strong, trusting relationships with children, fostering a sense of security and belonging. The nursery's approach to behaviour management is compassionate and effective, promoting positive interactions and emotional resilience.

The nursery is a shining example of how high-quality early years education can improve outcomes for all children. The nursery's superb leadership, innovative teaching practices and unwavering commitment to each child's well-being and development make it an exemplary model for other settings. The impact of the nursery's work is evident in the confident, happy and well-prepared children who transition from their care.

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

• The nursery nurtures home-grown, passionate staff who deliver engaging and well-planned activities. The staff utilise innovative approaches to ensure that every child can access the curriculum effectively. Assessment practices are thorough and inform individualised learning plans that cater to the unique needs and potential of each child.
• Children at the nursery make outstanding progress from their starting points due to the consistency of interventions. The nursery's inclusive practices ensure that children from diverse backgrounds all receive the support they need to thrive. Through targeted interventions and collaborative partnerships with parents and external agencies, children develop crucial skills in communication, literacy and numeracy.
• The nursery has established strong partnerships with parents and the wider community. They take the children to local businesses to give out chocolate. This teaches children the positive impact that a random act of kindness can have as well as widening their understanding of the wider world.
• The nursery provides breath work and yoga as well as areas in each room for children to find a soothing space. All children can access these spaces and learn to support each other because they have a level of understanding about who needs more help with calming down.
• Supporting children's emotional development is a strength of the nursery. Children care for Giant African land snails as well as fish. They talk about stroking their shells with toothbrushes as a way to look after them. The children work through zones of regulation to help foster better control of their feelings. Children that were unable to share or have other children around them can now happily play alongside others.
• Pre-school staff think of innovative ways of preparing children for school by fostering self-help skills. They provide fun activities to encourage children to be independent around toileting, dressing and putting shoes on. Children are then able to alleviate the worry of needing help when they move on to school.
• All children learn basic sign language to help them express their wants and needs. Children as young as one-year-old use this when needing more paper towels to clean up after painting. All children, but especially those who have no speech, are able to use visual cards as well as sign to express themselves.
• The nursery works in harmony with support agencies to gain the best possible outcomes for each child. They utilise every avenue of external support. Staff use consistent approaches all through the nursery, which leads to all children making progress with language and communication interventions. This results in those that are verbal being very confident, articulate talkers.
• Staff provide children that are most able with a curriculum that fully extends their learning. Where children show an interest in adding quantities together, staff explore this by providing resources to deepen this understanding. Children talk about the solar system and which planet is the nearest to earth. They link this to stories about being afraid of the dark and how stars and torches can light the way for us. Staff use these opportunities to make learning meaningful and to develop critical thinking.
• Parents are overwhelmingly grateful for the support that staff offer them. Staff provide exceptional advice and guidance to parents when they are experiencing difficulties. This has a really positive impact on the well-being of the children. Staff support parents when visiting new settings. Their knowledge of the children and how they learn supports parents when making difficult decisions.