Little Acorns (Herne) Pre-School

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

Children thrive in this nurturing pre-school, where highly qualified staff nurture their unique personalities and needs. Staff provide an inspirational environment that focuses on the children. They seize every opportunity, indoors and outdoors, to enhance children's learning. Each day offers awe, wonder and a rich array of stimulating activities, ensuring children are deeply engaged, are highly motivated and make excellent progress across all areas of development. They form strong bonds with staff, seeking reassurance and comfort when needed, which is consistently provided.

The leadership team creates a highly ambitious curriculum for all children. There is a clear emphasis on communication and language, independence and confidence. Staff use a wide variety of communication tools, including well-being, language development and phonics programmes. This ensures all children can join in and have a good understanding of expectations of them. As a result, all children make outstanding progress.

Staff promote children's understanding of appropriate behaviour exceptionally well. They create activities, which engage children for long periods, and this leads to a calm environment. Staff always deploy themselves effectively across the setting and provide opportunities for children to learn about taking risks and challenges in their play. As a result, children show high levels of confidence to approach others and join in activities. For example, during play in the forest area, children confidently ask each other to watch them to make sure they are safe. Staff position themselves nearby to observe and ensure supervision. Children navigate the rustic swing successfully, demonstrating careful risk management. Their friends enthusiastically respond, 'Well done! My turn now.'

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

• The quality of education is outstanding. Staff have excellent knowledge of their key children and use this to create inviting activities that engage children. Assessment and tracking are implemented by staff to the highest standard, and gaps in individual children's learning are supported through tailored interventions. This helps all children make excellent progress.
• Many children make exceptional progress in their communication and language. Staff make the most of every opportunity to talk with children and encourage conversation. They join in with play, talking about what the children are doing, introducing new words and repeating language back. During choosing time, children explore in small adult-led groups, where rich conversations naturally happen. Staff use specific communication pathway plans and individual one-to-one activities to provide the support children need. As a result, children speak more fluently and are well prepared for the move to school.
• A love of reading is actively promoted with both parents and children. Staff design regular stay-and-play sessions, designed to provide parents with ideas to support their children's learning at home. Staff frequently share a variety of stories throughout the day, capturing children's interest and enthusiasm. For example, children enjoy snuggling up with staff in inviting reading areas. Staff make story time engaging and enjoyable, helping to support children's early literacy development.
• Children's emotional resilience is nurtured, with clear boundaries and consistent expectations provided by all staff. A tambourine signals welcome time, and all children happily sit together. The welcome routine includes children personally greeting each other and the staff members by name. Children listen intently to staff and others and know to wait until it is their turn to speak. Special one-to-one time is used effectively to support those children who need additional support to regulate their emotions, with excellent results.
• Children demonstrate exceptional independence. Throughout the nursery, staff offer opportunities and children strive to achieve skills that will support them to progress to their next stage of learning. For example, children learn to put on their own coats and self-serve their food. Children confidently navigate a free-flow environment to independently make choices through their play.
• School readiness is embedded throughout the curriculum from the moment children start in the setting. The leadership team works closely with feeder schools to share information with teachers. The leaders then share this information with the staff team and implement it into their curriculum.
• Exceptional parent partnerships support children's learning and development. Parents talk fondly of the relationships their children have with the staff team. They feel lucky to have a place at the setting and return with siblings. Staff regularly share development information with parents and provide them with clear strategies for supporting learning at home.
• Leaders are inspirational and passionate. They motivate their team by working alongside them, promoting outstanding teaching. Leaders foster a culture of reflective practice through meaningful supervision and training. Staff consistently comment that their well-being is a priority and that they feel supported to fulfil their roles.