Little Acorns

Little Acorns 55 New Cheltenham Road, South Gloucestershire, BS15 1TN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/09/2013 09/12/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Assessments of babies and children are thorough and staff use a range of methods to monitor their learning at nursery.  Staff provide high quality interaction that motivates and challenges children's thinking skills.  Activities are planned effectively to reflect the interest of babies and children which in turn helps them to make good progress.  Children are encouraged to develop their independent skills and staff are attentive to their individual needs.  The nursery provides a safe, secure indoor and outdoor environment that is welcoming to children and their families.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The informal supervision approach does not fully monitor the steps staff take to address any areas identified in these meetings. As a result, this does not fully enable the management to recognise that any action required has been taken.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all rooms and the outdoor learning environment.  The inspector held a meeting with the joint managers of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of the parents and carers spoken to on the day.  The inspector completed a joint observation with a member of staff.

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Information about the setting

Little Acorns Nursery is privately owned. It opened in 2005 and operates from a converted house in Kingswood, Bristol, which is close to main routes to the ring road. Children are cared for in rooms on the ground and first floors of the premises. They have access to three secure outdoor enclosed play areas.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and there are currently 38 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language, and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children attending the nursery come from a wide catchment area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs eight members of staff who work directly with the children. All staff hold appropriate qualifications at level 3. In addition, one member of staff holds a management qualification at level 4 and another holds a qualification at level 4 in Children's Care, Learning and Development. Advice and support is provided by the local authority.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 develop further the process for monitoring staff supervision in order that any areas identified to support staff are always followed up so that appropriate steps are taken by staff where necessary.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and this is reflected in the quality of learning and care provided. Babies and children make steady progress in their learning considering their starting points. Ongoing assessments by staff include detailed observations, which provide a clear picture of each child's learning journey. Staff use a range of suitable methods to observe babies and children. For example, they transfer observations onto DVDs and make them available for parents to watch at home. This promotes effective home and nursery links. Children with special educational needs have individual play plans, which are specific to meeting their needs. As a result, gaps in children's learning and development are narrowing. Good arrangements are in place to carry out required progress checks for children aged two. For example, parents are invited to discuss their children's progress during a planned parent's evening. This enables them

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who attend

to share in their children's achievements. Staff fully support children's move to school. They prepare reports to pass on relevant information. Some teachers from local schools visit the nursery to meet the children, which helps prepare children well for future changes.

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who attend

Babies and children are active learners and are encouraged to explore and make self- discoveries. Staff play an important role in motivating their learning at all times. They effectively support children's learning opportunities without taking over or dominating their play. Staff provide a balanced approach between encouraging child-led experiences and taking a lead at times to promote children's learning further.

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who attend

Children take part in activities that support them in developing good skills in preparation for moving to school. For example, staff use 'sound bags' to help children to recognise the letter sounds and develop their early reading skills. Throughout the nursery, visual cards and signs help babies and children develop good language and communication skills. Children flourish during story times, particularly in small group sessions. They demonstrate good concentration and attention skills when listening to stories and staff extend children's interests taken from books. For example, after reading a fictional story about spiders, staff support the children's idea to create their own junk model spiders. Staff use spontaneous opportunities well to extend babies and children's learning through play. For example, staff recognise that children riding bikes outdoors are pretending to ride on the road. This enables staff to extend this interest further by marking out a road on the ground and a

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who attend

petrol pump using chalk. The introduction of traffic light cards support children's understanding of road safety. Consequently, children learn about keeping themselves safe through role play.

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who attend

The current theme of learning within the baby room is naming the parts of their body. Staff use suitable games, songs and puzzles throughout the day to help babies make links and connections in order to develop their understanding. Babies and children benefit from the use of everyday technology in their play. For example, the nursery computer is available and has a range of suitable educational number and letter sound games. This helps the children to learn some basic computer skills, such as moving the mouse and following the cursor, which also enhances their hand and eye coordination.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The role of the key person is well established. All staff help babies and children to feel safe and secure in a warm and caring environment. Babies and children show they are happy and content to leave their parents. Children's good attachments with their key person helps them to flourish. Staff take a flexible approach to ensure children are given time to settle when they first start and to feel at ease. Parents are fully involved in arrangements for new children starting as well as those changing rooms as they grow older. Staff support and value children who speak English as an additional language as they use key words in their home language. This helps children to communicate their needs well. Staff often praise babies and children for their good behaviour and social skills. Staff use stamps and stickers to rewards them and 'wow' boards to display their achievements. To help children to develop skills in turn taking staff use sand timers to support their

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

understanding of sharing resources fairly. This also helps children to understand the concept of time. Babies and children make secure friendships and play well with each other. They understand the boundaries and are respectful towards others. Staff promote good relationships between children. They encourage them to be kind and to negotiate during their play by taking into account the feelings of others.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are encouraged to have a healthy outlook and adopt a positive attitude towards looking after their bodies. Meal times provide a balance of nutritional food and all snacks, such as fruit and milk encourage healthy choices. The menu caters for children's individual dietary requirements, including allergies. The nursery garden spaces provide many opportunities for physical activities using the climbing frame and obstacle course. Babies have their own enclosed secure area in the garden. This helps extend their physical development, such as holding onto equipment to aid their walking skills in a safe environment. Staff also use other forms of exercise, for example, yoga to encourage children to do stretching and gentle movements. Babies have a designated sleep room and all rooms have a comfortable area for children to sit and relax. This enables all children to sleep and rest quietly. Babies and children are increasingly developing their independent

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

skills. For example, they are beginning to show good self-awareness of managing some of their own personal care needs.

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provision

The management have a good understanding of their role in meeting the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They ensure that all staff are meeting the individual needs of children by regularly sampling their learning journals. This gives them an overview of each child's progress from their starting points and helps to identify those who need additional support. Staff use tracking forms to monitor children's learning and development in all areas. Management review and check the tracking forms to ensure they are up to date and accurate.

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provision

The management and staff have a clear understanding of their role for safeguarding. Good arrangements are in place to safeguard children. All staff have undergone in-house training organised by the local police service, and the management go on regular courses for any new updates. There is a named person for reporting safeguarding issues to at the nursery. Staff are knowledgeable about the procedures for reporting any incidents and concerns. Daily checks in all areas of the nursery environment including both the indoor and outdoor areas promote the children's safety well. An annual risk assessment is in place and the management reviews all areas to maintain high standards of health and safety. Effective recruitment and induction procedures are in place, for example, staff and students receive an induction pack to support their understanding of the nursery policies and procedures. As a result, robust checks take place to establish new staffs suitability,

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provision

and staff and students understand their roles and responsibilities securely. The management undertake annual appraisals to monitor staff performance. However, management do not consistently monitor the outcomes of staff supervision meetings to fully ensure that staff take appropriate steps to meet any identified actions. Through local training courses and workshops, staff's ongoing professional development is recognised and maintained. The management support long-term apprenticeship learners as well as staff wishing to enhance their current childcare qualification. The nursery's self-evaluation form reflects the views of parents and children through questionnaires. The management show a commitment to making ongoing improvements to its provision. For example, the newly refurbished outdoor space includes new high quality play equipment for babies and children.

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provision

Parents play an active role in the nursery. The management and staff promote an open door policy. Effective communication promotes the good partnerships with parents. Notice boards keep parents informed about any key dates, new policies and events. Communication books and diary logs record staff daily comments as well as parents' feedback. Parents are encouraged to discuss their child's progress, for example, by attending parents' evenings. Staff welcome and value parents' contributions and they are encouraged to make comments on their children's assessments and progress. Parents gain good information regarding their children's progress, for example, they can take their learning journals home to view them.

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provision

The management works closely with other local providers to share good practice. The local authority advisor works with the nursery and offers ongoing support. There are also strong links with outside agencies including speech therapists, a special educational needs coordinator and local schools.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY305073 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 843791 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 38 Name of provider Nancy Beck, Carol Stenner and Nicolette Beardsley Partnership Date of previous inspection 09/12/2008 Telephone number 0117 9606537

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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