Acorn2Oak Preschool

Acorn2oak Pre-School. Dryden Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 6QD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15 June 2015 19 September 2011

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is good

 Children benefit from secure relationships with their key person. This helps the children to feel confident and safe within the pre-school.  Staff work effectively with parents and gather useful information upon admission, which informs their planning. The pre-school works very hard to engage all parents in their children's learning and development needs.  Children who speak English as an additional language make good progress. This is because the management team work tirelessly to ensure a regular flow of communication is maintained.  Staff have a clear understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements, including safeguarding policies and procedures. All staff are aware of the procedures to follow in the event of a concern about a child, or if an allegation is made against a member of staff.  The committed manager inspires staff to undertake further professional development and relevant qualifications. The recent qualification the manager completed has had a

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This provision is good

positive impact. She has demonstrated good reflective practice, including reviewing children's progress, and identified clear targets and areas for improvement.  The committee members have ensured they undertake appraisals for the manager and work closely with the management team to provide good quality childcare. As a result, the manager feels supported in her role.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Some staff's teaching does not always offer the optimum level of challenge for two- year-olds, with particular regard to their emerging listening and attention skills.  The management team have not yet developed an astute and targeted coaching programme within the pre-school, in order to fully support staff's practice to the highest level.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 review activities for two-year-old children to make sure that they are consistently helped to make rapid progress, particularly with their listening and attentions skills  build on the already good quality of teaching by embedding more rigorous coaching methods for all staff, so that there are clear targets to help to make practice outstanding.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the main playroom and in one of the outside play spaces.  The inspector held discussions with the staff and children, at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and deputy manager.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager.  The inspector took into account the views of the parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector checked the evidence of staff suitability, looked at children's records, planning documentation and staff files.  The inspector looked at a range of other documentation, including policies and procedures, to safeguard children's welfare.

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who attend. This is good

Staff ensure that every child makes good progress, by working in partnership with parents and other professionals. Staff regularly review the indoor environment to ensure activities and experiences are challenging for children. Staff have attended training on children's early-writing skills, which has had a significant impact on the layout of the environment. As a result, a designated area for developing early-writing skills has been created, which is inviting and well resourced. Children enjoy picking books from the library located in this space, and share the stories at home. Parents contribute to communication books and offer feedback to the setting about this new area, which is all very positive. This means, particularly for older children, the pre-school continuously provides them with a good level of challenge. This helps them to be ready for their next stage in learning, such as school. However, staff do not always transfer this strong teaching approach to activities for the

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who attend. This is good

two-year-old children. On occasions, staff are not always confident to adapt activities so that younger children's listening and attention skills are consistently extended and built upon. This means some younger children lose interest in activities, which have valuable learning outcomes.

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good

Children display high levels of confidence while playing independently and during group activities. The manager has recently completed further qualifications and has used her knowledge to develop the outside area very well. She has evaluated the outside play space and identified how it effectively supports children's different learning styles. As a result, staff have seen a vast improvement in children's early-writing and mathematical skills. This is because the area sparks children's imagination, and supports their curiosity and explorative skills. Staff plan and prepare a nutritious and balanced snack. Children independently go to wash their hands and pour their own drinks. Staff work closely with the parents to meet every child's individual needs. Some children have a snack upon arrival so that they are ready for the day. This supports children's health and well-being effectively. Children are well supported within their physical development. They enjoy the

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good

mud-kitchen area, where they make custard slime using large utensils, such as wooden spoons to stir around their food.

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provision is good

The manager has set clear targets to drive practice forward and regularly helps staff to complete documentation, such as the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. Staff contribute to the pre-school's progress through regular staff meetings. The manager completes regular supervisions to inform individual staff training plans. However, the manager does not yet provide staff with coaching, in order for them to understand what outstanding practice is, and how to strive forward to achieve this. The manager implements robust recruitment checks and ensures all staff are suitable to work with children.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY420545 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 852116 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 60 Name of provider Acorn2oak Pre-School Date of previous inspection 19 September 2011 Telephone number 01473 748 333

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Setting details

Acorns2oaks Pre-School re-registered in 2010 and is a committee run pre-school, situated in the grounds of Castle Hill academy. The pre-school is open from 9am to 12 noon, with a lunch club from 12 noon to 12.45pm, and an afternoon session from 12.45pm to 3pm. Sessions run from Monday to Friday during school term time only. There are 12 members of staff, eight of whom hold a relevant qualification to at least a level 3 or above.

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Setting details

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

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

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Setting details

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Setting details

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

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