Acorns Pre-School

Acorns Pre-School Whitstone Community Primary School, Oak Lane, Whitstone, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6TH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21 June 2017 13 April 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision is good

 Staff are enthusiastic, kind and caring. They support children's emotional well-being effectively in a welcoming environment. Children arrive confidently and are happy to see their friends and the staff team.  The manager and staff have a good understanding of how children learn. They routinely observe and assess children's individual achievements to monitor their learning. All children make good progress from their individual starting points.  The manager and staff work closely together, and with parents and outside agencies, to provide strong support for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They implement complementary strategies to meet children's individual needs, such as introducing signs to support their communication and language development.  Since the last inspection, the manager has successfully increased the opportunities for children to see and learn about numbers, to enhance their mathematical development.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 At times, staff do not extend the thinking skills of the oldest children. For example, they do not allow children enough time to respond to questions or solve problems.  The manager does not use the accurate assessments of individual children to monitor the learning between different groups of children, to help them evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and target any patterns in gaps.

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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

 allow more time for the oldest children to think about and answer questions, and provide opportunities for them to solve problems independently  develop the tracking of children's progress to obtain more information about the learning of different groups of children, to help evaluate the quality of teaching and overall provision.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed adult-led activities and children's self-chosen play.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager, to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning.  The inspector took account of the views of staff, children and parents spoken to on the day of inspection.  The inspector held discussions with the manager at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including self-evaluation, children's learning records, and risk assessments of the premises.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The manager and staff place a high priority on children's safety. They have a clear understanding of the procedures to report any concerns about a child's welfare. Safeguarding is effective. Overall, the manager evaluates the setting effectively and identifies areas for development. For instance, she is planning to provide more opportunities for parents to contribute towards their children's learning records. The manager routinely supports staff's professional development. For example, she regularly observes their practice and holds meetings with them, to identify their strengths and training needs. Staff have used information from recent training well to develop children's language and literacy skills, such as helping them learn to link letters with initial sounds in words.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff carefully consider each child's next stage of development and plan interesting activities that link with these. For example, children learn about the life cycle of a butterfly as they excitedly look at the container of insects to see what changes have happened overnight. They use relevant words that staff have taught them, such as 'cocoon', and recall what has happened so far. Staff provide lots of opportunities for children to develop control and coordination of their movements, such as teaching them to use scissors and encouraging them to play mouse-control computer games, which they manage well. Children have good mathematical skills. For instance, they use positional language correctly to describe where they found the toy dinosaurs during a treasure hunt in the garden, and recognise numerals on a number line as they count.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff help children develop high levels of confidence and self-esteem. For example, they enthusiastically encourage young children to keep trying to walk and jump across the tyre stepping stones. After much perseverance and determination, the children proudly showed staff that they could now do this without help. Staff show children respect and routinely model the use of good manners, which helps children to learn good social skills. Children form good friendships and often think about the feelings of others, such as passing toys to children at the back of the group who could not reach them.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children develop a positive attitude to learning and acquire the skills that prepare them well for the next stage in their learning, including going to school. They are eager to learn and participate in activities, such as working together to build a den in the garden. They are curious and motivated to explore and investigate. Children learn to count, confidently share their ideas and concentrate well. For example, they listen with interest when staff read to them and initiate discussion about the illustrations.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 102993 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 1088930 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 29 Name of registered person Acorns Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 13 April 2015 Telephone number 01288341540

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reference number

Acorns Pre-School registered in 2010. It operates from a separate, purpose-built building in the grounds of Whitstone Primary School, near Holsworthy in Devon. The pre-school is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am until 3.30pm, and on Tuesdays from 9am to 1pm, during term time only. It receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The pre-school employs four members of staff, all of whom have level 3 childcare qualifications.

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reference number

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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reference number

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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reference number

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reference number

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reference number

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

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