The Acorns Nursery School

The Acorns Nursery School Westmeston Parish Hall, Lewes Road, Westmeston, Near Ditchling, East Sussex, BN6 8RL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24 May 2018 9 July 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 assess children's progress with care to enable them to understand and provide for children's individual needs. They work closely with staff in the other settings children attend, to ensure their assessments reflect children's overall development.  Staff develop strong relationships with parents through which they work in partnership to support children's development and well-being. They include parents greatly in children's learning and provide effective links between the setting and home.  Children make good progress from their starting points.  Staff teach children well to keep themselves safe. They frequently encourage children to think about the risks in activities and how they can counteract these. For example, children make sure they know how to get down from a tree before they start to climb.  Managers monitor children's progress attentively to inform changes in practice and to improve outcomes. Through comparisons of progress between boys and girls, they

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This provision is good

have improved the opportunities for boys to develop early writing skills. For instance, an activity now favoured by boys is using a soldering iron safely to make marks.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Children do not consistently enjoy opportunities to experience or understand differences that exist between people, including physical abilities.  On some occasions, staff lower their normally high expectations of children's behaviour and do not actively promote important values, such as good manners.

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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

 enhance further the resources and activities used to help children understand and respect the wide range of differences that exist between people  promote positive values, such as good manners, consistently in all aspects of the daily routine.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities inside and outdoors.  The inspector talked with staff, children and the manager at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and staff planning documentation, and checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of children's learning and staff practice, with the manager.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Safeguarding is effective. Managers and staff have a strong understanding of how to recognise when a child's welfare is at risk and of what to do if a concern arises. Managers give great consideration to parents' views and use these effectively to help evaluate and improve practice. For example, they have worked closely with parents to form strategies to manage children's behaviour and have adapted policies following feedback to make them easier to follow. Managers drive change with effective evaluation and performance management systems. They welcome staff to develop higher qualifications and support them well to achieve. Staff use their new knowledge and skills well to improve practice. For example, after recent forest school training, the wealth of activities children can enjoy outside has been increased and children take great pleasure in making use of these facilities. Where children need additional support, the manager seeks advice from other

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

professionals and uses this efficiently to support children's development.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff provide children with varied and exciting learning experiences that allow them to lead their own learning. For example, they offer children fruits and paints to explore and invite creativity. Children respond in a variety of ways. Some use fruit to make patterns and others develop physical skills as they focus on squeezing paint from bottles. All children benefit. Staff cleverly extend learning and use well-worded questions to help them extend their thoughts and interests. Staff skilfully support children to develop skills for their future learning. For instance, they use children's play to help them differentiate sounds and develop listening skills.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff form strong relationships with the children, who bound into nursery happily, eager to learn. They strongly value the children and make them feel welcome. For example, they frequently show them that their opinions matter with activities, such as voting for their favourite song. Staff prepare children well for when they move on to other settings, including school. For example, they have planned systems with local schools to help children benefit from continuity. Staff support children effectively to develop independence. Children confidently carry out daily routines, including changing into their boots or managing their own personal hygiene with support appropriate to their ages.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children engage intently in their play. They frequently display good social skills as they play together and solve problems. Children develop early literacy skills, for example, as they describe what is happening in the stories they enjoy. Children engage happily in activities that help them to develop early writing skills. Younger children frequently use resources that strengthen their hand muscles and older children make marks to which they assign meaning. Children demonstrate good counting skills and an interest in numbers. They use large number names when they try to figure out what number comes after 900 and think about the order numbers come in during a group counting activity.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY218724 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 1128480 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 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 35 Name of registered person Sussex Acorns Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 9 July 2015 Telephone number 01273 841428

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reference number

The Acorns Nursery School at Westmeston registered in 2002. The nursery school operates from the Parish Hall in Westmeston, East Sussex. It opens term time only, every Monday to Thursday from 9am to 2.30pm, with an extended day from 9am to 5pm on Fridays. The setting cares for older school-aged children in some school holidays from 9am to 5pm. The provider is in receipt of funding to offer free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The provider employs six members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above, including two members of staff who hold qualified teacher status.

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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

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

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