Little Acorns Nursery

Little Acorns Nursery Clifton Childrens Centre, Kingsway North, YORK YO30 6JA

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Inspection date 30 October 2018 Previous inspection date 11 August 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 2 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2 Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1 Outcomes for children Good 2

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The provision is good

n The manager and staff are a very committed team. They successfully create a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment. Children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, thrive at the nursery and make exceptional progress from their individual starting points. n Staff are excellent role models who value each child as the unique individuals that they are. Children are extremely sociable and highly motivated to learn. They develop exceedingly secure attachments to their key persons, which significantly helps to build on their self-esteem. n The manager and staff monitor the progress made by individual and groups of children extremely well. This enables them to identify any gaps rapidly and provide effective support for children to catch up quickly and make good progress in their learning. n Partnerships with parents are very good. Staff provide an extensive array of information for parents. Detailed information on their individual child's learning is

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The provision is good

shared continuously with parents to complement learning between home and the nursery. n The manager demonstrates a strong drive to continually improve practice. She strives for excellence and fully involves staff, parents and children in reviewing and refining the nursery provision.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

n Occasionally, staff do not make the most of opportunities to challenge older and the most-able children's understanding of wider mathematical concepts, including estimation and prediction.

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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

n enhance opportunities for the older and most-able children to develop a greater understanding of wider mathematical concepts, including estimation and prediction.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector viewed all areas of the premises used by children. She observed the quality of teaching during activities and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector engaged in discussions with staff and children throughout the inspection at appropriate times. She held a meeting with the nursery manager. n The inspector viewed documentation, including public liability insurance, policies and procedures, and the suitability checks of staff. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager. She discussed the self- evaluation and the impact this has on the nursery. n The inspector spoke to a number of parents and other professionals during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The provider who is also the manager, fully understands her role and responsibilities. Staff have a very good understanding of how to keep children safe. They have a very secure knowledge of the signs and symptoms that may indicate possible abuse and know to act swiftly should they have any concerns regarding a child's welfare. Staff regularly meet with other professionals. For example, they attend multi-agency meetings with parents and other professionals to ensure children's individual needs are met. Staff receive regular observations of their practice, supervisory meetings and ongoing training opportunities. This helps to improve staff practice. Parents comment that they are very happy with the service provided and their children really enjoy attending the nursery.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

The well-qualified staff accurately assess children's development and plan a wide range of experiences that helps children to make good progress in their learning. Staff support children's language development particularly well. They consistently model correct pronunciation and full sentences for children who are younger or need more support. Older children thoroughly enjoy taking part in the listening game and confidently describe the different sounds they hear. Children quickly engage in creative tasks on their own or with their friends. Younger children use construction toys imaginatively, for example, to build a home for their dinosaurs. Within the baby room, staff ensure that children have the opportunity to develop sensory skills, for example, they explore coloured corn flour and water.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children demonstrate excellent levels of confidence as they make choices from the extensive play and learning resources available indoors and outdoors. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They play incredibly well together and show exceptional care for others. Staff use consistent approaches to reason with and explain to children the right way to behave. Children have excellent opportunities to be physically active and to take manageable risks and challenges to help them gain important skills. Supervision of children is highly effective. Children benefit from a well-balanced diet which promotes their good health. In addition, they grow fruit and vegetables in the nursery's allotment area and discuss healthy foods to eat. Staff provide a vast range of experiences that help children explore different cultures and faiths and to understand the diversity of the world around them. For example, children have recently been involved in a project to send

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

their unwanted toys and clothes to under privileged children living in Bangladeshi.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are very curious, highly motivated and eager to learn. They develop an awareness of colours, number and size during activities. Older children are successful at learning to do things for themselves, such as putting on outdoor clothes and serving themselves at mealtimes. All children, including those in receipt of funding, make good progress in their learning. They learn key skills in readiness for their eventual move on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY439221 Local authority York Inspection number 10067073 Type of provision Full day care

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Childcare on non-domestic premises Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 54 Number of children on roll 78 Name of registered person Little Acorns (Clifton Green) Limited

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 11 August 2015 Telephone number 01904 552345

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reference number

Little Acorns Nursery registered in 2011. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, 8 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above, including two with early years degrees. The nursery opens from Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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.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 . 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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