Acorn Pre-School

Inspection of Acorn Pre-School Holy Rood Church, Gosport Road, Stubbington, Fareham PO14 2AS

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children arrive and separate easily from their parents as staff warmly welcome them. Children are keen to learn as they confidently select the resources they would like to play with, such as paints.

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The provision is good

Staff encourage children to be creative, develop their ideas and solve problems. For instance, children work out how to create their own 'bug hotel'. Staff support children as they debate what the insects might need, such as a door. Children excitedly place their creations out in the garden ready for their new inhabitants.

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The provision is good

Staff help children to develop a love of songs and rhymes. Staff sing frequently and children eagerly join in with their favourites, such as 'The Farmer's in His Den'. Children develop their literacy skills through reading stories regularly with staff. Staff skilfully incorporate mathematics into children's play. For example, children learn about the concepts of 'bigger' and 'smaller' as they pretend to be bakers.

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The provision is good

Overall, children behave well and have a good understanding of the high expectations for their behaviour. Children begin to learn how to meet their personal hygiene needs. For example, they learn how to blow their nose and sanitise their hands afterwards.

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need to do better?

n Staff know the children well and have a good understanding of their stages of development. Staff use assessment effectively to know what children are developmentally ready for. For example, older children take part in group times which involve longer periods of sitting and listening to stories, whereas younger children have a more active group time. This means that children are able to meet the expectations for their behaviour because the provision is tailored specifically to them. n The manager has developed a curriculum that builds on what children know and can do. There are high expectations for children's learning and development, and the curriculum has a strong focus on children's personal, social and emotional development. n The manager uses supervision to effectively support staff's well-being. This is reflected by staff, who comment that the provision 'feels like a community'. However, the manager does not fully use supervision sessions to identify the

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need to do better?

minor inconsistencies in teaching practice. This means that they are not able to address these and develop staff's teaching practice with precision. n Staff are keen to support children with the development of their language skills. However, they are not fully consistent in their approach. For example, not all children are given the time they need to process questions asked and respond.

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need to do better?

4 December 2023 This means that children's emerging language skills are not fully supported. n Children have the opportunity to develop their physical skills as staff plan and offer a wide range of activities that encourage them to be active. For example, children strengthen their large-muscle skills as they learn how to navigate balancing logs in the garden. They have the opportunity to develop the small- muscle skills they need for mark making as they use play dough to make 'gingerbread men'. They carefully manipulate pennies to create different features, such as eyes, on their creations. This helps children to make good progress in their physical development. n Staff act as advocates for children to ensure that they receive the support they need from other professionals, such as speech and language therapy. Additional funding is used appropriately to meet the needs of the children. For example, funding is used to purchase a range of books to capture their interest and

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need to do better?

support their learning. This means that children, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive the support they need to make good progress in their learning and development. n There are effective partnerships between parents and staff. Parents speak highly of the staff and how supportive they are. Staff work hard to ensure that they share ideas with parents to enable them to further support children's learning and development at home.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff show a good understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. They know how to refer their concerns to the designated safeguarding leads at the pre-school and how to escalate concerns to the relevant local safeguarding partners as needed. Staff know how to report an allegation against a member of staff if necessary and feel confident in using the local safeguarding partnership processes. Staff ensure that they keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date through regular training. The manager has a good understanding of the importance of ensuring staff suitability at the recruitment stage and then on an ongoing basis.

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should:

n build on the supervision of staff arrangements and ensure that they receive relevant support, coaching and training to make them fully effective in their role n develop further staff's understanding of how to support the development of children's emerging language skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 2757580 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10314805 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 34 Name of registered person Smith, Jayne

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reference number

Telephone number 07340317149 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Acorn Pre-School re-registered in 2023. The provider employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The pre-school is open from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9am to 3.30pm, except on Wednesday, when sessions are from midday to 3.30pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the pre-school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the pre-school. n The manager explained the curriculum intentions to the inspector during the learning walk. n The inspector took part in discussions with staff during the inspection. n The manager and the inspector observed and evaluated an activity together. n The inspector sampled relevant documents and reviewed evidence of the suitability of staff. n Parents shared their views with the inspector. n The inspector observed staff and children throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

4 December 2023 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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