Acorn2Oak Preschool

Inspection of Acorn2Oak Preschool Castle Hill Junior School, Dryden Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 6QD

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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 Good

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The provision is good

Children are warmly welcomed into the pre-school by the nurturing staff, who know them well. Children immediately feel safe in their environment and are eager to learn. This is because staff consider their individual interests and provide opportunities for children to be active and make choices in their play. For instance, some children decide to create a flag using arts and crafts to celebrate St. George's Day. Others dress up and engage in role play, using props such as dragon puppets.

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The provision is good

Staff are responsive to the needs of the children, who seek them out if they need support or comfort. Children play well with each other and have formed good friendships. They talk together during their play and share their thoughts and ideas. As children patiently wait for their turn to jump into a muddy puddle, staff praise their courteous behaviours, which reinforce the behaviours expected of them.

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The provision is good

There is a strong focus on outdoor learning with plenty of opportunities to explore the natural environment. Children had the exciting opportunity to watch the incubation process and hatching of baby chickens. While having great fun watching their baby chicks grow, children are also learning about the importance of responsibility and how to care for living things.

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need to do better?

n The management team identify curriculum priorities, such as providing children with opportunities to develop their social skills, build relationships and become independent learners. Staff implement their curriculum well. For example, staff encourage children to sit on a chair to assist them in putting on their shoes. Because children have something to lean their back against, and are given plenty of space and time, they begin to succeed. Staff also provide encouragement, which increases children's concentration and perseverance to keep trying to develop their skills. n Overall, teaching is good, and staff have a good understanding of how different- age children learn. Although children enjoy the learning activities on offer, at times, staff do not always notice and respond to teaching opportunities during children's play to extend their learning to the highest level. n Staff use fun interactions to motivate and extend children's learning. For

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need to do better?

example, while children happily scoop coloured rice into piles, staff increase their understanding of mathematics by asking children which pile has 'more' or 'less'. Staff start to add more and take away rice, which adds meaningful context to learning. Children are keen to explore and start to build connections in what is being taught. n Staff provide children with many opportunities to develop their literacy skills,

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need to do better?

23 April 2025 which helps them as they prepare for school. Children enjoy writing for purpose and practise writing their name as they pretend to play 'schools' with their peers. Children are developing a love of books and reading. They often share books with their friends and read on their own. For those children struggling with expressing their feelings, staff support them by considering themes about emotions and well-being when selecting individual books to read to them. n The management team and staff instigate effective partnership working with the local school and other professionals, such as speech and language therapists, to help secure timely and relevant support for children now and when they transition to school. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), make good progress and have support to achieve their best outcomes. n The management team is dedicated to continually improving the service it

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need to do better?

provides. Long-standing staff report very good well-being. Staff can access an online provider to complete training that interests them and develops their practice further. Although staff's practice is observed and training opportunities are discussed, leaders have not considered further ways to sharpen processes to help staff improve their teaching skills and practice to a consistently high level. n Parents talk incredibly highly of the progress their children make and how they feel part of a family at the setting. Staff communicate well with parents. For instance, they provide daily updates on children's care and learning and invite parents to meetings to discuss children's progress.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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should:

n build on the already good teaching and support staff to recognise when to further challenge children's learning to help move them on to the next stage n enhance methods of coaching staff to identify areas for development that help to raise the quality of their practice to a consistently high level across all areas of the pre-school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY420545 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 10380583 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 43 Name of registered person Acorn2oak Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01473 748 333 Date of previous inspection 14 June 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Acorn2Oak Preschool registered in 2010 and is run by a committee. It is located at Castle Hill Junior School in Ipswich. The pre-school is open from 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during school term time. There are eight members of childcare staff, seven of whom hold a relevant qualification at level 3 or above. This includes the manager who holds an early years qualification at level 6. The pre-school provides government funded early education for all eligible children.

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Inspection activities

n The management team and the inspector completed a tour of the pre-school, both indoors and outdoors, to understand how the early years provision and curriculum are organised. Additionally, they showed the inspector the premises and discussed how they ensure they are safe and suitable. n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this had on children's learning. n The inspector and manager carried out a joint observation of group activities and discussed self-evaluation. n The SEN coordinator spoke to the inspector about how they support children with SEND. n Children communicated with the inspector during the inspection. The inspector spoke with parents and carers during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector held a meeting with the management team and discussed self- evaluation. The inspector looked at relevant documentation, such as evidence of

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Inspection activities

the suitability of the staff working in the pre-school and a selection of other records.

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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

23 April 2025 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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