Skip to content

Help us get it right

Sign in (free) to send feedback, so we can tell you when it's fixed.

Early years · Report card

Golden Acorns Nursery

Inspected 20 Mar 2026 · URN 2757275

Help us get it right

Sign in (free) to send feedback, so we can tell you when it's fixed.

Original PDF ↗

Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

What we read, and from where

Click a reading to see it highlighted in the report.

  • Achievement verified

    Strong standard

  • Behaviour, attitudes and routines verified

    Strong standard

  • Children's welfare and wellbeing verified

    Strong standard

  • Curriculum and teaching verified

    Strong standard

  • Inclusion verified

    Strong standard

  • Leadership and governance verified

    Strong standard

  • Framework verified

    Report card

  • Group verified

    Tubb, Tracy Dawn

  • Inspection datesingle source

    20 Mar 2026

  • Postcode verified

    SP2 0AW

  • Name on report verified

    Golden Acorns Nursery

  • Safeguarding verified

    Met

  • URN verified

    2757275

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of the report

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

Join free to get a short, plain-English summary of any report.

Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

  • AchievementStrong
  • Behaviour, attitudes and routinesStrong
  • Children's welfare and wellbeingStrong
  • Curriculum and teachingStrong
  • InclusionStrong
  • Leadership and governanceStrong

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+92Very positivemore positive than 92% of reports of this type

Reads more warmly than most reports of this type.

Praisehigh-qualitytrusting relationshipspositiveconsistentsecurerespectfulswiftlyfeel safe
Criticismconcernsabsence

How the report reads, start to finish

Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.

FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical
  • Findings1520w+96
  • Leadership203w+85
  • Safeguarding51w−11
  • What needs to improve124w0

Strengths

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

Concerns

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

No strong criticism found.

Next steps

Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.

What the report dwells on

Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.

Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages
9
Words of findings
1,897
about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level
Hard
Flesch 42, typical 43
Average sentence
17 words
Next steps
4
typical 3
Hedged sentences
1%
“some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 67%Leadership 9%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 5%About the inspection 16%

Full report text

Golden Acorns Nursery

Unique reference number (URN): 2757275 Address: Station House, Kingsway, Wilton, Salisbury, SP2 0AW Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/10/2023 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Tubb, Tracy Dawn

p.1

Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

p.1

Achievement Strong standard

Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, make impressive progress across all areas of the curriculum, particularly in their communication.

p.2

Achievement Strong standard

Babies demonstrate finger strength and emerging independence when pushing the tap down on the water container to fill their cups for snack. Younger children have fun and develop their hand–eye coordination when throwing balls into a sieve staff are holding. Older children develop their letter formation using firm pencil control as they say, 'Look, a P.' Babies and children engage and focus well on stories and songs, helping to develop their language and communication. Younger children repeat familiar phrases, and babies say key words. Older children are proud to point out their craft pictures that relate to their 'theme book', making connections and revisiting their learning. Children develop early literacy skills from a young age. They independently access books, linking to their interests and themes. Older children label the book, including the front cover and the 'spine' of the book. Older babies begin to count from 1 to 4 with staff support. Older children use language of size and

p.2

Achievement Strong standard

show high levels of focus for their age when sorting coloured objects into the correct pots.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders and staff create a positive and nurturing environment with firmly embedded and consistent boundaries. Staff skilfully adapt and create key rules based on the needs and abilities of the children. This ensures that all children gain a secure understanding of what is expected of them. For example, staff share these rules daily and discuss these with children. They are visual, so children and staff can refer to them when needed. Staff model calm and respectful interactions, encouraging children to respond cooperatively and swiftly. They ensure that routines are consistent, and from a young age babies help to tidy up. Staff use skilful questioning, such as, 'Can you remember where this belongs?' to support children's thinking and to instil respectful boundaries from the start. In turn, this creates smooth transitions throughout the setting, helping children to be prepared for what is coming next.

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children learn how to collaborate with others through purposeful activities, such as small- group times. Children do this with ease, taking turns, playing alongside each other and working together to solve problems independently. For example, younger children notice the bin has fallen over, and together they hold it to place it back, saying, 'It's stuck, push.' Children develop friendships and begin to show care for others. For instance, older babies gently sweep fluff off another child's face. Older children tell each other, 'You are my best friend.'

p.2

Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders work closely with families to emphasise the importance of attendance and punctuality, helping them to form positive habits for the future. Leaders follow up absence swiftly.

p.2

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff promote children's welfare and wellbeing consistently through thoughtful, sensitive and individualised care routines. Key people support secure attachments from the start, providing comfort and reassurance and responding to care needs attentively. Staff ensure that babies and children have privacy when nappy changing and toileting, advocating respectful care. Babies and children cuddle staff and enjoy them joining in with their play.

p.3

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff adapt routines to suit the individual needs and feelings of children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. For example, when children become overwhelmed, staff recognise they are tired and need some quieter activities, including sensory baskets and breathing techniques. Older children explore their emotions and have rich discussions, labelling how they feel. This supports children in developing their emotional awareness and resilience, helping them to feel valued and flourish.

p.3

Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children benefit from daily opportunities to learn about their own safety while managing risks within their play. Staff help children to gain confidence when they face challenges. For example, children fall over, and, after ensuring that they are okay, staff swiftly support them in trying again. This helps children to tackle challenges as they arise. Children acquire the knowledge they need to begin to make healthy choices. Staff and children engage in discussions about healthy and unhealthy foods and have recently explored oral hygiene. Children develop impressive independence from an early age. Babies learn to pour their own drinks and practise washing their faces. Older children open their own food packets and attend to their toileting needs. This supports future learning, including school.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have a secure knowledge of the curriculum, which is highly inclusive and ambitious. Assessment is continuous and sharply focused. Staff carefully consider and prioritise the skills they want children to learn, based on their needs and abilities. They ensure that children have meaningful opportunities throughout daily routines to practise and develop these skills. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, access a well- developed, sequenced and tailored approach to their learning. Children gain fundamental skills in preparation for their future learning. These include confidence, resilience and being able to form and maintain relationships.

p.3

Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders place high importance on children's communication and physical, personal, social and emotional development. They recognise these areas as essential foundations for children's learning. Children develop in a language-rich environment from an early age. Staff use high-quality interactions to extend vocabulary, introduce new words and refer to visual prompts to check children's understanding. For example, babies join in with songs and stories and use new words, such as 'dinosaur', and staff introduce the name 'Tyrannosaurus Rex'. Staff identify and support quieter children to build on their confidence to engage in small-group times with the use of puppets. Older children use their 'emotion puppets' to talk to the group. Staff use daily routines to weave in mathematical learning. This includes counting when lining up and using language of shape, size and measurement as children build towers and race cars.

p.3

Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders embed a deeply inclusive culture across the setting, recognising each child's uniqueness, needs and abilities from the start. Staff use their vast experience and targeted training to implement consistent and systematic assessment approaches. This ensures that children make the progress they are capable of from their starting points. Staff fully support those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who face other barriers to their learning through personalised approaches, collaborative working partnerships with parents and external agencies. Leaders work closely with other settings children attend, including specialist provision. This ensures that children receive the support they need swiftly and that this is consistent between settings. This is highly impactful on the progress children make.

p.4

Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have a secure oversight of referral waiting times and implement effective strategies to support children during this time. These include speech screening, individualised sensory baskets, visual timelines and language cards. Ongoing professional discussions between staff and regular reviews with parents mean that adaptations and reasonable adjustments are monitored effectively, continuing to meet children's changing needs. These thoughtful adaptations create a predictable, supportive environment, where children with SEND and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing show growing independence, improved emotional regulation and sustained progress. Leaders demonstrate secure understanding of funding, and they use this to further support children and families.

p.4

Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders strive to provide high-quality care and education for children and families. They use self-evaluation through daily professional discussions with staff and feedback from parents to help swiftly identify any emerging areas for improvement. For example, leaders continue to develop and extend the outdoor areas to further enhance children's access to opportunities and experiences that support their learning. Leaders make decisions in the best interests of children and families.

p.4

Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff describe a positive culture of teamwork, openness and professional support, with clear expectations and consistent routines. This helps them to work and fulfil their roles and responsibilities confidently. Induction is supportive, and ongoing professional development strengthens reflective practice and the sharing of effective strategies. For example, leaders have recently attended training on behaviour, which has deepened their knowledge of how to support children's behaviour. Leaders and staff use new knowledge gained from training to inform practice across the provision. This helps to maintain and embed the delivery of a high-quality curriculum for all children. Leaders build trusting relationships with parents, who report on the 'rapid development' of children's speech and confidence. They feel staff are approachable and the sharing of information, including tips and strategies to support learning at home, is shared consistently.

p.4

Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

p.5

Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

p.5

Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

p.5

Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

p.5

What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children thrive in the warm and homely environment of this setting. They engage confidently with the nurturing staff as well as keenly participating in the consistent and predictable

p.5

Inspector:

routines. Children demonstrate they feel safe and secure. Staff help children to grow in confidence and curiosity, supporting their personal, social and emotional development. Secure and trusting relationships are at the centre of this setting. Staff support babies to play alongside each other and use the pretend phones as they role play 'hello mummy'. Staff build strong, trusting relationships with families from the start to understand each child's background, experiences and needs. This means children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing, are fully supported in the inclusive and stimulating environment.

p.6

Inspector:

Children show enthusiasm as they play with their peers and lead their own learning. Outside, younger children enjoy making potions. They share resources and talk about what they are making or adding to their potions. Staff respond thoughtfully to children's interests and help to facilitate these. For example, children begin to line up crates, and staff encourage them to walk across, developing their stability and balance. These opportunities that staff naturally create help to succinctly build on what children know and can do. This means all children make noticeable progress in their learning and development.

p.6

Inspector:

Children benefit from regular outings to the local charity shop, garden centres, and, being located within an old train station, they watch the trains go by daily. This provides first-hand experiences for children to explore the world around them. Leaders work closely with local businesses and have created a real community feel to the setting, supporting children to learn about respect and collaboration.

p.6

Next steps

Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

p.6

About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, parents and children during the inspection.

p.6

About this inspection

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 Chelsea Woollard

p.6

Address:

Station House Kingsway, Wilton Salisbury SP2 0AW

p.7

Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

p.7

Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

p.7

Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

p.7

Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

p.8

Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

p.8

Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

p.8

Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

p.8

Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

p.8

Urgent improvement

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.9

Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Urgent improvement

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9

Discuss this inspection

Members compare notes on inspectors and inspections here. Join free to read and post.

Join the discussion