Little Acorns Pre-School Folkestone CIO

Little Acorns Pre-School Folkestone CIO

Unique reference number (URN): 2774263 Address: Folkestone Baptist Church, Hill Road, Folkestone, CT19 6LY Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/01/2024 Registers: EYR Registered person: Little Acorns Pre-School Folkestone CIO

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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.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

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

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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.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children benefit from a very well-planned curriculum designed to meet their individual needs across all areas of learning. Children display very positive attitudes to learning. They actively join in with rhymes and songs, demonstrating that these are an embedded part of their daily routine. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who face disadvantage and barriers to learning are provided with opportunities and experiences to ensure they make significant progress from their starting points. For example, children use specially adapted resources to help them join in at mealtimes and to make choices about what they want to do.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children are very well prepared for their next learning stage. They talk avidly with staff about their regular trips to the local library and how their personalised 'phonic' books help them to get ready for learning at school. All children develop the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to support them in their next stage.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders create a very inclusive and respectful culture. Children demonstrate kindness and care to their friends, responding immediately when asked for help. All children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those facing disadvantage and barriers to learning know the routines very well. When it is tidy up time children immediately stop to help. Children are encouraged to choose resources themselves and learn to open their own foods at lunchtime. These skills support children's independence successfully. Staff encourage all children to join in with activities, supported by very kind and patient staff. As such, children develop firm friendships and collaborate well, displaying consistently positive attitudes to learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Leaders have an accurate understanding of the challenges families face. For example, leaders provide families with free sessions to support their children's regular attendance and punctuality. Staff provide families with regular events to support them to meet other families, helping them as parents. Leaders swiftly adapt what they offer to suit changes and challenges for families and to provide consistency of care. Leaders have excellent relationships with external agencies, the local authority and health professionals to ensure families are provided with bespoke support to ensure children make significant progress and are ready for their next learning stage.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders ensure that they provide consistent support for children's welfare. They rigorously review policies and procedures to ensure they tailor support to promote children's individual emotional health and wellbeing. Staff put in place highly effective adaptions to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, children benefit from individual resources to support them to settle in, and staff provide them with safe and relaxing spaces to retreat to when needed. This ensures children feel safe and secure. Children develop very positive hygiene routines. For example, children enjoy pretending to feed babies, changing their nappies and reminding their friends to wash their hands. Children are consistently supported to make healthy choices. They excitedly talk with staff about fruits and vegetables they are growing in the allotment outside and healthier food swaps. These activities encourage children to learn to keep themselves healthy and safe.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Staff prioritise supporting children to learn to advocate for themselves. They provide individualised support to help children manage their own feelings and emotions. Staff regularly praise and encourage children, celebrating their achievements with them. Children display high levels of self-esteem and confidence. Children are supported to talk about how they feel and to manage their own behaviour very well. All children thrive.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders ensure the curriculum and teaching is of very high-quality. Staff prioritise children's personal, social and physical development effectively. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are provided with bespoke support to close gaps in learning, ensuring they can access the curriculum and make significant progress. Staff use assessment highly effectively to tailor teaching, meaning all children make significant progress. Children who were non-verbal when they started are now confident communicators.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff swiftly identify barriers to learning, adapting the environment to support. For example, staff identify where children do not have daily access to the outdoors and have created an outdoor classroom to support children's understanding of the natural world and learning about the positive benefits of fresh air on their wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Staff prioritise children's language and mathematical skills. Staff display books for children to access when playing to support their interest and engagement. Children sustain high levels of concentration when looking at magazines to help them when building their own models. These activities support children's attention, coordination and movement skills. Children delight in exploring a large sand tray outside, talking about making mud soup and how much a portion is. Staff support children's number and counting skills by encouraging them to learn about different amounts and money. All children thoroughly enjoy learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders are passionate about supporting all children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and those facing disadvantage and barriers to learning. Children's needs are swiftly identified, and staff act quickly to ensure families are provided with individualised support. Excellent community links mean all families are provided with extensive help and information. Leaders use funding very effectively to support parents with free and flexible sessions ensuring children attend regularly and develop positive habits for starting school. Leaders monitor the effectiveness of any adaptions or adjustments made to ensure they continue to meet children's individual needs successfully. They purchase specialised equipment and resources to help children manage their own needs and to ensure all children feel included. Leaders ensure staff make a demonstratable difference to children. Staff are well trained in

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Inclusion Strong standard

supporting children with SEND, and those who face barriers to learning. They have high aspirations and expectations for children. Staff ensure they robustly monitor progress children make towards their next steps, using assessment information skillfully to identify gaps in learning and provide bespoke tailored support to ensure all children are ready for their next stage. All children make significant progress from their starting points, thrive and flourish.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders have worked hard to create a culture of support, high expectations and continuous reflection and improvement. Leaders have very effective oversight of the setting and quality of practice and provision. They are committed to providing the very best care and education and making a difference to children and their families. Leaders have excellent relationships with the committee and church. They are part of a local collaboration, sharing expertise, knowledge and skills with a clear focus on supporting the needs of the local community.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders are reflective, proactive and passionate about what they offer. They are incredibly supportive to staff, prioritising their welfare and wellbeing. Leaders are supportive of staff workloads and ensure staff have a range of opportunities to develop their skills. They ensure what they offer families is regularly reviewed and adapted so that they continue to have a focus on excellence for all children. Relationships with families are excellent. Communication is highly effective and leaders are very proud of these partnerships. Parents refer to the setting as family. They are highly appreciative of the support they receive as parents and the support they are offered to help their children at home. They talk highly of all staff and say that the setting provides their children with the very best start in life.

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

Children and families are at the heart of this nurturing setting, where families are incredibly included and valued. Children are warmly welcomed by kind and caring staff. Children develop very strong bonds with staff and each other, arriving eager to start their day, see their favourite staff and play with their friends. This means that children display high levels of wellbeing.

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

Children thoroughly enjoy exploring the range of activities set up for them. Staff know children very well and understand their interests and individual needs. The experiences planned for children are motivating and exciting. Children beam with delight when proudly

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Inspector:

Victoria Salisbury sharing crafts they make with staff, who respond with praise and encouragement. This supports children's self-esteem and confidence successfully.

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Inspector:

Children display high levels of engagement. They concentrate for a long time when learning to brush dinosaurs' teeth and talking with staff about how to keep their own teeth clean. This supports children's understanding of oral health and develop positive habits for the future. Children talk excitedly about going to the woodland to tend to vegetables in the allotment. These experiences support children's understanding of growing foods and the positive benefits of being outside.

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Inspector:

Staff are very good role models. They help children to learn important social skills. They prioritise children's communication and language skills very well. Children help their friends to choose books and share stories together. These opportunities help children to develop positive relationships and develop effective language and vocabulary skills ready for their next learning stage.

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Inspector:

All children, especially those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face disadvantage and barriers to learning make significant progress from their starting points. Staff work very closely with families to reduce barriers to attendance, helping families with free and flexible sessions to ensure all children attend regularly. All children flourish and thrive.

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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 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

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About this inspection

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

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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.

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Address:

Folkestone Baptist Church Hill Road Folkestone CT19 6LY

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Little Acorns Pre-School Folkestone CIO

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Facts and figures used on inspection

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

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Exceptional

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

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Strong standard

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

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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.

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Needs attention

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

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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