URN EY440074 · Inspected 2026-05-12 · Published 2026-08-20 · Inspector: Mikaela Stallard Johanna Holt
Children 1st @ Acorns Unique reference number (URN): EY440074 Address: Draycott Road, Upper Tean, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, ST10 4JJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 08/12/2011 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Breedon House Nurseries Limited Inspection report: 12 May 2026 Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement 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. How we evaluate safeguarding When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes: 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. Expected standard Needs attention Inclusion Expected standard Leaders use assessment, observation and work with parents and carers and professionals to identify and support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those who are disadvantaged and those known to social care. They review the support they provide children regularly to ensure it is making a difference. Staff attend sign language courses to help them to communicate effectively with these children, which in turn boosts their communication and social skills. Staff confidently liaise with leaders to secure additional support for children with SEND, including how to communicate sensitively to support the needs of parents. They help children to explore the environment and join in with activities alongside their peers. For example, when children with limited language guide their key person over to the snack area, they respond positively by showing children what fruit is available and offering them choice. This highlights inclusive practice. Leaders use funding to build on children's experiences and development. For example, they have purchased equipment to support children who need to develop their balance. Achievement Needs attention Children's progress is variable. While some children develop appropriate skills, others do not make the expected progress. For instance, some children are not supported to sustain their interests. This means they have fewer opportunities to develop their communication and language skills. When they lose interest in activities, they have reduced opportunities to practise concentration and listening skills and embed their learning. Consequently, children display a reduced interest and enjoyment in books. When young babies become emotionally dysregulated, or when children spend time wandering around, this restricts their engagement in learning, thereby limiting their progress across the prime areas. Since introducing sign language, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are better supported to communicate their needs and engage in social interactions. Children in receipt of additional funding develop their balance and coordination as they practise using bikes and scooters. Children demonstrate some independence. For instance, they learn to use a knife and fork when they eat and scrape their own plates when they have finished. They pour their own drinks and self-serve snacks, using tweezers with confidence to pick up items such as grated cheese. Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention Children are not always engaged in purposeful play and learning throughout the day. For example, routines after mealtimes do not run as smoothly in some rooms as they do in others. For instance, some children walk around aimlessly, stand at gates and peer out. They quickly lose interest in the few activities on offer. This is because staffing Urgent improvement arrangements do not fully support children's needs at these times. Staff prioritise routine tasks, such as settling children to sleep, leaving children who are not involved in these routines without consistent support. At times, children have to wait to engage in activities or to receive interactions from staff. This is because group sizes are too large. Some children comment, 'Where is my knife and fruit? I do not have one,' recognising that their peers are engaged while they are not. Where practice is stronger, children participate happily in activities. They develop positive relationships with staff and peers. Staff promote children's positive behaviour through activities that encourage turn-taking, sharing and good manners. This supports children to develop kindness and respect. Leaders promote children's attendance by ensuring they attend on agreed days and by monitoring attendance patterns. This helps children to develop consistent routines, feel secure and build positive attitudes to attendance. Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Leaders' ambitions for the curriculum are appropriate. However, inconsistencies in the way staff plan and deliver children's learning have a negative impact on children's development. For example, staff invite children to join activities that are not yet set up, disrupting their independent play and leaving them waiting. As a result, children lose interest and walk away. Some activities lack challenge and stimulation, which impacts children's motivation to learn. For instance, although staff sit with children to read books, stories are not always delivered in an engaging way. Children lose interest, become distracted and wander off. At times, staff prioritise tasks, such as tidying up and setting up activities, over interacting with children. Group sizes can be too large, and noise levels too high. This impacts the quality of staff interactions and further limits children's experiences. Weaknesses in staffing arrangements impact on the support and quality of learning experiences babies receive. Staff do not sustain their engagement with babies for long as they move from one to the other, limiting the support each child receives. When children attend additional settings, leaders build relationships with them to ensure that both settings can work towards shared goals. This promotes some continuity in children's learning. Staff effectively support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement Leaders do not ensure that staff consistently carry out risk assessments for activities, exposing children to risks within the environment. The deployment of some staff impacts their ability to meet all children's safety and individual needs. For example, babies chew on masking tape unnoticed by staff who, at the time, focus their attention on other babies who are unsettled. In other areas, young children put their hands in the toilet, filling it with toilet paper. This lack of supervision by staff negatively impacts children's health and welfare. Furthermore, leaders do not ensure that fresh drinking water is readily accessible to younger children throughout the day. Although staff provide drinks at snack and mealtimes, this practice limits younger children's independence and presents a potential risk to their welfare. Staff positively support children's potty training. They follow children's cues and respond promptly when children need the toilet, even if this means taking them again shortly after a previous visit. This approach supports children's emotional wellbeing and helps them to feel secure. Staff provide opportunities for children to engage in social experiences with their peers. For instance, as part of the morning routine, staff introduce a 'sign of the week' to teach children sign language, which they can use to enhance social interactions with other children. At mealtimes, staff encourage children to develop some independence and practise their physical skills. For instance, children learn to self-serve their own food. They use a knife and fork and follow simple table routines, such as placing cutlery together when finished. They learn to scrape leftover food into a bowl and clean their own faces with a wipe, which promotes their health and self-care. Leadership and governance Urgent improvement Leaders do not ensure that staffing arrangements, including the deployment of staff, are effective in maintaining children's safety and welfare. For example, children are not consistently supervised by staff, and risk assessments are not carried out rigorously, which exposes children to hazards. Leaders do not provide staff with the support they need to consistently meet children's individual needs. As a result, younger children, at times, are unsettled and upset. Furthermore, leaders fail to ensure that staff consistently deliver an ambitious curriculum or provide high-quality interactions that engage all children in their learning. This reduces opportunities for children to make the expected progress in their development. Leaders do monitor staff practice through observation and supervision. Staff attend meetings and access training opportunities. However, this monitoring is not fully effective as leaders do not have an accurate understanding of the setting's weaknesses. Leaders make reasonable adjustments to support staff to carry out their roles. For example, they ensure staff can take appropriate breaks when needed, and they review shift patterns to promote staff wellbeing. Leaders do not maintain consistent two-way communication with all parents and carers. As a result, not all parents know who their child's key person is or what their child's next steps in learning are. Some parents report that they have limited opportunities to share information about what their children can and cannot do at home. They do not feel supported to use the setting's communication app or to understand the assessments shared by staff. This means that parents are not fully involved in their children's learning or supported to promote progress at home. Leaders effectively promote community engagement by involving children in local events, strengthening their understanding of the wider world. Compulsory Childcare Register requirements This setting has not met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Compulsory Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met Voluntary Childcare Register requirements This setting has not met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register. How we check if a provider meets the requirements of the Voluntary Childcare Register When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes: Met Not met What it's like to be a child at this setting Children's health, safety and wellbeing are compromised by weaknesses in practice. Children are not always adequately supervised, which exposes them to unnecessary risk. As a result, their welfare cannot be assured. Drinking water is not always made available and accessible to younger children to fully support their health, comfort and independence. This differs from older children's experiences, as they benefit from a water station where they can independently access water at any time. Not all children benefit from an ambitious curriculum that is well planned and consistently implemented. They are not always supported to engage in purposeful learning. As a result, some children lose interest and display disruptive behaviours. At times, babies become upset and unsettled. They do not consistently receive the support they need. As a result, their care and emotional needs are not always met. Where practice is stronger, children are supported by staff who know them well. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who develop positive relationships with their key persons. Older children demonstrate strong relationships with their peers. For instance, when parents and carers arrive, they move around the group offering hugs, which others eagerly anticipate. This reflects a positive sense of belonging. Children enjoy messy play opportunities, such as painting, where they roll toy cars through paint to make marks on paper. They manipulate play dough, turn pages in books and pretend to read to themselves. These activities promote their fine and gross motor skills and imagination. Babies pull themselves up using low-level furniture and enjoy exploring indoor climbing apparatus. All children benefit from fresh air outdoors. Babies confidently use push- along trikes, climb steps and learn to slide down safely, managing risks effectively. Next steps To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date ensure that children are not exposed to any risks within the environment 29/05/2026 ensure staffing arrangements meet the needs of all children and ensure their safety 29/05/2026 ensure fresh drinking water is always available and accessible to all children 29/05/2026 ensure all staff are effectively supported to deliver consistently high-quality interactions with children that promote engagement and learning 29/05/2026 ensure staff deliver an ambitious curriculum for all children that is well planned and consistently implemented 16/06/2026 Inspectors: Mikaela Stallard Johanna Holt About this setting Unique reference number (URN): EY440074 Address: Draycott Road Upper Tean Stoke on Trent Staffordshire ST10 4JJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 08/12/2011 Registered person: Breedon House Nurseries Limited Register(s): EYR, CCR, VCR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00 Action Completion Date maintain consistent two-way communication with parents and carers, enabling them to share their views and understand their child's key person and next steps in learning 29/05/2026 About this inspection The inspectors spoke with the leaders, staff, designated safeguarding lead, special educational needs coordinator, agency staff, children and parents and carers during the 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. Local authority: Staffordshire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 12 May 2026 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 Total number of places 122 Our grades explained Exceptional Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it. Strong standard The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them. 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. Needs attention The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements. Urgent improvement The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) inspects services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people. 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. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. 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