URN 2743593 · Inspected 2025-11-19 · Published 2026-03-02 · Inspector: Lisa Robinson
Acorn Wood Day Nursery Unique reference number (URN): 2743593 Address: Acorn Wood Day Nursery, Bretts Hall Farm, Ansley Common, Nuneaton, CV10 0QJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 05/10/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Acorn Wood Nursery Limited Inspection report: 19 November 2025 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 Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard Leaders and staff create an environment where children thrive. Key-person systems provide a firm foundation for building warm, trusting and positive relationships between children and staff. Children settle well into nursery, and parents speak very highly of the key-person arrangements. Children are confident to seek support from staff, in their own unique way. Staff respond to shy children by offering reassurance and support with their play. There are consistent expectations from staff to help children regulate their behaviour. Staff regularly use verbal praise to acknowledge children's positive behaviour and their achievements. Older children can also choose a special toy from a reward box. Staff respond quickly to any behaviour issues and help children to understand how their behaviour can impact on other children. Staff encourage children to care for each other and to show kindness and respect for each other's feelings. For example, children are encouraged to think about sharing and taking turns on bikes during outdoor play. Staff talk about how children might be feeling in this moment. Flexible attendance patterns enable children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who may face other barriers to their learning, to fully access their early education entitlement. Inclusion Expected standard Leaders and staff swiftly assess children's additional needs, taking action to help reduce any barriers to their learning. For example, children who speak English as an additional language are assessed using their first language. This provides an accurate assessment of children's communication and language needs. Leaders provide support for staff to establish individual plans that meet children's emerging and changing needs. The team uses a graduated approach, which ensures targets for children's development are implemented, regularly reviewed and adapted. This ensures children continue to make progress, in line with the team's high expectations. Leaders ensure staff are trained appropriately and access specialised support when needed. For example, staff receive training from a medical professional to support children's health at nursery. The team works in partnership with parents, providing regular updates about their child's progress and sharing ideas for home learning. Staff work well with external professionals and seek advice when needed to ensure children are receiving appropriate support. Leaders use additional funding to support children's learning and development. For example, they offer flexible patterns of attendance and purchase additional resources so children can fully participate in daily routines and play experiences. Needs attention Achievement Needs attention Generally, children achieve from their starting points in some areas of learning, such as their personal, social and emotional development, communication and language, and physical development. Children are developing their listening, attention and literacy skills through their love of books and songs. Babies develop warm, trusting and supportive relationships with staff, increasing their confidence and ability to try new things. Older children learn how to manage their emotions, make friendships and resolve conflicts. They are gaining skills and knowledge that will prepare them to achieve at school and later in life. Children who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive additional support through individualised plans and make steady progress. However, with the absence of clear, sequenced learning intentions, and high-quality teaching, children are not gaining the detailed knowledge across all 7 areas of learning and development in an age- and stage-appropriate way. Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention Leaders implement policies and procedures that promote children's welfare and wellbeing. Staff complete monitoring checks when children are sleeping, ensuring children's comfort and safety. Staff obtain information about children's dietary requirements, health needs and home routines, through the settling-in procedure, to ensure children's individual needs are met. Children enjoy a safe, secure and welcoming space where they typically enjoy their day through a range of activities, including daily access to the outdoors. Leaders have used nutritional guidelines to help plan healthy, balanced and nutritious menus over the course of each week. While staff do encourage children to wash their hands, this is not consistently applied to all children. On occasions, hand gel is used as an alternative with 2-year-old children, but staff are not teaching the children how to use this properly. Therefore, children's hands are not adequately clean before eating their snack. In addition, staff do not adequately wash their hands after wiping children's noses to help reduce the risk of cross-infection. Curriculum and teaching Needs attention Leaders are passionate about providing high-quality learning experiences for children who attend their setting. Leaders explain how they have designed their curriculum around the natural cycle of the year so this relates to children's real experiences. However, the teaching and implementation of this curriculum demonstrates some inconsistencies across the 7 areas of learning. Staff demonstrate a limited knowledge of learning intentions and how these directly support children's learning and development. Therefore, children's learning is happening more by chance. Staff do not purposefully use their assessments of children to plan for and build upon what children already know and can do. Leaders have not identified these gaps in practice, and therefore the curriculum is not being consistently delivered, particularly in areas such as mathematics. Leaders have identified additional training for staff, such as 'Time to talk'. Staff are starting to place a stronger focus on children's communication and language needs. For example, staff explain the importance of talking to children at 'eye level', adding words and comments to what children are doing. However, staff do not develop children's creative and critical thinking through, for example, the use of open-ended questions, modelling of language, recalling, explaining, setting challenges and exploring ideas. Leadership and governance Needs attention Leaders demonstrate a commitment to providing high-quality education for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders have a vision for the quality of their provision but have not identified the gaps in staff's ability to effectively deliver a sequenced curriculum across all 7 areas of learning. Leaders have not taken action to help improve and monitor the quality of teaching. Therefore, children's progress in areas of learning, such as mathematics, is not fully developing. Leaders have provided professional development opportunities for staff. Staff are starting to implement some of these strategies but are not using open-ended questions to increase children's critical and creative thinking skills. Leaders take positive action to ensure staff feel valued and their workload is carefully monitored through regular supervision meetings. Leaders ensure staff receive appropriate training to support children's needs. Leaders thoughtfully engage with parents and other professionals, building positive relationships, so children can settle into nursery and they make appropriate plans for children who may face barriers to their learning. Parents are highly complementary about the care their child receives and the management of the setting. What it's like to be a child at this setting Children are cared for in a secure and nurturing environment, where every child feels valued. Children enjoy a sense of belonging, as they are warmly greeted and are excited to start their day. Children's uniqueness is valued through trusting and positive relationships with staff. Younger children are comforted to help them feel safe. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who may face barriers to their learning are supported to join activities, outings and events, such as feeding the pigs. Children show positive attitudes towards their learning as they listen intently to their favourite stories and songs. Children access well-equipped indoor and outdoor learning environments. Activities, such as 'ice painting', support children's creativity and exploration. Children use a climbing frame to develop their core strength, balance and coordination. Children can experience the outdoors, as much as they want to, through a free-flow system. Children are progressing in their learning and development. However, the curriculum does not always build upon what children already know and can do. For example, while children experience some counting throughout the day, staff do not teach sequenced mathematical concepts through age-appropriate activities. This limits children's use of mathematical vocabulary and their ability to develop a more grounded knowledge in mathematical concepts, such as numbers, patterns, shape and measure. Children's wellbeing and welfare are generally met through policies and practice that help keep them safe, such as an effective key-person system and safe sleeping routines. However, lapses in hygiene, such as when handwashing and wiping children's noses, present a risk of cross-contamination, which could compromise children's health. Children are provided with meals that aim to provide a balanced, healthy nutritious diet. Next steps To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date: Action Completion Date ensure the curriculum is understood and delivered effectively by all staff to support children's learning 30/01/2026 monitor teaching practice and provide support for staff to improve the quality of their teaching across all 7 areas of learning 30/01/2026 ensure all practice and procedures promote the good health of children 31/12/2025 About this inspection The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator, and parents 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 Inspector: Lisa Robinson About this setting Unique reference number (URN): 2743593 Address: Acorn Wood Day Nursery Bretts Hall Farm, Ansley Common Nuneaton CV10 0QJ Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registration date: 05/10/2023 Registered person: Acorn Wood Nursery Limited Register(s): EYR Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 17:30 Local authority: Warwickshire Facts and figures used on inspection This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection. This data is from 19 November 2025 Children numbers Age range of children at the time of inspection 0 to 4 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. A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection. Total number of places 71 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. 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