Outstanding rating for ‘exemplary’ Acorn Nursery

Acorn Nursery in Portslade has been rated 'Outstanding' by the education watchdog, Ofsted.

The nursery, run by Brighton & Hove City Council, was called an exemplary nursery, which allows children to blossom and thrive.

Ofsted inspected the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management and gave an Outstanding grade in each category.

Inspectors highlighted within the report that 'staff are dedicated to delivering tailored care and learning, recognising the uniqueness of every child'.

Delivering high standards of education

Their inspectors also highlighted within the report that:

  • Staff thoughtfully plan an array of rich experiences, which they skilfully intertwine with children's individual curiosities and fascinations.
  • Interactions all children receive from staff are plentiful and of exceptionally high quality. 
  • Staff go above and beyond to provide tailored support, guidance and advice to parents and carers.
  • Parents share that their children make 'phenomenal progress', particularly in their language development, and parents highly value the support they receive.
  • Staff are fantastic role models to children and actively strive to teach children the importance of being inclusive. As a result, children show exceptional kindness to each other and a positive understanding of their own and other's differences.
  • The dedicated management team create a highly effective and ambitious curriculum. This is faultlessly communicated with staff who deliver sequenced learning with expertise.

Developing skills for the future

Joint chair of the Children, Families and Schools committee, Lucy Helliwell, said:

"One of our key priorities is to ensure that every child in Brighton & Hove has the best possible start, ensuring that they develop the education and skills needed for their futures.

"I'm delighted that Acorn Nursery has been recognised as Outstanding by Ofsted and that the staff, in particular, received such high commendation for their tireless efforts in ensuring that children receive tailored support.

"I'd also like to congratulate staff on their commitment to improving their score from their last report and that their hard work has been recognised in such brilliant terms."

More information

You can view the Ofsted report here.