Olive Hill Acorns

Sand trays, familiar songs and a forest area give Olive Hill Acorns a recognisable preschool character. Its June 2024 daily life combined practical exploration with an emphasis on early communication, from singing together to learning new vocabulary outdoors.

At its June 2024 inspection, Ofsted rated the provision Good, judged safeguarding effective and found that children, including those with SEND, made good progress with support matched to their needs. Olive Hill Acorns has 51 places in total; the children attending in June 2024 were aged 2 to 11, spanning preschool and out-of-school provision.

In June 2024, children began sessions with songs and circle time. Sand provided opportunities to investigate: children moved it between containers and watched it pass through a funnel. Another activity used brushes to uncover numbers in a sand tray, bringing physical coordination and number recognition into the same task.

The early years foundation stage sets expectations for children's learning, development and care. Here, the June 2024 examples show what learning through play looked like: handling materials, recognising numbers and practising conversation.

Outdoors, a scavenger hunt encouraged children to cooperate in the forest area. Staff introduced vocabulary and used questions to explore understanding. Indoors, children chose resources and shaped play dough with cutters. These offered different ways to participate, while putting on wellies gave children a practical task to attempt themselves.

In June 2024, settling arrangements emphasised children's emotional and social development, alongside early language. Staff knew individual children and used encouragement as children attempted tasks.

A SENDCo worked with families and other professionals, while staff monitored learning and arranged additional help where needed. Supervision meetings gave practitioners feedback on their work. School transition support also featured in the June 2024 account, extending care beyond the preschool day.

The address is Olive Hill School, Springfield Road, Halesowen B62 8JZ.

In June 2024, preschool opening hours were 8.30am to 3.30pm on weekdays during term time. The out-of-school club opened from 3.15pm to 5.50pm, also on term-time weekdays. These describe the opening arrangements at that date.

Funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children formed part of the June 2024 provision.

• Children's own ideas. The June 2024 inspection identified occasions when adults directed activities too much, reducing children's opportunities to experiment and think independently. During a visit, look for how practitioners give children room to try their own solutions.
• Developing teaching. In June 2024, staff needed to examine feedback more deeply and use it to improve their practice. This makes the team's approach to reflection a useful discussion point.
• Term-time planning. Both preschool and club opening arrangements were term-time in June 2024. What attendance pattern and holiday arrangements would fit your family now?

Olive Hill Acorns suits families drawn to practical preschool play, early communication and supported independence. Its June 2024 provision combined preschool education with an out-of-school club. The balance to weigh is clear: purposeful activities and individual support, alongside the need to give children more control over their investigations.