Smartys Pre-School Nursery

An open-plan house with direct outdoor access gives Smartys Pre-School Nursery its character. Known as Smartys Little Acorns, this Stone setting occupies a double-storey property at 225 Lichfield Road and has capacity for 40 children. Its downstairs children can move independently into their outdoor play area, making the garden part of the learning space rather than a separate destination.

Ofsted rated the nursery Good on 10 February 2022. The strongest detail from that period is practical: children built storybook houses outdoors, experimented with water and worked with tools that exercised their hands. There were also clear teaching priorities, especially extending conversations and bringing more mathematics into play.

Little Acorns caters for children aged 2.5–5 years. This is a preschool setting with its own off-road car park and weekday opening hours extending from early morning to early evening.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the framework for children's learning, development and care, bringing everyday play and relationships into their education. Here, the most useful examples come from February 2022: play dough, construction materials and tools gave children opportunities to practise coordination and strengthen their hands. Those experiences connect practical exploration with the movements needed for later writing.

Books also supplied ideas for active play. In February 2022, children recreated The Three Little Pigs by making houses with straw and bricks, then acting out the story. It brought building, imaginative play and descriptive vocabulary into the same activity. The story became something children could make and perform.

During that month, pipettes and test tubes were used for scented water experiments, while drawing and cutting gave children further practice controlling small movements. These are concrete examples of learning through doing, rather than a day organised solely around adult-led explanations.

The teaching limitations matter too. In February 2022, staff did not consistently use questions that helped quieter children sustain a conversation, and some chances to explore counting and mathematical ideas during play were missed. For parents, the useful distinction is between providing an engaging activity and using it fully to develop a child's thinking.

Outdoor and Community Life

Downstairs children have a free-flow outdoor area adjoining their indoor provision. Independent access gives them more scope to choose where to play. The double-storey building also means that this particular arrangement belongs to the downstairs cohort; it should not be read as a description of every child's outdoor access.

A Forest School teacher and leader supports the nursery's outdoor approach. Forest School involves exploration and learning in natural surroundings, but the branch's clearest practical feature is its direct outdoor access. Its outdoor leadership adds a named approach alongside the everyday play space.

In February 2022, children explored Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day, including making cards and writing their names. These examples show how celebrations could connect learning about traditions with an immediate purpose for early writing.

At the February 2022 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, with staff understanding how to raise concerns, suitable checks on staff and effective deployment to protect children. That is a dated judgement about practice, rather than an assurance based on the nursery's current presentation.

In February 2022, each child had a key person, and staff gathered information from families at the start to understand children's existing skills and lives outside nursery. Regular assessment then informed subsequent activities. The practical value is continuity: a child's learning could begin with what staff already knew about them.

Parents received updates about learning in February 2022 and guidance on supporting it at home. Children also practised managing their own care and learnt about feelings through rhymes, stories and pretend play. Relationships and independence were addressed together.

Today, the setting has designated safeguarding and SEN lead roles, with deputy safeguarding cover. These establish points of responsibility for concerns and additional needs. Little Acorns also maintains relationships with primary schools locally and further afield to support children as they prepare to move on; this is transition work, rather than an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

Little Acorns opens Monday to Friday, 7.30am–6pm, across 52 weeks, with public bank holidays excluded. These are opening hours. For families whose work continues through school holidays, the year-round calendar is a useful practical feature.

Branch enquiries can be made on 01785 288992. Tour booking is offered, giving families a way to explore the building and the arrangements for their child's age before joining.

Getting There

The address is 225 Lichfield Road, Stone, Staffordshire, ST15 8QB. A private off-road car park serves the setting, providing a dedicated place for collections and drop-offs.

Funding and Paid Extras

In February 2022, the nursery provided funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Children ate healthy meals at that time. The funded offer and food arrangements described here belong to that period, so they should inform questions about a proposed placement rather than be treated as current contract terms.

• Conversation and mathematics. The February 2022 teaching priorities were sustained conversation, especially for less confident children, and more mathematical learning during play. At a visit, ask for examples of how staff now develop both within an activity.
• Outdoor access. Independent access to the outdoor zone is specified for the downstairs cohort. A tour is the opportunity to discuss how outdoor time works for the group your child would join.
• Attendance and the written quotation. The opening window runs from 7.30am to 6pm, with bank holidays excluded. Ask which booking pattern fits your week and how funded hours, meals and consumables would be treated in your quotation.

Smartys suits families seeking preschool provision with year-round weekday opening, a house-based environment and an emphasis on outdoor learning. The downstairs free-flow area and Forest School leadership give that emphasis substance. Its February 2022 Good judgement supports consideration, while the priorities around questioning and mathematics supply useful, specific questions for a visit. The best fit is a family that values practical play and wants to understand how staff turn that play into conversation, independence and learning.