Why Little Acorns Day Nursery ?
Little Acorns Day Nursery is a family run, progressive, independent day nursery group, founded on the pioneering work of our owner and principal Teresa Stear.
Teresa qualified in 1981 and her professional experience and leadership underpins our commitment to innovation and quality that goes above and beyond the normal standards of pre-school child care and development.
With over 30 years of Childcare experience, 25 of which at management level, Teresa is well versed with the responsibilities of the daily administration whilst adhering to the Policies & Procedures of Little Acorns ensuring compliance with the Children Act and Health and Safety legislation, all within the requirements and guidelines laid down by Ofsted. Teresa is responsible for ensuring effective staff recruitment and supervision across the nursery group.
- The learning environment is organised to afford children access to a range of good quality age appropriate resources that cover all areas of learning both indoors and outside
- Children enjoy their time at the nursery where their individual needs are well met and valued including those who are learning English as an additional language and/or children who need additional support.
- The provider has created a culture of reflective practice to enable staff to identify their strengths and areas for further development therefore improving the outcomes for the children
- The friendly staff team have forged strong relationships with other professionals including local schools that children attend. This enables them to provide continuity in children’s care and learning.
We provide a safe, nurturing atmosphere, and strongly believe children thrive independently whilst learning and developing through play and exploration. Our highly qualified and experienced team deploy a wide variety of activities around the Early Years Foundation Stage.
We are within easy access of public transport services, including bus routes, mainline and underground stations, which offer excellent connections for business commuters and busy parents. Large shopping centres are also conveniently located nearby.
Baby and Toddler rooms (3mths to 23 mths)
“Babies are engaged in a range of experiences to support learning and development. Practitioners understand how to support this stage of development, modelling accessible language, using song and rhyme, and planning for activities which involve all the senses”.
“The well-established key person is evidently effective in helping babies form close attachments with practitioners”
Practitioners sensitively support babies in developing skills and independence such as crawling and walking
Nursery Room (24 mths to 35 mths)
“A range of experiences support children’s learning across all areas”
“A well planned adult led activity supports children’s developing fine motor skills, and is interesting and well-paced which keeps the children engaged and motivated”
“Children are highly engaged in a range of interesting experiences to support learning across all areas”
“Practitioners provide a good model for more complex language and concepts, and differentiate this well according to children’s stage of development”.
“During play practitioners promote mathematical development well – exploring numbers and quantities”
“There are interesting opportunities for early writing for a purpose across the environment”
“Children’s independence and self-care skills are well encouraged”.
Pre-school Rooms (36 mths +)
“A range of experiences support children’s learning across all areas”
“A practitioner supports children’s understanding of number and sequencing through a playful activity which keeps children engaged”
“Children’s independence and self-care skills are well encouraged”
“Displays around the room evidence the range of rich learning experiences the children are involved in”.
“The environment is organised to promote learning across all areas with a range of interesting resources”.
General Facilities
- A pram park and covered entrance with CCTV controlled video entry system
- CCTV in each room and a parent monitor to watch your child at play before leaving
- Safe and secure baby area with a warm relaxing and homely atmosphere
- Baby room providing a safe and stimulating environment
- A milk kitchen for safe storage of milk bottles and mother’s own breast milk
- A separate nappy changing and potty training room to promote independence and personal hygiene
- Over 2s Toddler Room – they can enjoy learning and grow in confidence (direct toilet access)
- Outside play area with a specially designed soft play surface
- A pram park and covered entrance
- A parent portal on our child database which allows parental access to their own child’s details only to check their progress and financial statement
Classroom Facilities
- All rooms and gardens are arranged to develop the seven areas of learning as set out in the EYFS guidelines.
- There is a separate covered area in the outside play area for the non-crawlers and more hesitant players with built in sand and water trays, a planting area and many stage appropriate toys.
- Walls are decorated with colourful displays, including examples of the children’s work connected with the current child lead planning. Interest tables, or nature tables, are available at child height, with properly labelled objects for children to handle and explore.
- The children have access to child height toilets and wash basins with sensor taps, and also in these toilet rooms are electric hand driers to supported independence.
