Welcome to Acorns Nursery
We are proud to have Acorns Nursery as part of Wheatley CE Primary School. Nursery and school work closely together to build firm foundations for future learning for children from the age of 2 up to school age.
Acorns Nursery was formerly Wheatley Pre-school which was established in 1965 and has long been part of the Early years provision in the village. Pre-school merged with our school in April 2022 to form Acorns Nursery.
Our most recent Ofsted report can be found here. During the inspection, inspectors noted “Children in the early years settle quickly. The curriculum in the early years is well structured. This helps children get off to a strong start from the moment they start in Nursery.”
Our aim is to provide a happy, fun, safe and stimulating environment in which children can thrive – developing their confidence, self-esteem, independence, self-control and motivation, ready for transition to the next phase of their education. We firmly believe that children learn best through play and aim to give each child regardless of their starting point, the opportunity to:
- build and sustain relationships with other children and adults
- experiment with new and different things
- interact and collaborate with other children
- develop their creativity and imagination
- develop their language and communication skills
- develop their independence
To find out more or to arrange a visit, please contact us
The team
Our Acorns staff team have several years experience between them and the relevant Early Years childcare qualifications. At each session there is a ratio of at least 1 adult to 8 children for 3-5 year olds and 1 adult to 4 children for 2 year olds.
When a new child starts Nursery, one member of staff will be assigned as their key person. Wherever possible this person will remain their key person throughout the child’s time with us. Their role is to get to know the child and plan individually for them to meet their needs following Birth to 5 Matters for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). They will provide feedback on the child’s learning and development and are the first point of contact for any matters surrounding the child.
Beth Harper
EYFS lead
Louise Kemp
Senior Practitioner
Michelle Belcher
EY Practitioner
Kate Burr
EY Practitioner
Hannah Emmott
Assistant Practitioner
Sharon Recht
Lunch and Play Supervisor
A typical day
At the start of each session, children and their parents/carers are welcomed in through the gate into the outdoor area and then into the building via the cloakroom. Each child has their own peg for bags and coats.
We settle the children whilst having circle time on the carpet, then move on to free play. During free play, the children are able to explore our inside and outdoor spaces. We provide a wide range of toys and activities which encourage their creativity, imagination and social skills. Children are able to move freely around the room to experience different areas of learning which include paint, sand, playdough, water, construction, puzzles, books and a home corner for imaginative play. Independence is encouraged and nurtured. We also have a focused adult led group time each session as well as outdoor play and story times.
Part way through the session we have snack time, with a healthy snack brought in from home and a drink of milk or water.
One of the benefits of being part of the school is that we are able to make regular visits into the school building and join in activities with the children in Early Years. Each Tuesday, the children join Olive class for a music lesson in the school music room, led by our music teacher. They also enjoy an outdoor learning session with the school outdoor learning lead.
We make regular visits to Wellford Gardens care home to do activities with the residents, previous activities have included painting, music and bowling.
Early Years Learning
At Acorns we meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework for 2-4 year olds and follow the Birth to 5 Matters guidance.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is about how children learn as well as what they learn. The “characteristics of effective learning” provide an important framework for how children learn. There are three elements:
- Playing and exploring
- Active learning
- Creating and thinking critically
The EYFS curriculum itself is organised into 7 areas of learning:
- Communication and language
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Physical development
- Literacy
- Mathematics
- Understanding the world
- Expressive arts and design