Awards Archives - Little Acorns Nursery School

Awards, Childcare, Chorley, Chorley Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Early Years Education, Forest School, Lancashire, Nurseries, Nursery, Ofsted Report, Pre-School, Pre-Schools

20 Reasons to Choose Little Acorns Nursery for Your Childcare

If you are looking for the very best childcare provision for your child in Central Lancashire, there are a multitude of reasons why you should choose Little Acorns Nursery. Put simply, Little Acorns offers the very best possible childcare service for under-fives — but you don’t need to take our word for it. This is independently verified, as you’ll see below. Take a look at our top 20 reasons to choose Little Acorns Nursery and you’ll soon see why it’s virtually impossible to beat when it comes to outstanding childcare provision.

1. Winner of THE Top National Nursery Award

We’re award-winning — and not just any award. Out of all the nurseries in the UK, Little Acorns won the award for the best Independent Nursery in the National NMT Nursery Awards. That says it all, really, and such a unique award recognises our passion, professionalism and the unparalleled quality of childcare provision.

2. We’re Officially an Outstanding Childcare Provider

We’re an outstanding nursery. That’s official too. Ofsted, who inspect and grade childcare providers across the UK, rate us as an Outstanding Provider of childcare in every category. There is simply no higher rating.

3. Outstanding Leadership & Management

The effectiveness of our nursery’s leadership and management is also outstanding and, again, Ofsted independently verify this.

4. Outstanding Teaching, Learning & Assessment

The quality of teaching, learning and assessment at the nursery was also found to be simply outstanding when Ofsted appraised us. It doesn’t get any better than that.

5. Outstanding Personal Development, Behaviour & Welfare

Ofsted also found the quality of personal development, behaviour and welfare to be outstanding at the nursery, so you know your child is in the best place if they go to Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley.

6. Outstanding Outcomes for Our Children

What’s even more important about Little Acorns Nursery is that Ofsted found children’s outcomes to be outstanding if they attend the nursery. An outstanding outcome for your child is simply priceless.

7. Exceptional Feedback from Parents

Parents give us exceptionally good feedback about the nursery/pre-school. Take a look at the lovely comments in the ‘Parent Feedback’ sections near the bottom of the Home page, About Us page and Parent’s Information page on the website. As you’ll see there, parents regularly endorse the nursery/pre-school, commenting on the professionalism, dedication and enthusiasm of staff and their approach to learning and development. They’ll often comment on how well their child has settled in, that their child is flourishing, and how the nursery is like a family that supports their family. The bespoke daily feedback provided to parents, whether via the app, face-to-face or via phone or email, is also extremely highly regarded.

8. Healthy Eating Award

Little Acorns Nursery has received a number of awards for it’s healthy eating policy. These include a Recipe 4 Health Award and accreditation via the Smiling For Life Award. Each recognises the healthy meals and snacks that we provide to children under our care.

9. Healthy Food & Drink are Included in Our Pricing

Healthy meals and snacks are prepared in-house and are included in our pricing. We use fresh, high quality ingredients and cater for all dietary requirements, including any allergies.

10. Five Star Food Hygiene Rating

It almost goes without saying that, of course, Little Acorns Nursery has a 5-star food hygiene rating. Once again, that’s the topmost rating. Quality and professionalism are, after all, at the heart of everything we do.

11. We Support Government Schemes for Free Childcare

We support free childcare Government schemes. So, eligible 2-year-olds can receive 15 free hours of childcare each week over the course (usually) of 38 weeks at the nursery, while 3 and 4-year-olds can receive up to 30 hours per week — totally free. Learn more about free childcare hours for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds here.

12. We Accept Childcare Vouchers

We also accept recognised childcare vouchers (subject to eligibility/validity), which are another great way for parents to save on childcare costs.

13. A Purpose Behind Everything We Do at the Nursery

Everything we do at the nursery has a purpose, whether it’s a customised approach to learning for a specific child, the choice of a particular activity or game for another, the purchase of a piece of new equipment, or the way we keep parents informed about their child’s progress each day — there is a reason for everything we do. Ultimately, our goal is to give every child the very best start in life and to equip them to achieve their personal best in every area. In this way, they are given the tools to achieve the very best outcomes in their lives.

14. A Nurturing Environment Where Children Thrive

As our ethos at the nursery says, “at Little Acorns we provide an environment that offers a calm and nurturing place where children thrive and become Explorers, Discoverers, Learners and Innovators.” In short, by nurturing and inspiring children, we bring out the best in them, ensure they feel happy, safe and valued and help them to absolutely thrive.

15. A Learning & Development Programme Tailored to Every Child

Every child is unique and each will have particular strengths and perhaps some weaker areas of ability. There is therefore no one-size-fits-all approach to learning and development. For this reason, the learning and development programme is specifically tailored for each individual child. In this way, each child can flourish and achieve personal bests in every area.

16. Support Every Day in All 7 Areas of the EYFS

Every day, each child is supported in all 7 areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. This is the critically-important learning and development framework set out by the UK Government that, when followed, will also help children to thrive, be safe, feel valued and a whole lot more. Learn more about the EYFS here.

17. We Prepare Children for the Transition to School

We prepare every child for their eventual move to school. Preparedness for school is of huge importance if they’re to hit the ground running when they start in Reception year at the age of 5 and progress onwards. Everything we do at our nursery/pre-school allows them to be several steps ahead and absolutely thrive during the transition to school and beyond.

18. Forest School Allows Children to Benefit from Nature

Our Forest School should be open from Autumn 2022. Children love Forest School and it teaches them so much about nature, the natural world and ultimately about themselves. Learn more about Forest School and it’s benefits here and you will soon see why it’s best to choose a childcare setting that incorporates Forest School into its curriculum and learning/development programme.

19. A Truly Special Team of Early Years Practitioners

Our team is a very, very special one indeed. Each member of the team fully understands the responsibility and importance that they play in the education of children under our care. Setting up optimised foundations for each individual child will help them to be as successful as possible in all their future endeavours. Our efforts in this regard have earned the setting some incredible awards and an unbeatable Ofsted rating as you’ll have seen above. Our passionate team of practitioners and the childcare they provide at Little Acorns Nursery is incredibly effective and is simply unsurpassed in Central Lancashire.

20. An Open Door — for You

If you’d like to see the nursery for yourself, we’d welcome your visit. We have an ‘open door’ policy, meaning that we welcome you, as a parent or children’s guardian, to come along, whenever you like, to see the nursery in action. There’s nothing quite like seeing a childcare setting working, in the flesh, in order to gauge its quality for yourself. Come and take a look, or book a specific time and date for a tour below.

Little Acorns Nursery, Chorley — The Best Nursery & Pre-School in Central Lancashire

With it’s incredible awards, outstanding Ofsted rating and unrivalled team and methodology, Little Acorns Nursery is arguably unbeatable in the entire Central Lancashire region. If you’re looking for the best nursery and pre-school for your child in the Clayton-le-Woods, Clayton Green, Clayton Brook, Chorley or Central Lancashire region, please get in touch. Choose a button below to get started …

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288

13th June 2022/by Mark

Awards, Childcare, Chorley, Chorley Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Early Years Education, Lancashire, Nurseries, Nursery, Nursery News, Pre-School, Pre-Schools

Little Acorns Wins the UK’s Best Individual Nursery Award

Little Acorns Nursery is delighted to confirm that we WON the Best Individual Nursery Award at the 18th National NMT Nursery Awards towards the end of 2020. To win this unique award is an incredible achievement, particularly in the face of such strong competition from many other high quality nurseries from around the entire UK. We are extremely pleased and incredibly proud to have won this award.

Excellent Feedback from the Judges

The NMT Nursery Awards are run by Nursery Management Today (‘NMT’) magazine. They are designed to “discover, reward and celebrate the very best people in the nursery sector,” from across the whole of the UK. The judges were really impressed by Little Acorns’ entry, particularly liking the Little Acorns Forest School, the high level of staff qualifications and the nursery’s strong involvement with the local community. They also thought the fundraiser for a nursery defibrillator was excellent. The judges felt that it was a close competition, however Little Acorns truly “deserved this award”.

Little Acorns truly “deserved this award”.

Thank you to everyone who made this award possible. At the nursery, we are so happy that everyone’s hard work, professionalism and dedication to our children, families and community has been recognised.

Why we won …

Below is a transcript of the video that supported Little Acorns Nursery’s winning entry into the 18th National NMT Nursery Awards for 2020. Presented to the judging panel by Sarah Smith, our nursery manager, it will also give parents and carers a real insight into why the nursery won the award and what makes Little Acorns so special. As you’ll see from the transcript below, Little Acorns really does go the extra mile for their children under their care — and for the families of those children. Sarah explains …

How Little Acorns Provides Excellent & High Quality Childcare

“Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m the manager nursery at Little Acorns Nursery and have been for the last 12 years. We provide high quality nursery education for our children, because of the people that work here. They’re a very, very special bunch of people. Every teacher here understands the responsibility and the importance they play in childhood education and setting the foundations that all children need to help them to thrive in the future.

Little Acorns always felt like a family feel and our parents notice this; one of the things that that our parents always say about us is it feels more like a family, which is something that we feel is so special. Not only do we have an amazing team of passionate practitioners, but each room is led by extremely enthusiastic, passionate and knowledgeable leaders who champion the ethos of Little Acorns every single day through their own outstanding practice.

As well as the leaders within the nursery, we also have strong collaborative leadership from our CEO, Dr Javid Sultan, and our Managing Director Jennie Taylor who’s had 25 years nursery experience. We champion the NHS values and these are used, and they are the inspiration behind our own ethos and mission statement and what we value also.”

Mission: To bring together the best team who are dedicated to providing a nurturing and friendly environment where children are thriving, happy, have fun and learn through play.

Vision: To be recognised as the best in the area, providing a high standard of care and education through curiosity and outdoor learning.

What we Value: Achievement. Teamwork. Knowledge. Creativity. Growth. Family.

Activities in Place to Encourage Learning & Play for Children

“Each day, we are led by our children. We follow their interests and, through play-based learning, we support, we encourage, we model, explain, demonstrate, facilitate; we set challenges. We know each individual child’s focus area and every member of staff is responsible for furthering that child’s learning. Through our individual areas of focus and cohort focuses, we then plan activities. Everything we do has purpose.”

The Biggest Challenges the Nursery has Faced & How it Overcame Them

“The biggest challenge that we’ve faced has been the most recent Covid-19 pandemic. It was a very difficult time for all of our children and families but we remained open for our families throughout the initial lockdown. And it’s something that we feel very strongly about continuing to do if ever there was another/second lockdown. We want to be able to provide that service still for our parents and families. It was a really difficult time, having our children at home and not having that consistency of seeing them here but we maintained contact; we stayed in touch with them via video link, we spoke to them regularly and they got to show us around their houses and have a chat to us about what they’ve been up to, which was really lovely for us to still see. And, for the children that were here, we gave lots more emotional support for our children and families and the parents when they needed it the most as well. And we overcame this because we work together as a team. And, because we have such passionate and enthusiastic practitioners that work here, we came together as a team and we we got through it all together.”

An Example of Exceptional Care that the Nursery is Particularly Proud of

“I believe that we provide exceptional care for our children and families, every single day. We recently did a charity fundraiser. All the staff came together and we wanted to raise money for a defibrillator for inside our nursery. So, we walked from Preston to Chorley Hospital and all of our parents sponsored us. We were able to raise enough money to buy a defibrillator for the nursery, which is something that we’re really, really proud of.

Everything that we do is for our children; they are at the centre of absolutely everything. We know the positive impact we had on all of our children and families during lockdown and we take great pride in knowing that we maintained an environment where children were happy, safe, loved and supported and where they learn and achieve. Children returning from lockdown came back to the same familiar place, with the same friendly faces and were welcomed back with open arms.

And, you know, the phrase “we’re all in this together” is something that we appreciate now more than ever and I feel very, very lucky to work in this environment with the teachers and practitioners that I work with — and to be part of Little Acorns. It’s an absolutely special place to be. Thank you.”

Looking for an Outstanding Nursery place in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley?

If you are looking for an outstanding nursery for your child in or around Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, in Lancashire (PR6), Little Acorns Nursery School will be hard to beat. That’s official, of course, with Ofsted’s most recent report judging us as ‘outstanding’ and now with this independently-judged ‘Best Independent Nursery’ award too. Only one nursery in the entire UK wins that award, so it says a huge amount about the quality of our childcare, staff, ethos and setting.

For more details about the nursery and a possible place for your child, please get in touch:

Book a Nursery Visit Message Us Call: 01772 696 288

13th January 2021/by Mark

Awards, Chorley, Chorley Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Nurseries, Nursery, Nursery News, Pre-School, Pre-Schools

Finalists for Best Independent Nursery in the UK 2020

This video presented by our nursery manager supports the National Nursery Management Today award for Best Independent Nursery in the UK and answers questions about the quality of care and education we provide here at Little Acorns. [UPDATE JANUARY 2021: We won! Check out the full details here!]

13th November 2020/by Little Acorns