Our 25th birthday party was held recently and was celebrated by present and past pupils and staff on a glorious sunny afternoon at Westmeston. Janet was thrilled to see you all .  It was a  day to remember, spent sharing happy memories, reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future. 

Janet announced the reintroduction of the Holiday  Fun programme for 2-8 year olds which will take place at Westmeston Parish Hall for three weeks from July 29th (registration form downloadable from 'Activities' section) and also details of the new setting at Stoneywish Nature Reserve which runs on Tuesdays during term time.




Why is The Acorns special?

A traditional Nursery School

Emphasis on learning through outdoor play

Forward thinking vision with traditional values

Very experienced professional team

Introduction to reading and phonics

Maximum size of groups:
Lindfield:  16
Stoneywish: 20
Westmeston: 30 

Safe well-equipped inside and outside play areas

At Westmeston, we have a wonderful natural outside area nestling in the foothills of the South Downs At Stoneywish Nature Reserve we have the opportunity to see the animals, go for wonderful walks and use the outdoor playground equipment. 

Flexible hours to fit into your busy lifestyle

Home-cooked
locally sourced food

Excellent OFSTED reports

Introduction to French

Pottery workshops

Introduction to a variety
of sports

Specialist teachers

Fun-filled structured days


Overview

At The Acorns a wide variety of activities take place, which provide building blocks, allowing each child to develop at his or her own pace. The development of their reading, writing and numeracy, together with their social skills, enables the children to reach their full potential and have a smooth transition to Infant or Pre-prep school.

We teach reading, writing and number in a traditional way. The older children have the opportunity to have a reading book T Lindfield and Westmeston which they take home on a daily basis and they read to us each time they come to school. We teach the phonics: this gives the children a structured approach to reading and spelling which we feel is the key to their future success in English skills.


The children go on outings nearby and we look after a garden in Lindfield village. Through looking after this garden and by growing plants and vegetables at The Acorns we introduce the children to nature and science.

Art and craft, music, singing and cooking too play a very important role and are interwoven into this varied and stimulating curriculum, together with an introduction to French. However, amongst all this structure, we never forget that free play is vital to a child’s overall development and well being and the children have plenty of opportunity to play, enjoy sport and exercise both indoors and outdoors. The Acorns is very well equipped. The children use the garden in Lindfield and at Westmeston and Stoneywish the children have extensive grounds in which to play, explore and discover.


We welcome local people to share their expertise with the children and look forward to visits from the fire station.

What do we do during the day?

We are very busy! We play, we read, we count, we do puzzles, we learn. We talk, we listen and we find out. We learn about science, and we explore.
We ask questions, we solve problems, we sing and make rhythms & music. We paint and build models. We cook, we share, we play sports and have lots of fun. We sing and play games in French too.

Do we go outside?

Yes, we do, whatever the weather! In Lindfield the garden faces due South, which means that it is lovely and sunny and we play outside in the garden as often as possible. We have lots of outdoor ride-on toys and a big and small climbing frame together with a Wendy House and adventure playground. We also plant seeds and watch them grow and look for creepy crawlies too. In the summer we make a camp under the trees.
At Westmeston we have wonderful outdoor facilities allowing the children the freedom to explore and learn through nature. There is a large tarmac area where the children learn to ride their bikes, tractors and scooters and grassy areas to play and explore. We enjoy walks through the countryside. On Fridays, which is a very special adventure day, the children bring their ride-on toys from home. We go for a longer walk, up on to the Downs or along the bridle paths, going across cornfields, collecting pine cones and conkers and making a den in the woods. We are very keen on wearing our wellies so that we can enjoy exploring and splashing in all the puddles.

An annual picnic and Sports Day is held in July to which family and friends are invited.


Do we go out?

Yes, particularly in the Summer Term when we arrange an exciting programme of visits for the children. We take the children to monthly concerts, where they sometimes have the opportunity to have a go at playing the musical instruments after the concert.

Recently we have had a picnic at Bacons Farm and an outing to one of the children's homes. We have visited Oathall Farm and Plumpton College to see all the animals and recently we went to the Hawth Theatre to see The Bear Hunt and followed this with a picnic for children and their parents.

Our Summer Term traditionally ends with a family outing to Drusilla's Zoo in Alfriston. Parents are encouraged to join us on these outings, but there is no compulsion. We visit the garden next to the doctor’s surgery in Lindfield which we look after. This is a good opportunity to practise not only our road safety but also for the children to recognise which plants are flowers and which are weeds. We plant bulbs and flowers in the garden and watch their progress. We feel that this helps to encourage the children to take an interest in the environment in which they live. At Westmeston we have created a children's garden where they can plant flowers and vegetables and we have one too in the garden in Lindfield. This year we have peas at Westmeston and tomatoes, potatoes and onions in Lindfield.



We now have a Facebook presence, so please do join us there, post your comments so that other prospective parents can get your views and thoughts on The Acorns.