Why is The Acorns special?

High quality, early years education and childcare where childhood is treasured and nurtured

17 out of 17 outstandings were awarded by Ofsted in 2011 for both the nursery school and the childcare facilities before and after nursery school hours

A small Nursery School with 3 settings and an 'outstanding' track record run by a qualified teacher

Families come from a wide catchment area: Lindfield, Haywards Heath, Ardingly, Balcombe, Bolney, Cuckfield, Danehill, Scaynes Hill, Burgess Hill, Chelwood Gate, Westmeston, Ditchling, Hassocks, Hurstpierpoint, Plumpton, Streat, Wivelsfield, Lewes, Brighton, often choosing us through personal recommendation. We also attract families moving to Sussex from London who are seeking a small professional nursery school with plenty of outdoor space

3 nursery settings with an emphasis on learning through outdoor play and forest school adventures to give children confidence and establish

firm foundations in core subjects

Pre-school with forward thinking vision whilst upholding traditional values

Children encouraged to learn to high standards, but given the freedom to be children

Very experienced and qualified professional team

Introduction to reading and phonics

Flexible hours to fit into your busy lifestyle with a choice of nursery school hours, extended hours or full day care

Home cooked, locally sourced produce with home grown fruit and vegetables when available

Excellent Ofsted reports.

Introduction to French

Pottery & yoga workshops

Children have lots of opportunities to play sport and learn to ride their bikes. Last year all the children who went to school were able to ride their two wheeler bikes without stabilisers.

Fun-filled structured days with a new Summer holiday club and playscheme for 4 weeks in the school summer holiday catering for 2-11 year olds so that older brothers and sisters can come along too.

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

Safe well-equipped inside and outside play areas

Overview

The  Acorns in Lindfield is set in a home environment and provides a wonderful stepping stone to big school. As you can see rom the  photos, the children have lots of fun in the south facing garden where a small adventure playgound and a mark making area has recently been installed.    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. 

At The Acorns a wide variety of activities take place, which provide essential 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 which they take home on a daily basis and they read it 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 and now yoga 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 regular visits from the police and the fire station as well as health professionals and the librarian who comes to read stories.

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 we ride our bikes and scooters and have lots of fun. We sing and play games in French and do yoga nad pottery 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,  adventure playground and  a new mark making area. 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.

At Stoneywish we have the Nature Reserve to ourselves on Tuesdays. Our base is the barn which was formerly the tea room and here we enjoy all sorts of activities from playdough to yoga.  The children have the opportunity to play inside or outdoors and we go for nature walks through the reserve saying hello to the animals as we make our way to the meadow where the children can explore and enjoy the playground equipment.

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  concerts once a month in Lindfield, where they sometimes have the opportunity to try their hand at playing the musical instruments after the concert.

We go out and about in Lindfield taking the children to the local playgrounds, the shops and on country walks. At Westmeston we go up on the Downs and across fields and stiles using the footpaths. We make dens in the woods and the children learn to use their imagination and to develop life skills. 

We have had picnics at Bacons Farm, Janet's daughter's house and outings to  some of The Acorns children's homes. We have visited Oathall Farm and Plumpton College to see all the animals.  We went to the Hawth Theatre to see The Bear Hunt and followed this with a picnic for children and their parents. We have also had an outing for family and friends to Drusilla's Zoo and this year hope to see some of The Acorns families at Bentley Wildflife Park for their Wood Fair.

Parents are encouraged to join us on some of these outings, but there is no compulsion. As we go out and about we encourage the children to respect the environment and we join in with community events whenever possible.  At Westmeston we have created a children's garden where they can plant flowers and vegetables and we have one in the garden in Lindfield too. This year we have peas at Westmeston and tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, beans and onions in Lindfield. At Stoneywish there is a special vegetable garden tended by Michael and Rosemary the owners which we enjoy.  



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