Rated Outstanding by the Brightstart Inspectorate

Where little ones grow big ideas.

A cosy, garden-wrapped nursery in Brambleford for children aged 3 months to 5 years. Small groups, muddy wellies, home-cooked lunches, and grown-ups who can’t wait to hear what your little one discovered today.

Book a visit Explore our rooms
  • 7:30–6:30Mon–Fri, 51 weeks
  • 3m–5yrsThree cosy rooms
  • 30 hrsFunded hours welcome
Nutmeg, the Little Acorns acorn mascot, waving hello beneath a pastel rainbow, next to a big oak tree on a grassy hill Hi! I’m Nutmeg.

Why parents love us

Happy children, happy grown-ups

Eighteen years of looking after Brambleford’s littlest learners has taught us a thing or two. Here’s what families tell us makes the difference.

  • Small groups, big cuddles

    Ratios of 1:3 for babies, 1:4 for twos and 1:6 for pre-schoolers. That’s kinder than the legal minimum in every single room.

  • Outdoors, every day

    Rain, shine or snow day, children spend at least two hours a day in our third-of-an-acre garden. We provide the puddle suits.

  • Cooked from scratch

    Bea cooks breakfast, lunch and tea fresh on site every day, with menus planned alongside a children’s nutritionist. Nut-free kitchen, always.

  • A daily photo diary

    Our Treehouse Diary app sends naps, nappies, meals and a sprinkle of photos to your phone, so you never miss a muddy masterpiece.

  • A key person who knows them

    Every child is matched with a key person who settles them in, learns their quirks and becomes their go-to grown-up at nursery.

  • Ready for big school

    Phonics through play, pencil grip through mark-making and confidence through everything else. Our leavers skip into Reception.

Rooms by age

A room for every stage

Three light-filled rooms, each with its own garden door, its own team and furniture exactly the right size for the people using it.

ABC

Seedlings Babies & young toddlers, 3 months to 2 years

Our baby room is a soft, sunny nest with a sleep room of individual cots, a cosy sensory corner called Cloud Nine and its own little garden for first crawls on the grass. We follow your baby’s routine from home for feeds and naps, and share every detail at pick-up.

Ratio
1 : 3
Places
9 babies
Room lead
Marta
  • Baby signing & singing every morning
  • Treasure baskets & heuristic play
  • Messy sensory trays (yoghurt paint is a favourite)
  • Your baby’s own sleep & feed routine

A day in the life

From sunrise to story time

Here’s a typical day in Saplings. Every room follows a similar gentle rhythm, flexed around naps, moods and the occasional surprise snowfall.

  1. 7:30am

    Hello & breakfast club

    Porridge, toast soldiers and fruit, with time for a cuddle and a chat before the day gets going.

  2. 9:00am

    Circle time

    Good-morning songs, the weather chart and a big cheer for everyone who’s here today.

  3. 9:30am

    Choose & explore

    Free-flow play across the room and garden: building, role play, books, puzzles and paint.

  4. 10:30am

    Snack & garden

    Fruit and milk, then wellies on for the mud kitchen, sandpit and veggie patch.

  5. 11:45am

    Lunch together

    Family-style dining at little tables. Today: Bea’s cheesy lentil bake with garden peas.

  6. 12:30pm

    Sleepy time

    Naps for those who need them; quiet stories and squashy cushions for those who don’t.

  7. 2:00pm

    Messy makers

    Music and movement, junk modelling, baking or gloriously splattery painting.

  8. 3:30pm

    Afternoon tea

    Sandwiches, crackers and a natter about the very best bit of the day so far.

  9. 4:30pm

    Stories & home time

    Wind-down stories and gentle play until grown-ups arrive, any time up to 6:30pm.

Illustrated map of the Little Acorns garden: 1 the mud kitchen, 2 the vegetable bed, 3 the balance-log trail, 4 the bug hotel and 5 the rainbow slide, with two children playing 1 2 3 4 5
Our third-of-an-acre garden, as drawn by the grown-ups (the Oak Room version has more dinosaurs).

Our garden

Muddy knees are happy knees

Outdoor learning isn’t an extra at Little Acorns: it’s half the day. Every room opens straight onto a garden built for digging, growing, balancing and wondering.

  1. The Mud Kitchen

    Pots, pans, a real tap and endless mud pies. Chefs aged two and up welcome.

  2. The Acorn Allotment

    Raised beds where children sow, water and pull up carrots, peas and sunflowers, then eat them at lunch.

  3. Wiggly Woods trail

    Balance logs, stepping stumps and a willow den for wobbling, climbing and hiding.

  4. The Bug Hotel

    Five-star accommodation for woodlice and ladybirds, built by last year’s Oak Room.

  5. The Rainbow Slide

    Our tallest, twistiest, most-requested piece of kit. Queue politely, please.

Forest School Fridays

Every Friday, our Oak Room children walk six minutes down Conker Lane to Brambly Wood with Ollie, our qualified Forest School leader, to build dens, toast marshmallows over a tiny fire and learn to be careful, curious and brave.

  • 2+ hoursoutdoors, every day
  • ⅓ acreof garden to explore
  • 40 pairsof spare wellies

Meet the team

The grown-ups behind the giggles

A qualified, DBS-checked team of 22, most of whom have been here longer than our oldest oak has had acorns. Here are a few faces you’ll meet first.

  • Hattie Fenwick

    Nursery Manager

    Fourteen years at Little Acorns and still the first through the gate. Bakes a legendary banana bread.

  • Marta Szewczyk

    Seedlings Lead

    Our baby-sign whisperer. Speaks three languages and sings lullabies in at least five.

  • Tom Hadley

    Oak Room Teacher

    Early Years Teacher and resident dinosaur expert. Can name every one, including the tricky ones.

  • Jasmine Reid

    Saplings Lead & SENCo

    Champion of every child’s own pace. Has never met a sensory tray she didn’t love.

  • Ollie Brandt

    Forest School Leader

    Level 3 Forest School practitioner. Has not been seen without wellies since 2019.

  • Bea Treharne

    Nursery Cook

    Cooks everything fresh, from scratch, and on the table by 11:45 sharp. Famous for her “rainbow” fishcakes.

Kind words

What our families say

4.9out of 5

Average score from 86 families in our spring 2026 parent survey.

  • Would recommend us98%
  • Child is happy & settled100%

Fees & funded hours

Clear prices, no surprises

Simple daily rates with meals, nappies and suncream already included. We accept all government-funded hours and will happily walk you through your entitlement.

Daily fees by room and session, from September 2026
Session Seedlings0–2 years Saplings2–3 years Oak Room3–5 years
Full day7:30am – 6:30pm £72 £68 £62
Morning7:30am – 1:00pm £44 £41 £38
Afternoon1:00pm – 6:30pm £42 £39 £36
Funded hoursper week, if eligible Up to 30 hrs from 9 months Up to 30 hrs 15 hrs for all, 30 if eligible
Always included Meals, formula, nappies & wipes Meals, nappies & wipes Meals, trips & Forest School

Fees from September 2026. Funded sessions carry a £5.50 daily charge for meals and consumables. One-off registration fee of £50, plus a refundable deposit equal to two weeks’ fees.

15hrs

Universal hours

For every 3–4 year old, term-time or stretched across the year.

30hrs

Working families

For eligible working parents, from 9 months old. We’ll help you apply.

10%off

Sibling discount

On the older child’s fees, for as long as both are with us.

Questions

Ask us anything

The things parents ask us most at the garden gate. If yours isn’t here, Hattie is only a phone call away.

Still curious?

Call the office, weekdays 8am–5pm.

01632 555 014

  • We offer three free settling-in sessions over two weeks: one together, one where you pop out for an hour, and a short morning on their own. Before day one, your child’s key person will chat through routines, comforters and favourite songs with you.

  • Just a spare set of clothes, a pair of wellies and any comforter they love. We provide nappies, wipes, suncream, puddle suits, formula milk and all meals and snacks.

  • Yes. Our kitchen is completely nut-free, and Bea plans individual menus for allergies, intolerances, and vegetarian, vegan, halal and cultural diets. Every allergy is photo-flagged in the kitchen and in each room.

  • The Treehouse Diary app updates you throughout the day with meals, naps, nappies and photos. You’ll also get a proper hand-over chat at pick-up, termly progress reports and two parents’ evenings a year.

  • We ask that children stay home for 48 hours after any sickness or diarrhoea, and until they’re feeling themselves again after a temperature. If they become poorly at nursery, we’ll call you straight away and keep them cosy until you arrive.

  • Our minimum booking is two sessions a week. Term-time-only places are available in Oak Room, and we can usually add extra sessions with a week’s notice.

  • Seedlings places are popular, so we recommend getting in touch six to nine months before you need a space. Joining the list is free and there’s no obligation at all.

Come and say hello

Book a visit

The best way to know if Little Acorns feels right is to come and see it in full swing. Visits take about 45 minutes, and little ones are very welcome to tag along.

  1. Say helloHattie meets you at the gate with a cuppa (and a squash for your little one).
  2. Tour the roomsPeek into Seedlings, Saplings and Oak Room and meet the teams.
  3. Explore the gardenWellies optional, enthusiasm compulsory. The Rainbow Slide is open to visitors.
  4. Ask us anythingNo question is too small: fees, funding, settling in, nap routines.
01632 555 014 hello@littleacorns.example
Brambly Wood DUCK POND CONKER LANE
14 Conker Lane, a six-minute toddle from Brambly Wood

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