Little Acorns Nursery, Padiham
Little Acorns Nursery takes over from Adventure Tots, with new owners and management highly experienced in running outstanding and indeed award-winning childcare services. The new team aims to make Little Acorns the very best nursery in Lancashire. So, if you are a parent looking for the best childcare in the Padiham area, Little Acorns Nursery would make a great choice for your children.
The nursery/pre-school provides weekday childcare and an ‘early years’ education for babies, from 3 months, and children aged up to 5. We open from 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and offer half day and full day childcare sessions.
Our single-storey nursery is very spacious, bright and airy. With everything on one level, children can move easily and safely between rooms and, under supervision, into our well-equipped outdoor play areas. Whether indoors or out, they are able to make the most of an amazing variety of facilities. These include a large range of age-appropriate toys, equipment and resources that have been hand-picked to optimally benefit their learning and development. Children’s progress is further nurtured through a range of structured play, free play activities and the nursery’s excellent curriculum. Learn more about the nursery below.
For Babies & Infants (3 months to 2 years)
Babies from the age of 3 months and infants up 2 years old have their own self-contained area, which is cosy and welcoming. Importantly for this age group, it incorporates a quiet zone just for sleeping, known as the ‘Sleep Room’. They also have a reading area, a cosy ‘home corner’, their own kitchen area and a ‘small world’ construction zone especially designed to suit their young age.
One of the most important areas for infants of this age is the sensory and music zone. This features appropriate sensory equipment that allows them to explore and discover through their senses. With these, they can learn from and respond to the feel of tactile objects, what they see, what they hear and what they can smell. Tactile objects include both natural and man-made materials.
The little ones have all the facilities, toys, equipment and activities that they need whilst under our care. Staff lovingly look after them, ensuring that all their needs and interests are catered for. At the same time, our childcare practitioners ensure they are stimulated, so that they learn as they play. Indeed, at this key age, it’s important for us to help them, particularly in the ‘prime’ areas of [the ‘EYFS’ early years curriculum]. So, we’ll nurture their skills and knowledge, especially around communication, language and physical development, also facilitating their progress in social skills and emotional development.
There is always at least one suitably qualified and experienced staff member for every 3 children in this young age group.
For Toddlers (aged 2 up to 3)
Once they are 2 years of age, children advance to a wider variety of toys, equipment and resources that are more suited to them as toddlers. Although they sometimes use the multi-purpose ‘Big Room’, they also have their own specific ‘2-year-old Room’ where they often spend significant time. This keeps them separate, at times, from both older and younger children, so they can focus on structured play and learning that’s tailored to them as individuals.
At this age, they also augment the skills and knowledge they learned previously through the introduction of the 4 remaining (‘specific’) elements of the EYFS curriculum. These are mathematics, literacy, expressive arts and design and understanding the world. By introducing these, they will be able to optimise their early years education and development in all 7 areas of the EYFS as they progress towards the preschool and later transition to ‘big’ school.
Like children in other age groups, they can, when appropriate, access the self-contained Sleep Room if a quiet rest is needed. They can also spend time in the ‘Physical Room’ for soft play and high energy activities when it’s not being used by older children. Toddlers also take their turn to use the nursery’s quiet rooms, creative area, the eating zone, calm reading area and ‘small world’ construction zone.
In terms of the staff-to-child ratio, there is always at least one suitably qualified and experienced staff member for every 4 toddlers in this age group.
For Preschoolers (aged 3 up to 5)
Now they’re older, ‘preschoolers’ (children 3 years old up to ‘school’ age) have access to resources that are more sophisticated and sometimes larger in scale. This includes toys, equipment and resources in both indoor and outdoor areas of the nursery/pre-school. The range of such resources is very extensive and well-planned; everything has a purpose and is there to benefit the children in some specific way.
Our preschoolers spend time in various areas around the setting. These include the ‘Big Room’, two quiet rooms set aside for structured learning, a special ‘School Readiness’ room where they will spend significant time working towards becoming ‘school-ready’, a creative zone, an eating area, a ‘small world’ construction zone and a reading area. They also have access, when appropriate, to the separate sleep room if required. Additionally, they can spend time doing more physical, high energy activities in the ‘Physical Room’, which is currently designated primarily for soft play.
Activities and play for this age group are very varied and include both free play and structured play, which is tailored to suit each individual. In readiness for the transition to school at the age of five, our childcare practitioners will help to ensure that they are as proficient as possible in all seven areas of [the Early Years Foundation Stage (‘EYFS’) curriculum]. Doing so will help them to be more knowledgeable, independent, self-sufficient, confident and proficient when the time comes to leave to begin school. It’s a huge milestone in their lives, so it’s important for them to be ready.
At Little Acorns Nursery there is always at least one suitably qualified and experienced staff member for every 8 children in the preschooler age group.
Outdoor Facilities
The nursery’s outdoor areas give children wonderful opportunities for active play, discovery, learning and fun. It features fabulous equipment and facilities, including a trike area and mud kitchen, which are both very popular with the children. We also have a lovely garden area, which incorporates a wild zone where children can learn from nature, along with a separate planting area, which is also educational for the little ones. We often adapt the garden area to suit the children’s interests and specific learning activities that may be underway.
