Acorn Child Care UK

About this day nursery

Acorn Early Years Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable organisation dedicated to providing high-quality early childhood education and care across Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, and Bedfordshire. Their core ethos, 'Putting children first', is woven into every aspect of their operations, fostering caring relationships and responsive approaches to support children's social and emotional well-being.

Acorn is committed to an ethical, innovative, and sustainable model, striving to be a leader in the early childhood sector, especially in outdoor play and learning, and staff professional development. They advocate for personalised care within a homely environment, ensuring children's happiness and engagement through play and exploration.

The foundation places a strong emphasis on continuous learning and development for its staff, aiming for excellence in all areas. Furthermore, Acorn champions outdoor learning, integrating Forest School principles and green practices across all locations, promoting a deep connection with nature and healthy eating habits through freshly prepared, locally sourced food.

As a charity, they prioritise inclusive and sustainable practices, balancing affordability with financial viability to invest in staff training and maintain high standards of provision.

Our ethos

The Acorn Ethos is summarised as 'Putting children first', emphasising a strong ethic of care, building responsive relationships, and nurturing social and emotional well-being. The organisation aims to lead and inspire the early years sector through an ethical, innovative, and sustainable model of care and education, particularly in outdoor play and learning, and staff professional development. Their core values are: Personal (communicating informally, treating individuals, fostering caring relationships, and creating homely environments with personalised care); Professional (continually developing staff knowledge, skills, and qualifications, committing to continuous improvement and excellence); Nurturing (prioritising children's holistic development, using freshly prepared, locally sourced healthy food, and providing first-hand learning experiences); Outdoor (promoting natural environment play through Forest Schools and green practices, encouraging gardening and year-round outdoor experiences); Ethical (operating as a charitable organisation that puts children before profit, striving for inclusivity, sustainability, excellence, honesty, and integrity).

What it's like

Children receive a warm, cheery welcome and develop secure attachments to their key people, helping them to settle quickly. They enjoy being active, are positive towards learning, and are keen to explore outside in the forest school.