Little Acorns Nursery

A working farm, daily animal feeding and vegetables grown for the nursery kitchen give Little Acorns Nursery a recognisable character. Outdoor learning has substance here: children encounter living things, changing seasons and food production as part of their nursery day. The setting is at Oak Farm in Drayton Bassett, Tamworth, and accepts children aged 3 to 60 months.

At its July 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged Little Acorns Outstanding and found safeguarding effective. The farm setting is the strongest practical attraction, alongside play that connects language, exploration and early mathematics. It will appeal to parents who want countryside experiences to be part of everyday childcare rather than an occasional outing.

Opening hours run from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays, with care across the year and closures for bank holidays, Christmas and New Year.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) provides the framework for learning through play, covering language, physical development, relationships, literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and creative expression. Little Acorns puts this into practice through activities that let children handle materials, test ideas and act out experiences. That gives learning a practical starting point: pouring water, building structures or organising pretend play.

Heuristic play means exploring everyday and natural objects, including wooden items, boxes and cotton reels. Children can discover what materials do through their own experiments. Construction play adds opportunities to compare lengths and solve problems, while sand and water activities involve scooping, funnelling and pouring. These activities give children different routes into early mathematical thinking.

Sensory activities use dough, gloop and shaving foam to introduce contrasting textures and opportunities to make marks. Small-world play encourages vocabulary development and interaction with other children; role play brings turn-taking and cooperation into imagined situations. Creative resources also include tyres, fabric, wood and milk crates, allowing children to decide what an object might become. The value lies in leaving room for their ideas.

In July 2025, preschool children explored a dinosaur interest by uncovering bones, brushing them clean and comparing their measurements. Tape measures brought numbers into the activity, while staff introduced vocabulary connected to the investigation. The example captures how a child's interest could carry several kinds of learning at once, with conversation and practical enquiry sharing the same activity.

Outdoor and Community Life

More than 50 acres of land surround the nursery, with a children’s farm and outdoor experiences every day. Animals include sheep, donkeys, goats, horses, ducks and birds; children spend time with them and help feed them daily. This gives care for living things a concrete place in the day. Nature walks, swings, slides and sports activities add movement alongside exploration.

Forest School adds hands-on exploration using natural materials, with activities such as bug hunts, den building and nature-based art. It sits alongside the EYFS rather than replacing it. The emphasis is on investigating the outdoor environment, sharing resources and making things together. Children also explore how vegetables grow and take part in picking pumpkins, connecting outdoor experiences with food and seasonal change.

In July 2025, children visited farm animals and talked about changes in plants, insects and colours through the seasons. Their surroundings supplied real examples for conversation. For families choosing between settings, the farm and the outdoor activities are more useful distinguishing details than a general promise of outdoor play.

At the July 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted learning to individual children, identified emerging gaps through assessment and pursued additional support, with children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities making excellent progress. This is a dated judgement about how support worked in practice, rather than a blanket promise about every future child's experience.

In July 2025, warm exchanges and shared humour characterised relationships between children and staff. Adults modelled patience and kindness, while children organised games and resources together. Everyday routines also encouraged independence: even the youngest children poured drinks, and children developed their use of cutlery. Small tasks gave them opportunities to do things for themselves.

Communication has both everyday and event-based routes. Parents are encouraged to share their child's needs through two-way conversations, while regular events include parents evening, open book week and sports day. In July 2025, families valued discussions about development and advice for learning at home; a library for adults and children also supported shared reading. These links connect nursery experiences with family life.

An on-site chef prepares meals using organic produce from the nursery's vegetable garden. Children help grow that food, giving them a connection between what happens outdoors and what reaches the table.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 7.30am until 6pm, and operates across the year. Bank holidays and the Christmas and New Year period are closure points, so families using year-round childcare need to build those breaks into their plans.

Telephone enquiries and a prospectus request form provide routes into the nursery. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. In July 2025, the nursery provided funded early education for eligible children; eligibility remains a condition of that provision.

Getting There

The address is Oak Farm, Drayton Lane, Drayton Bassett, Tamworth, B78 3EF. The rural setting lies between Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield, with access from the M42, A38 and M6 Toll, making the location relevant to families whose regular journeys use those routes.

• Daily countryside experiences. Animal feeding and outdoor exploration are recurring parts of nursery life. This is a strong fit for families who want contact with animals and nature to shape their child's day.
• Your child's attendance and care plan. At a visit, discuss the attendance pattern, settling arrangements and how funded hours, meals and consumables would be handled for your child. Use that conversation to obtain a written quotation for the arrangement you need.
• Holiday cover. The nursery operates across the year but closes for bank holidays, Christmas and New Year. Families relying on weekday childcare will need cover for those breaks.

Little Acorns suits families seeking weekday, year-round childcare with substantial outdoor experiences and a close connection to farm life. Its appeal is specific: feeding animals, exploring natural materials and growing vegetables give children tangible things to investigate. The July 2025 Outstanding judgement adds weight to that character, while the rural location and holiday closures are practical considerations for a family's routine.