The Acorn Nursery School

Piano-led singing, nature study in Holland Park and classrooms across two neighbouring settings give The Acorn Nursery School a recognisable character. This Notting Hill nursery combines an emphasis on music with outdoor learning and a gradual move towards greater independence. Its address is 2 Lansdowne Crescent, London W11 2NH, and it welcomes children aged two to five, with capacity for 110 children in total.

At its February 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and judged its safeguarding arrangements effective. The important qualification concerned children directing their own play: some practitioners needed to give more help to sustain children's ideas and develop their imagination and problem-solving. That is a useful point to carry into a visit, alongside the nursery's current emphasis on children contributing to topics and making choices.

Attendance follows the nursery year, with morning patterns for younger children and increasing full-day attendance for Mighty Oaks. This is a staged nursery experience rather than a pick-any-hours arrangement.

Rooms and Ages

The Seedlings serves children aged two to two-and-a-half in a ground-floor room, combining a familiar key person, early singing and the beginnings of group routines with free-flow garden access. For a child starting nursery, the practical attraction is the continuity between a familiar adult, a predictable room and opportunities to play outside.

The Little Acorns, for children aged two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half, occupies a first-floor classroom and emphasises making choices, expressing ideas and interest-led activities, with garden access and Outdoor Learning in the church grounds. That Outdoor Learning is an introduction to nature-based sessions before the older children's Forest School experience.

The Mighty Oaks serves children aged three-and-a-half to five in The Arc within the church grounds, bringing together topic choices, concentrated work on early literacy and mathematics, creative play and Forest School sessions in Holland Park. The move changes both the surroundings and the emphasis of the day as children approach Reception.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the common framework for children's learning and care: the day brings together communication, physical development, relationships, early number work and creative expression through play and planned activities. The Acorn adds music with an in-house pianist, topic-based exploration and Forest School, its nature-study programme. These are concrete additions to the daily routine, rather than a replacement for that framework.

Circle time gives children space to discuss feelings and listen to other viewpoints. In Mighty Oaks, Register is a weekly gathering involving The Acorn Songs and Show and Tell, with parents invited to participate. It gives families a recurring connection with nursery life while children practise speaking and contributing to a group.

Afternoon enrichment sessions can include Spanish, Karate, Drama, Dance and Sports, depending on the day attended. Cooking and STEM activities also form part of full-day provision. The attendance day therefore affects the experiences a child encounters; the programme is not identical across every afternoon.

In February 2023, children investigated pretend dinosaur discoveries using magnifiers and binoculars, worked with dough tools and painted at easels. Counting and ordering dinosaur figures brought early mathematics into play. These examples show how practical materials connected imaginative activity, hand control and number work at that time.

Outdoor and Community Life

Garden play takes place daily, including in wet weather. The outdoor offer extends beyond getting fresh air: the nursery grows herbs and vegetables, while children sort recycling, compost snack leftovers and take part in local litter picking. The Eco-School with Distinction scheme is expressed through these practical environmental activities, giving children small, understandable jobs rather than abstract lessons about sustainability.

Miller’s Ark Farm makes regular visits, alongside the Fire Brigade and Police, to connect topics with people and animals children can encounter directly. Performances take place at the close of the Autumn and Summer Terms, while Sports Day falls at the end of the Summer Term. Possible annual outings include London Zoo and the London Aquarium; these are possible destinations, rather than a promise that every child visits each one.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person, called a key teacher here, who acts as the family's main contact and follows the child's development through everyday observation. Progress is discussed at parent meetings, with a written report at the end of the Summer Term. The combination gives parents both ongoing conversation and a more formal account of their child's development.

Settling sessions are discussed before a child starts, and children can accompany their parents on a tour. The nursery also seeks consistency between home and nursery routines. For younger children, that relationship matters as much as the activity programme: the key person provides a recognisable adult through the early stages of separation and adjustment.

In February 2023, children practised independence by putting away their belongings and serving themselves at snack time. Practitioners used a bell to signal changes of activity and reinforced expectations about kindness and taking turns. The current Acorn Golden Rules similarly introduce consideration for others through age-appropriate group routines.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the February 2023 inspection, Ofsted found that children with SEND and those learning English as an additional language received effective support through targeted plans developed with families and other professionals. This is a dated finding about how support worked, rather than a blanket assurance about every child's future experience. The current registration process allows families to describe learning requirements, additional support and medical conditions before attendance begins.

Staffing figures also belong to their date: in February 2023 there were 21 staff members, including 15 with relevant early-years qualifications. They describe the team at that point, rather than today's deployment or the number of adults in an individual room.

V&Me prepares catered lunches in its Battersea kitchen; meals have a main course and dessert, and the nursery's dietary arrangements cover most allergies and dietary requirements. Families supply fruit or vegetables for shared snacks and bring nappies when their child needs them.

Sessions and Attendance

Opening hours are 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, during term time, across 38 weeks each year. Morning attendance ends at noon under the fee arrangements effective from September 2026; full days begin at 9am, with collection between 3.45pm and 4pm. Younger children can add full days to their morning pattern.

Seedlings and Little Acorns begin with four mornings in their first term and move to five in their second. Mighty Oaks requires at least three full days, with two mornings, progressing towards five full days in the Summer Term. These are attendance expectations to plan around, rather than interchangeable session choices.

An extra afternoon runs from noon to 3.30pm and is offered only to children already attending that morning. An early start from 8.30am is an additional option once a child has settled. Adding sessions requires at least half a term's notice, so changes to working arrangements need some lead time.

The nursery can be contacted at admin@theacornnursery.co.uk, and an enquiry form is available. Registration enters a child onto the waiting list; allocation follows registration date, and paying the non-refundable registration charge does not secure a place.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is delivered during term time. The entitlements offered are 15 hours for eligible children under three, 15 hours for all three- and four-year-olds, and 30 hours for eligible working families with three- and four-year-olds. Funding starts in the term after eligibility begins, and the working-family entitlement requires a valid eligibility code.

Hours beyond the funded entitlement are paid privately. During funded hours, food and non-food consumables are charged separately through Extras and Essentials, a voluntary package covering meals, snacks and additional supplies, alongside enrichment. This differs from the items families bring themselves: snack produce and nappies when needed. Families declining the package discuss the alternative arrangements with admissions; entitlement-only places follow a fixed attendance pattern and are assessed according to need.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The fees page sets out the charge structure, including a non-refundable registration charge and a deposit refundable when the required term's written notice is given. Withdrawal normally requires a full term's written notice received by the first day of term; fully funded places have a four-week notice period, while cancelling optional extras requires half a term.

The nursery describes an onward link with Notting Hill Prep and partnerships with local schools. Attending The Acorn does not guarantee a Reception place: families still need to follow the receiving school's own admissions process.

• The attendance progression. Four mornings become five for younger children, while Mighty Oaks moves towards five full days. At a visit, discuss how that progression fits your child's stamina and your family's term-time arrangements.
• Children directing their play. In February 2023, some children lost interest when staff did not sufficiently develop their chosen activity. Ask how practitioners now extend a child's idea while allowing the child to retain control.
• Funding and the family bill. Extras and Essentials is voluntary, with separate arrangements for entitlement-only attendance. Request a written breakdown for your child's pattern, including additional hours, food, consumables and enrichment.
• Dietary arrangements. Catered lunches can accommodate most dietary requirements, and families contribute snack produce. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements for both the catered meal and shared snacks.

The Acorn suits families seeking a term-time nursery that starts with mornings and builds towards mixed morning and full-day attendance, then a fuller preschool week. Piano-led music, the weekly Register gathering and Forest School in Holland Park give the day clear points of character; practical environmental work adds another layer.

The balance is a structured attendance progression and additional charges around funded provision, alongside the February 2023 concern about sustaining child-led play. For families comfortable with those arrangements, the appeal lies in a recognisable sequence from first nursery routines to greater independence before Reception.