Acorn Under Fives

A workshop-style play space, resources children can choose for themselves and occasional use of the Oaklands school field give Acorn Under Fives a practical, exploratory character. This charity preschool occupies the grounds of Oaklands Infant School in Crowthorne. Children can attend from the term following their second birthday, within its two-to-five age range. There are 33 places in total.

At its 11 May 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated Acorn Under Fives Outstanding, with children making their own play resources through supervised sewing and woodwork among the examples of learning. Those activities gave children something useful to make, rather than simply a task to finish. The current approach also gives children's interests considerable influence over what happens next: adults respond to play as it develops.

Morning, afternoon and combined daytime sessions sit within a term-time calendar. That makes Acorns relevant to families wanting shorter preschool sessions as well as those combining play and lunch across the day.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for learning and care, with play supporting children's communication, physical development and exploration. Acorns adds its own Planning in The Moment approach: practitioners observe what a child is doing and respond while the interest is fresh, rather than waiting for a later planned activity. A child absorbed in using a tool can receive help with that tool there and then.

The Planning in The Moment approach shapes the physical space too. Indoors and outside, the layout works like a workshop, with resources accessible for children to select. Some activities are set out for younger children, while the wider arrangement lets children decide which materials suit their ideas.

In May 2023, children used a sewing machine with close adult supervision to produce items for imaginative play, including doll clothing and cushions. Woodwork involved hammers, nails and saws. These were purposeful experiences with real tools, connecting careful handling and persistence to something children could use afterwards.

Another May 2023 example was the potion station, where children combined herbs and flowers grown in the preschool garden and experimented with colour. A flower encyclopaedia helped extend their descriptions of plants.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children can choose between indoor and outdoor play during sessions. The enclosed outdoor area provides a regular space for this, while occasional use of the Oaklands school field and woods broadens the setting for exploration. Wellies and waterproof clothing are available for children to use, making outdoor participation less dependent on bringing a complete set of wet-weather kit from home.

Wednesday football adds a recurring organised activity: an external agency runs a 45-minute session. Families are also encouraged to share their skills and experiences with the children. This gives parents and carers a practical way to contribute to preschool life, beyond receiving updates about it.

Everyday routines carry smaller learning opportunities. Children use a personal Acorn for recognising their name at snack time, and visual prompts support independence. Music signals the shared tidy-up before key-person groups gather for stories, rhymes, reflection or sharing something a child has made. Photos from home can be shared using iPads or the interactive whiteboard, connecting familiar experiences with conversation in the group.

Relationships and Communication

Each child has a key person. Small-group time brings that relationship into the daily routine, while the key-person system also gives families someone with whom to discuss development. Observation and assessment inform the next interaction with the child, so support is organised around what the child is doing and learning.

Parent involvement extends to the preschool's organisation: a committee of parent volunteers oversees its strategic running. Families can therefore contribute both to activities with children and to the organisation behind them. This is a charity preschool with a participatory model, rather than parent contact being confined to progress conversations.

In May 2023, daily app updates helped parents understand children's learning and support it at home. Information was also shared with other providers attended by the same children. For families combining childcare arrangements, that inspection-time example shows how communication connected experiences across settings, rather than treating each part of the week separately.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and excellent progress among children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities and those receiving additional funding. That is a dated judgement about practice, with inclusion assessed through children's learning as well as their participation.

In May 2023, the kindness tree made considerate behaviour visible: children's helpful actions earned leaves on the tree. Children also took part in safety checks, identifying potential risks and sharing what they noticed with friends. These examples put responsibility into children's own hands, with adults supporting them to recognise how their actions affected others.

Food comes from home: families provide snacks, a filled drinks bottle and a packed lunch for children attending lunch club, where staff eat alongside them. Acorns asks families to avoid peanut butter because of allergies and to prepare grapes by cutting them lengthways into four pieces.

Sessions and Attendance

Acorn Under Fives is at Oaklands Schools, Butler Road, Crowthorne, Berkshire, RG45 6QZ. The attendance choices are precise: Morning runs from 9am to noon, and Morning with Lunch Club extends to 12.30pm. Afternoon runs from 12.30pm to 3.30pm.

For a combined day, Morning, Lunch and Afternoon runs from 9.30am to 3.30pm. Early Morning, Lunch and Afternoon begins at 9am and finishes at 3.30pm. These options let families choose a shorter session, add lunch to a morning, or combine both parts of the day.

Attendance follows school terms, with half-term breaks and inset days. For autumn 2026, the half-term closure is 26 to 30 October and the term ends on 16 December. The preschool calendar also includes days for home visits, so the pattern involves more than simply matching the neighbouring school's final day.

Applications can be completed online or returned as a paper form. Children enter the waiting list for the requested term; the main intake is in autumn. Allocation decisions are communicated half a term before the requested start date.

General enquiries can go to acornunderfives@weycp.org.uk or 01344 752752. Families should bring spare clothes for their child even though some replacements are kept at the preschool.

Funding and Paid Extras

Acorns offers funded childcare and private, fee-paying hours. It accepts the 15-hour early education entitlement for three- and four-year-olds over 38 weeks, starting from the term following a child's third birthday, together with 30-hour funding for eligible working families. Funding can apply to morning, afternoon or combined sessions, within the child's entitlement; the attendance calendar is term-time.

Families provide snacks and packed lunches, including during funded attendance. A voluntary termly contribution is requested for funded children. Private fees are paid ahead of each term and reviewed annually, with half a term's warning of price increases. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the fees and session information explains the payment structure.

Sharing a site with Oaklands Infant School does not guarantee a Reception place. Families still apply through the local authority admissions process, keeping the preschool application and school application separate.

• Term-time coverage. Morning, afternoon and combined sessions finish by 3.30pm, with half-term and inset closures. Families needing care across school holidays or later afternoons should weigh that calendar against their working arrangements.
• Starting and settling. Entry begins in the term after a child's second birthday, with autumn the main intake and allocation decisions half a term before the requested start. At a visit, ask how home visits and the key person are used to shape your child's settling period.
• Food from home. Snacks and lunch are supplied by families, and the peanut-butter restriction is part of Acorns' allergy guidance. Allergy-affected families should confirm current handling arrangements before attendance.

Acorn Under Fives suits families seeking morning or afternoon preschool sessions, as well as a combined term-time day with lunch. Its strongest character comes from children's choice of materials, responsive adult involvement and accessible outdoor play. The May 2023 examples of sewing, woodwork and garden investigations give that approach substance.

The practical trade-off is the term-time calendar and afternoon finish. For families whose routines fit those boundaries, the combination of flexible session lengths, key-person groups and opportunities for parent involvement gives Acorns a clear identity.