Little Acorns Nursery at Poulner Infant School

A room shaped to feel like home, with a school field, hall and library beyond it: Little Acorns combines its own preschool space with access to the wider school. The nursery moved into a purpose-built building in November 2024, within the grounds of Poulner Infant School in Ringwood. It takes children aged 2 to 5, with up to 26 children in each session.

That school connection has a practical role in nursery life. Children can join school celebrations and special events, as well as use shared facilities. Little Acorns retains its own room and team while giving children opportunities beyond their immediate play space.

Three-hour sessions give the day its structure: mornings run from 09:00 to 12:00, and afternoons from 12:00 to 15:00. Staying for lunch is an option. This gives families a choice between the two session periods, with a meal arrangement to discuss alongside their booking.

The Curiosity Approach informs the room's domestic feel. Little Acorns aims to build learning around children's interests and individual development, with opportunities to play alongside other children and supportive adults. The emphasis is on learning through play. Staff expertise includes specialist study in that area and training in therapeutic play, giving the approach a connection to the team's qualifications.

Beyond the room, nursery children have access to the library, hall and field. The wider school grounds also contain a vegetable patch and forest space for outdoor learning. Visitors contribute to learning in both school and nursery, linking activities to expertise from outside the staff team.

The October 2024 Ofsted inspection assessed learning positively among Nursery's youngest children, linking this to the activities adults planned. Across early years, stories and familiar rhymes supported language development, while adults helped children explain their ideas and extend their thinking. These are useful foundations for a child learning to communicate during play.

Little Acorns aims to give each child individual attention from a named keyworker and to work with parents and carers on their child's development. The team includes practitioners qualified at Level 2 and Level 3, with continuing training both alongside school colleagues and within the preschool team.

Inclusion enquiries go through the school office to the special educational needs coordinator. This gives families a direct route to the staff member responsible for inclusion across the school and nursery.

Food is optional and charged separately. Families can order a cooked lunch each day, and a healthy snack is offered for either session. Those choices matter when planning whether a child will stay for lunch; contact the school for current charges.

Attending Little Acorns does not guarantee a Reception place at Poulner Infant School. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal school admissions process. Hampshire County Council is the route for school admissions enquiries and applications.

Participation in school events and use of shared facilities are features of nursery life. They should be considered separately from the allocation of Reception places.

Funding covers 15 hours from the term after a child's third birthday; eligible working families can receive 30 funded hours. Attendance beyond funded hours is chargeable, as is attendance for children without funding entitlement.

Wraparound limits. Breakfast and after-school care has limited preschool places for children aged 3 and over, subject to discussion with the preschool and headteacher agreement. Early Years Funding cannot pay for these sessions, so families needing a longer day should factor in that separate arrangement.

To arrange a visit or enquire about joining, call 01425 472338 or email adminoffice@poulner-inf.hants.sch.uk. Applications use the Little Acorns Application Form.