Little Acorns at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School

An early start within a primary school shapes Little Acorns: its nursery and preschool caters for children aged 2–4 at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School. This is the school's own provision, on Atherton Street in Wallasey, rather than a separate nursery destination.

The nursery describes its atmosphere as friendly and welcoming, with parent partnership central to its approach. That partnership has practical forms: regular coffee mornings bring families and staff together, while a child's key person links experiences at nursery with life at home. For parents, the relationship extends beyond progress meetings.

Term-time opening runs from 8:45am to 3:30pm. Learning and care follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the framework covering young children's development, education and care. Little Acorns also incorporates respect for different beliefs, individual liberty and democracy into everyday routines.

Art gives a concrete picture of early-years learning here. Children experiment with colour mixing, select colours for particular purposes and make or describe patterns. Books, play and adult-directed teaching contribute to these experiences. The emphasis gives children ways to express ideas through materials as well as words.

Catholic learning starts in the early years through The Way, the Truth and the Life. Its topics follow the church year and take children's age and understanding into account. Faith therefore forms part of the learning programme from the nursery stage, a relevant consideration for families choosing a Catholic setting.

Each child's key person plans around their needs, observes them during sessions and exchanges information with parents about nursery and home. A learning journal brings together photographs, observations and artwork. This gives families specific examples of their child's experiences, rather than progress discussed only in general terms.

Twice-yearly parents' evenings provide another opportunity to discuss development and achievements. Coffee mornings serve a different purpose: getting to know staff and other parents. Together, these arrangements create several points of contact across the year.

At school level, the SEND co-ordinator works alongside teachers and outside agencies to organise support for children with special educational needs. Families can contact the role through the office. The pastoral team also meets parents about concerns affecting their child's development and learning, and helps connect families with outside services. These are school support routes, distinct from the nursery's daily key-person relationship.

Attending Little Acorns does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must make a separate Reception application through the normal admissions process. Wirral manages school admissions on behalf of the governors, and the application route is the Wirral Admissions Portal.

Treat the nursery choice and the Reception application as separate decisions. Time spent at Little Acorns should not be taken as confirmation that a later school place has been secured.

Little Acorns welcomes families to look around through an open-door arrangement; an appointment is unnecessary. Nursery enquiries go to littleacorns@stpeter-stpauls.wirral.sch.uk.

For general parent enquiries, the school office opens from 8:15am until 4:00pm. Its email is schooloffice@sspp.school, and its telephone number is 0151 639 2991. The office provides a further contact route for families using the nursery within the school.