Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Wesley House, 17 South Street, Castlethorpe, Milton Keynes MK19 7EL
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9.9 54 Reviews
  • Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe), Milton Keynes
Acorn Day Nursery in Castlethorpe is a lovely converted chapel situated in a quiet village a few miles north of Milton Keynes. The former chapel has been completely refurbished to create a homely but stimulating environment with an excellent range of high quality equipment and facilities. Castlethorpe is a 36 place day nursery for children aged between 4 months and 4 years.

Acorn places a strong emphasis on outdoor learning and the children enjoy play outside in all weathers, the nursery has an enclosed garden which the children have free flow access too. Pre-school children develop their outdoor learning at regular Forest School sessions, which take place at nearby Salcey Forest with Acorn’s fully qualified Forest School Leaders.

The nursery has a close relationship with the adjoining school and the Oaks children regularly visit their library.

The nursery offers a range of activities during the week, including interactive story sessions and forest school. There are lovely places to visit around the village, such as the church, Castlethorpe moons, sports grounds and parks, which the children visit regularly.

It’s not just the children who have all the fun at Acorn. The nursery organise events on a regular basis to help parents meet each other and share their experiences.

The experienced and well-qualified staff team are very warm and welcoming and enjoy showing prospective parents round the nursery.

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Care Provided by Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

  • Type of Service
  • Day Nursery – Voluntary / Not for Profit Owned
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Tracey Kniebe (Nursery Manager)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 16
  • Registered Charity Number
  • 1145108
  • Total Places for Children
  • 36
  • Age Range
    • from 0 years 4 months
    • to 4 years 11 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:30-18:15
    Tuesday 07:30-18:15
    Wednesday 07:30-18:15
    Thursday 07:30-18:15
    Friday 07:30-18:15
  • When Closed
  • Bank Holidays, Staff Training Days & between Christmas & New Year

Funding & Fees Guide for Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

  • Full time place from £1,560
    Full day from £81.50
    Morning session from £45.00
    Afternoon session from £41.50

  • Fees are inclusive of all meals, snacks, drinks (including approved formula milk), nappies and activities.
    We do not charge registration fees, only a £100 deposit which is refunded against the first month’s fees. We don’t charge for settling in sessions, but we do expect payment for all nursery fees to be paid up front at the beginning of each month, which is standard practice for all childcare providers. We do not charge for bank holidays, our four training days each year, or for the three days closure between Christmas and New Year. We do, however, charge for days children don’t attend through illness or holidays, apart from exceptional circumstances.
    Please view the prospectus on our website for a full fees guide.
  • Parking

  • There are some parking bays available outside the nursery for drop off/pick up and parking is also available on the street.


Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe) Reviews (54)

Total of 54, showing 41-54
9.9

Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe) has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.924) out of 10, based on 10 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe) has 54 reviews.

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Review from D B (Mother of Child) published on 28 January 2019
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My sons are really happy at Nursery. They love the wide arrange of activities staff provide and enjoy making the most of the outdoor space. Meals are excellent and communication with parents is impressive. Oaks have a fantastic time at Forest Schools in a real forest.
I can go to work feeling confident
my children are in a safe and happy environment that is giving them the best start in life.

Reply from Kirby Green at Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Thank you for your review.


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Review from Trish A (Mother of Child) published on 23 January 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our daughter started at nursery aged 10 months in April 2018.
We had visited a number of local nurseries and (as well as being convenient for us) we really liked the feel of this one. The size of the nursery is great in our opinion, small enough that staff and parents know each other and large enough
that there are lots of activities going on to help with our daughter's growth and development.
There is a great focus on making sure the children spend time outside each day unless the weather is really terrible, which is great to see. There's also been a big focus on stay and play sessions, which has been a good way of meeting other parents and getting to see for yourself what your kids get up to all day.
There's no way my little one would have had anywhere near the stimulation she gets at nursery if she were just at home with me and she has been known to get her nursery bag and her coat and stand by the front door on weekends too. Definitely a glowing recommendation.

Reply from Kirby Green at Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Thank you for your review and kind words.


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Review from Matthew R (Father of Child) published on 23 January 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter has been attending Acorns for a few months now. She's extremely happy there and always looks forward to nursery days.
The staff are very attentive and seem to have a genuine relationship and affection with my daughter.


The use of the Famly app is fantastic and we get daily updates

as to what our child has been doing with the day and they're always up to something fun and interactive. My daughter is always coming home with new words, sentences and song-alongs so is clearly developing well.


Also, the food on offer is healthy, nutritious and looks and smells lovely!


We will definitely be staying with Acorns through to school years.


Reply from Kirby Green at Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Thank you for your review.


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Review from Zoe S (Mother of Child) published on 23 January 2019
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

When we moved to the area, I was apprehensive about moving my son from his previous nursery to Acorn in Castlethorpe but he settled so quickly and the staff truly made me feel at ease with my choice. When the time came for my youngest to start nursery, I was quite excited for her because I knew just
what a fantastic learning and nurturing environment she would be in. I can honestly say that the staff at Acorn in Castlethorpe feel like my extended family and I trust them completely.

Reply from Kirby Green at Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Thank you for your lovely comments and review.


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Review from Sophie (Mother of Child) published on 26 April 2018
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The nursery has a good balance of creating a homely and nurturing environment for children while giving them access and encouragement to develop their skills. They are very friendly and welcoming with enthusiastic and caring members of staff. The feedback provided on pick up is very detailed and clear.


It

has very convenient, long opening hours and is accommodating to additional sessions. The use of the communication portal allows quick and easy transfer of information. Giving parent reassurance about their child throughout the day and any progression they have made/demonstrated while in nursery.

Reply from Laura Wilson at Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Thank you for your kind words, it means a lot!


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Review from J S (Mother of Child) published on 18 April 2018
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son joined Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe) for his last year before school. He’s loved it from the minute he started and has been begging me to let him stay for longer!


The staff are warm and affectionate, they quickly got to know him and have figure out his personality, strengths and areas to

work on with him. My son talks about his keyworker at home and is keen to tell her all about the things he does outside of nursery.


The staff have a good understating of his development and next steps, they join in with play and support development in a very natural way.


The setting is quite small but this has never seemed to be an issue with forest school, yoga, Zumba and a good mixture of structured and unstructured activities throughout the day which stops the kids ‘getting on top of each other’ which was something I worried about when I first went to view it.


I can’t recommend the team at Acorns enough, I only wish I’d moved him there sooner!


Reply from Laura Wilson at Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Thank you for your kind words.


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Review from James E (Father of Child) published on 18 April 2018
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Very friendly nursery who stretch children to ensure they reach their full potential. Long opening hours and flexibility around additional sessions make the already competitive fees much better value. Range of staff ages help children to interact and relate more readily with life outside nursery. Excellent
online management portal providing one-stop messaging, invoicing and updating facility.

Reply from Laura Wilson at Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe)

Thank you very much for your kind words.


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Review from L S (Mother of Child) published on 16 October 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Acorn at Castlethorpe is a small, homely nursery with a warm and welcoming environment. Our daughters have settled in remarkably quickly thanks to the caring and kind staff. I have no doubts that the health and happiness of the children in their care is of the utmost importance to them and they are
always on hand to offer cuddles and comfort to the nursery children.


The feedback is excellent from staff. They make a point at collection of going through the day's activities, how the children have eaten, slept and enjoyed the day. The Famly app has been a useful way of keeping in touch and we love receiving updates of how they are getting on.


As always when choosing a nursery it is down to the unquantifiable "feel" you get from a place and your gut instinct, with Acorn we are thrilled with the caring and family atmosphere that all the staff have worked hard to nurture.


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Review from Vicky C (Mother of Child) published on 4 September 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Hi everyone, thank you so much for settling my son in today. It was a really emotional one for me, and when I got home at 6 pm my hubby couldn't quite believe how amazing you all were and how happy our son was (and how much he had eaten!). Thank you for making a tough first day back at work a lot easier
and for being so kind to my son.

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Review from Michelle (Mother of Child) published on 19 June 2017
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Finding the right childcare for your child is a big decision for all parents, however, I know just three months after my daughter started at Acorns, Castlethorpe, it was the perfect decision for us and her. She settled in very quickly and this can only be attributed to the support she receives from
the staff. All of the staff show such a genuine level of care for the children and approach every day with unlimited energy and enthusiasm. In such a short space of time, she has grown in independence as well as making strides in her development. Daily communication with her key worker and updates or observations sent to our phones mean we feel like we aren't missing out on a single thing. For me though, the best sign as to whether we made that right decision is how happy she is to go to nursery in a morning - the smile tells me everything!

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Review from Lindsey T (Mother of Child) published on 22 May 2017
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter loves Acorn Nursery it's just like home from home. There have been quite a few staff changes recently which I was worried about as all were close to my daughter. However, the staff dealt with it amazingly and my daughter has not been affected at all and has got to know the new members of
staff really well. I love the family app on my phone as it's great to see the things they get up to and also a quick way to contact the nursery.

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Review from Clare (Mother of Child) published on 18 May 2016
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

A fantastic nursery, I moved my children from another local setting due to concerns over safeguarding and it was the best thing I ever did. My first impression was how homely the environment was. Previously my boy was in trouble daily and due to the new structure and huge range of activities, swimming,
forest school, zumba, mini strikers, teddy tennis (all included). He has something to look forward to and focus on daily. The staff are amazing and I can't recommend them enough. My third nursery due to relocation so I recognise good and not so good.

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Review from Gethin E (Father of Child) published on 9 May 2016
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I feel the nursery treats my daughter very well, she gets an excellent varied diet and always seems very happy to be there. I know the nursery staff focus a lot on her development despite her young age and I can notice the difference week by week as she learns from them.

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Review from Hannah E (Mother of Child) published on 9 May 2016
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I am extremely pleased with how my daughter has settled into the nursery and this is a testament to the staff and team there. The staff are really friendly and nurturing towards my daughter - they make me feel like they really care about each individual child at the nursery and are always incredibly
welcoming and happy to see them every morning. My daughters development has gone from strength to strength and I know the staff plan a great variety of things to do each day and make sure every day is different, challenges and encourages development as well as making it fun! I couldn't be happier leaving my daughter with them.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.924)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.924) out of 10 for Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe) is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 10 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 10 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.924 for Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe) is calculated as follows: ( (110 Excellents x 5) + (9 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 119 Ratings = 4.924

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Acorn Day Nursery (Castlethorpe) is based on 10 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4

    • ii) 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 36 number of registered child places is 7.2, which has been reached with 10 Positive reviews. Points = 1

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

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Meet the Team (3)

Tracey

Tracey Kniebe

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Joined: 2021

Tracey has over 20 years of experience working within the childcare sector and brings a wealth of knowledge to her role at Castlethorpe. She has a BA in Early Years Childcare and a real passion for working with children and providing a home-from-home environment. In her spare time, she enjoys Latin and ballroom dancing and is also partial to baking the odd cake!


Tracey is Castlethorpe's Designated Safeguarding Lead, so if you ever have any concerns or would like to chat about anything safeguarding-related, please visit or call the nursery and ask to speak to Tracey directly - alternatively, the setting can provide a direct email address for her.


Gemma

Gemma Brewer

Job Title: Deputy Manager

Joined: 2009

Gemma first joined Acorn, doing work experience as a Tea Time Assistant and then went on to gain her Level 2 and 3 NVQ in Early Years Learning and Development. Since then, Gemma has gained her Level 5 in Leadership & Management


Gemma enjoys being able to watch all the children grow and develop through the nursery and working alongside a great team.


Linda

Linda Crawford

Job Title: Administrator

Joined: 2016

When Linda left school she gained her NNEB qualification in Childcare. and since then has spent half her life working with children and the other half in business.


For Linda Acorn really is the best of both worlds.


Linda loves the opportunity to spend time with the children watching them develop and grow as well as using business skills she has gained by working for large corporate organisations as well as running her own businesses.


Linda also ran a catering company and has a level 3 Safer Food qualification and is passionate about healthy food and nutrition. So sometimes she can be found in the kitchen, covering when our chef is away.


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