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Babies · Birth to 2 years

Acorns

Acorns is the quietest corner of Willow Row: soft light, low shelves, and room to roll, crawl and cruise. Babies don't fit around a nursery timetable here; the room fits around them. We follow the routine you've built at home, from milk feeds to nap songs, and keep you posted through the day.

Weaning, first steps, first words. The Acorns team have seen thousands of firsts, and they still treat every single one as headline news.

1 : 3
One adult to every three children
9
Places, so it stays calm
0-2
Years, at their own pace

What a day looks like (roughly!)

  • 7:30Gentle arrivals, cuddles and breakfast for early birds
  • All dayNaps, milk and meals follow each baby's own routine
  • 9:30Treasure baskets, sensory trays and floor play
  • 10:30Fresh air: pram walks or the baby garden
  • 14:00Songs, stories and lots of unhurried one-to-one time
  • 18:00A proper handover: feeds, naps, nappies and news
Toddlers · 2 to 3 years

Saplings

Two-year-olds are magnificent, full of opinions, energy and questions, and Saplings is built to keep up. There's a climbing corner, a mud kitchen by the door, paint within reach and a den for when the world gets a bit much.

This is the year of enormous leaps: talking in sentences, making first friends, and (when your child is ready, not before) saying goodbye to nappies. We work on all of it together with you, at your child's pace.

1 : 4
One adult to every four children
12
Places across the room
Daily
Garden time, whatever the weather

What a day looks like (roughly!)

  • 7:30Breakfast club, then straight into free play
  • 9:30Small-group time: songs, stories and turn-taking
  • 10:15Snack, then wellies on for the garden
  • 11:30Lunch together, with growing table skills
  • 12:15Naps for some, quiet puzzles for others
  • 14:00Messy play, baking or a welly walk
  • 18:00Home time, with the day's stories to tell
Pre-school · 3 to 4 years

Big Oaks

Big Oaks is where school readiness happens, without a worksheet in sight. Early phonics, numbers, mark-making and problem-solving are woven into play: counting conkers, writing menus for the pretend café, spotting letters on the walk to the park.

Just as important, Big Oaks children learn the things reception teachers actually ask for: putting on their own coat, taking turns, asking for help, and believing they can have a go. By summer, our leavers walk into school like they own the place.

1 : 8
One adult to every eight children
24
Places in our biggest room
15/30
Funded hours welcome here

What a day looks like (roughly!)

  • 7:30Breakfast, then self-chosen play and projects
  • 9:30Group time: playful phonics, songs and counting
  • 10:15Snack, then garden games and climbing
  • 11:30Lunch: pouring, serving and chatting like pros
  • 13:00Quiet time with books, then afternoon projects
  • 15:30Tea, then stories and show-and-tell
  • 18:00Home time, usually mid-conversation
The key person approach

One familiar face, from day one.

Every child at Willow Row has a key person: one member of the team whose job is to know your child deeply, and to be your first port of call.

They settle your child

Your key person leads settling-in sessions, learns the comfort words and the nap tricks, and becomes your child's safe harbour at nursery.

They follow the little things

Milestones, moods, favourite dinosaurs. Your key person keeps a learning journal you can read any time, full of photos and small victories.

They talk to you, properly

Daily handovers, honest chats when something's off, and a familiar face at every stage, including when your child moves up a room.

See the rooms for yourself

Come and meet the team.

We'll show you all three rooms, the garden and the kitchen, and you can ask us absolutely anything.

Book a visit →