We genuinely love what we do.
At Little Acorns, we strive to emit a feeling of warmth and compassion; you are leaving your most precious belongings in our care and we want you to know that we will look after them to the very best of our abilities. We have a wonderful team, all of whom have had children attend the setting.
We really are a family at Little Acorns.
Claire King
Manager
Claire has over twenty years of teaching experience and spent the first ten years of her career teaching in primary education. For the last ten years Claire has worked within the EYFS and since 2014 has been the manager of Little Acorns.
Claire is the ‘Teaching and Learning’ lead and is responsible for developing and planning the preschool curriculum and ensuring it is implemented to a high standard by all staff. It is Claire’s responsibility to analyse assessment data each term and advise the staff of which particular areas of the curriculum require further development and offer strategies to individual key workers on how best to support their key children.
In 2017, Claire gained a qualification as a level 3 forest school lead which enables her to lead forest school sessions within the setting. Claire has successfully managed to interweave the forest school ethos into the daily life at Little Acorns.
Claire is a qualified first aider and is a designated safeguarding lead.
Louisa Harris
Assistant Manager
Louisa has over twenty years of experience as an early years practitioner. Since 2015 Louisa has been employed at Little Acorns. In 2018 Louisa was promoted to assistant manager and in 2022 Louisa took on the role of manager whilst Claire was on maternity leave.
Louisa is the communication and language lead. It is her responsibility to plan this area of the curriculum and ensure that staff are delivering it to a high standard. Louisa ensures parents are kept updated on which sound we are focussing on so that it can be reinforced at home.
Louisa is a qualified first aider and is a designated safeguarding lead.
Zoe Townsend-Priest
SENCO
Zoe began working at Little Acorns in 2016 as a member of our bank staff. In 2018 Zoe qualified as a level 3 early years practitioner. We soon recognised the exceptional skills Zoe has with children with varying degrees of SEN and in 2019, Zoe was promoted to setting SENCO. Zoe has since gained an accredited level 3 SENCO award and has also undergone training in sensory processing, and social communication and autism in the early years.
In 2023, Zoe was successful in gaining the role of Assistant Manager.
Zoe is a qualified first aider.
Jodie Thomas
Business Manager
Jodie began working at Little Acorns in 2016 as a member of our bank staff. In 2018, Jodie qualified as a level 3 early years practitioner and since early 2022 has been an assistant manager. Jodie’s role altered towards the end of 2022 and she is now responsible for the administration at Little Acorns.
Jodie is the ‘Health and Safety’ lead and is responsible for ensuring all staff have a clear awareness of the various health and safety procedures at Little Acorns. Jodie undergoes regular fire drill practices and implements all the necessary risk assessments needed.
Jodie is a qualified first aider and, in the absence of a manager, is the designated safeguarding lead.
Grace Sciascia
1:1 SEN support / Preschool Assistant
Grace joined our team in 2022. She has been an early years practitioner since 2018, when she qualified with a cache level 3 diploma in early years education. Grace has a creative flair and is very passionate about providing exciting and memorable learning opportunities for the children at Little Acorns; her tuff trays are exceptional.
Michelle Dickenson
Preschool Assistant
During the second lockdown of 2020, Michelle kindly began volunteering at Little Acorns and has been with us ever since; firstly as a member of our bank staff and more recently as a 1:1 SEN support worker. Michelle is enrolled on the cache level 3 diploma in early years education and will continue working at Little Acorns alongside her studies.
Cory Jose
Preschool Assistant (Bank Staff)
Cory has been a friend of Little Acorns for ten years as both her children have attended / attend the setting. Since early 2023, Cory has worked as a member of our bank staff covering staff absences due to sickness and training. She is a wonderful asset to the team and has a great rapport with the children.
Lauren Whitford
Preschool Assistant
Lauren has been a friend of Little Acorns for over ten years as both her children have attended the preschool. We were delighted to welcome Lauren on to our staff team in April 2023, as bank staff and even more delighted to offer Lauren a permanent position in September 2023. Lauren qualified with a level 3 diploma for the early years workforce in December 2022.
Our Committee.
Little Acorns Preschool is a registered charity run by a Management Committee of volunteer parents and supporters of the preschool. The Committee work within the parameters of a constitution and any profits made are put back into the preschool.
Committee members are elected each year at the AGM. All committee members are registered as Directors of the Company and have to undergo the necessary checks by Ofsted and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
The Committee role is strategic rather than operational with regards the day to day running of the preschool. Some of the work involved includes; reviewing Policies and Procedures, setting a financial framework and overseeing finances and recruitment of staff. The committee generally meet once a term, although sometimes this can be more frequent, dependent on what they are working on.
In addition, the Committee play a vital role in fundraising for the preschool. Government funding levels put the preschool under enormous pressure financially making break even extremely hard to achieve and therefore fundraising is of paramount importance. Funds raised from events we have held really make the difference – they allow us to renew and replace toys and books, invest in new equipment, regenerate the outside learning space and make necessary repairs to the building.
The committee are currently working alongside several staff members who are embarking on a sponsored climb of Mount Snowdon in June. Funds raised from this event will pay for a sensory garden which is scheduled to be installed in August.
If you are interested in joining our committee then please contact Claire King (Manager) or Jodie Thomas (Business Manager). Without our committee members, we quite simply cannot operate.
Frank Burbery
Chairperson
Frank joined the committee in 2013 when his grandson was attending the preschool and quickly became a valued member, with his years of business and construction experience. In May 2014, Frank took on the senior role of chairperson and oversees the committee meetings and liaises regularly with our manager and assistant managers.
Daniella Hodgson
Vice Chairperson
Daniella has been a parent at Little Acorns since September 2021. She joined the committee in June 2023 and was appointed vice chairperson.
Sylvia Rowe
Treasurer
Sylvia has played a crucial part to the Little Acorns committee since 2009. She is a wonderful help to our fundraising team and is very good at assisting in the organising of events.
Jody Smith
Secretary
Jody has been a parent at Little Acorns since November 2020. She joined the committee in September 2022 and has played a valuable role in the rebranding of Little Acorns.