Acorns Community Pre-School
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Open for decades
A day nursery in Southampton for from 2 years up to school age, open 08:30 to 15:30, 5 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in July 2025. Open since 1989, with 32 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
Two Year Additional Support to eligible 2 year olds – 15 hours free early education and childcare; Early Years Education Funding (3-4 years) – All three and four-year-olds are entitled to free early education or childcare for 15 hours a week during term time; 30 Hours Free Childcare – Working parents for 2, 3 and 4 year old children may be entitled up to 30 hours free childcare; Early Years Pupil.
Worth knowing. New applications will need to let us know their eligibility code so we can offer you a funded place for your child.
What childcare usually costs in Hampshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Hampshire from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
SO40 3BAWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 9 July 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children show that they feel safe and secure as they arrive confidently at preschool. They quickly get involved in the exciting activities set up for them. Staff engage in positive conversations with children. Together, they talk about visiting their new schools and going on family holidays. As they play together, they create pretend tea parties and talk about their favourite treats. Staff encourage children to think about how to share kindly and take turns as they hand out pretend cups and cakes to one another. Children play happily and build good relationships with friends and staff.
Staff provide children with activities that encourage them to explore their senses.
They play with malleable materials and manipulate them into different shapes and sizes. Staff plan these activities to increase children's language skills and to develop the muscles in their hands and upper body. Children and staff talk about the different words they can use to describe how the texture feels. For example, children use words such as 'sticky' and 'soft'. Children also enjoy painting and talk about the different pictures they have made. Children are confident to express themselves creatively.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- develop staff interactions to increase children's attention and focus on learning during activities.
- 9 July 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
- 5 November 2019Good
- 10 February 2016Good
Rated Good or Outstanding at 3 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Acorns Community Pre-School
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
- Waiting list
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.