Little Acorns
GoodTakes funded hoursBirth to 5Open for decades
A day nursery in Northampton for from 2 years up to 5 year olds, open 8am to 6pm. £5.00 a session, and they take the funded hours. Rated Good by Ofsted in June 2022. Open since 2009, with 44 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Term time only, 38 weeks a year.
| Age | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| All ages | £5.00Breakfast Club, 1 hrs £12.50Afternoon, 2.2 hrs £13.00Morning, 3 hrs |
Extras
Charged on top of the session rate.
- £2.00 a session Hot Lunch
- £2.50 a session Lunch Club Session
What a funded hour still costs
Funded hours cover the childcare. These are charged alongside them.
- £2.50 a session Lunch clubregardless of age and funding
Where this came from
The outlined line is the one the price was taken from.
Funded hours
38 weeks of 15 hour per week of funding, for all children from the term after their 3rd Birthday.
Worth knowing. This excludes Lunch club, which is chargeable to everyone even if they are eligible for government funding.
What childcare usually costs in West Northamptonshire
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in West Northamptonshire 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
NN6 9BSWhat 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, 30 June 2022 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children arrive at this welcoming pre-school ready to learn. They quickly settle and enjoy the stimulating activities available to them. Children develop their physical skills on an indoor climbing frame. They carefully climb and show delight as they travel down the slide. Supportive staff encourage children to take measured risks as they climb. Children snuggle into staff as they read a story and join in with the familiar text, pointing to the words and repeating the phrases in the book. Children use their small-muscle skills to manipulate play dough. They squeeze the dough and cut out shapes. Children further practise their small-muscle skills as they handle brushes and glue sticks. They create pictures and write 'letters' on an easel as supportive staff gently encourage them to name the letters.
Children benefit from outdoor play in a secure, engaging space. They investigate bugs they have found with great interest and identify them using a reference guide. Children use their mathematical skills as they pour flour into containers.
They learn about the world as they tip water through funnels and watch with curiosity as a solar fountain spouts water. Children develop coordination using bicycles and scooters. They use their large muscles to propel them along a road the staff have created for them. As they travel along, they use their imagination to stop and pretend to buy ice creams. Staff encourage the children talk about their favourite flavours. Children use descriptive words to talk about their ice creams and relate this to what they like to eat at home.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- enhance staff's knowledge about how to confidently deliver the curriculum designed for the children n strengthen staff understanding of how to use questions to find out what children need to learn.
- 30 June 2022Good
- 28 November 2012Outstanding
- 6 July 2009Needs improvement
Rated Good or Outstanding at 2 of the last 3 graded inspections.
Still missing for Little Acorns
- Nappies
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.
- Is £5.00 a session still the rate? 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.