A huge happy birthday to Acorn!

On the week commencing 16th September, we marked our 35th birthday anniversary! The first Acorn Day nursery opened in September 1989 for just 30 children and now we have 16 nurseries, with over 1000 children attending. Over the years we has grown and evolved, transitioning from a private company into a charitable social enterprise with forest schools, nature kindergartens, holiday clubs, a training centre and a catering hub. Dedicated to putting the needs of the children before profit, we are committed to providing the best early years care and education in a way which is inclusive, accessible and affordable to our local communities.

To mark the special occasion, we organised a number of events for our nursery children, families and staff. At our nursery in Castlethorpe, where it all began, families and the Acorn team celebrated the milestone with a garden party full of activities and of course cake! One of the parents attending was herself one of the children attending on the very first day 35 years ago.

At our Central Support Office, employees with over 10 years’ service were invited to a special lunch to mark the occasion and reminisce in some nostalgia, with the longest serving member of our team celebrating 30 years service too! 

Zoe Raven, who has led the organisation since its beginning reflected “I’m so proud to work with such dedicated and inspirational colleagues, and it’s lovely that we now have several families where the parents themselves attended an Acorn nursery."