Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook)

Colworth Science Park, Sharnbrook, Bedford MK44 1LQ
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Top 20 award
10 64 Reviews
  • Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook), Bedford
Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) is set in the beautiful grounds of Colworth Science Park, and offers a homely atmosphere in which your child can relax and have fun whilst learning and socialising with other children.

The team of qualified, experienced and dedicated staff provide the best possible care for your child within the context of a happy and secure environment.

The nursery is dedicated to providing high-quality care and education for children aged four months to four years, working in partnership with parents to help children learn and develop.

Children have use of a large indoor nursery space, as well as access to a secure and secluded private garden at the back of the nursery. The garden is a wonderful outdoor area with plenty of space to run around and play.

The children not only get to play outdoors in a safe environment, but gain access to a host of new experiences and education about nature and the world around them, the local wildlife, and how the environment changes through the seasons.

Through active playing and exploration, children are learning skills such as problem solving, spatial-awareness and mathematical language.

Their menus have been carefully planned to be both seasonal and nutritionally balanced and tasty ensuring clean plates every time! Their cook prepares all the nursery meals and snacks onsite each day providing nutritionally balanced meals which are both healthy and appetising. Acorn only use fresh, local, ethically sourced produce to create their delicious meal and can accommodate most dietary requirements and have won several awards for their food.

You are very welcome to visit the nursery to see the facilities and meet the staff.
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Funding & Fees

Full time place starting from £1,420360
Full day from £74
Morning session from £43
Afternoon session from £39

Fees are inclusive of all meals, snacks, drinks (including approved formula milk), nappies and activities.
We do not charge registration fees, only a £100 deposit which is refunded against the first month’s fees. We don’t charge for settling in sessions, but we do expect payment for all nursery fees to be paid up front at the beginning of each month, which is standard practice for all childcare providers. We do not charge for bank holidays, our four training days each year, or for the three days closure between Christmas and New Year. We do, however, charge for days children don’t attend through illness or holidays, apart from exceptional circumstances.
Please view the prospectus on our website for a full fees guide.

Contact Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) to get a personalised quote.

Contact Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) to get a personalised quote.

Type of Service

  • Day Nursery
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Aimee Bishop (Nursery Manager)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 24

Registered Charity Number

  • 1145108

Total Places for Children

  • 62

Age Range

  • from 0 years 4 months
  • to 4 years 11 months

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:15-18:15
    Tuesday 07:15-18:15
    Wednesday 07:15-18:15
    Thursday 07:15-18:15
    Friday 07:15-18:15

When Closed

  • Bank Holidays, Staff Training Days & between Christmas & New Year

Parking

  • A large car park is located at the front of the nursery

Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) Reviews (64)

10

Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) has a Review Score of 10 (9.962) out of 10, based on 26 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) has 64 reviews.

Overall Experience
  • 61
  • 3
  • 0
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Date Published
  • 64
  • 6
  • 9
  • 26
  • 38
Reviewer Connection to Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook)
  • 56
  • 8
Total of 64, showing 61-64
Review from Juliette P (Mother of Child) published on 25 May 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Both my children have attended the nursery, which is situated on Colworth Science Park. My youngest is currently in the Squirrels toddler room. We've been really happy with the excellent care provided by the staff throughout. The changes introduced since Acorn began running the nursery last year have
been really positive, the emphasis on natural materials and exploratory play is excellent.
The nursery has good outdoors provision and is situated in lovely grounds, so it's nice to see the children able to make use of them. I'm sure my little one will really enjoy the Forest School sessions when he moves into the Oaks pre-school room. The meals provided are varied and balanced, and all cooked on site.
My little one really enjoys the additional music sessions from Singing Starlets and sharing stories with his carers, an activity which is really encouraged within the nursery.
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Review from Amy H (Mother of Child) published on 25 May 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5
Our son has been at this nursery since he was 10 months old. They have cared and loved him.
They have been able to accommodate his dietary requirements even when it changed weekly!
They look after his needs and encourage his learning. Couldn't be happier.
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Review from P D (Father of Child) published on 25 May 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Easily the best nursery in the area. Real emphasis on social skills and learning through creative play and crafts with natural materials. A real highlight is forest school half day a week where the children are encouraged to explore and take risks. The whole place oozes positive energy: our girls have
really blossomed in confidence and cannot wait to go to nursery in the morning. Also, a real community feel, with staff and parents knowing each other well. Healthy food and a good approach to developing good food habits and introducing a wide range of different foods.
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Review from Ian O (Father of Child) published on 25 May 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
A great nursery in amazing surroundings! The staff are friendly and very helpful and our son is extremely happy there. He loves the activities which range from painting to singing starlets and his favourite "Forest School". He never comes home hungry either as the menus are varied and of high quality.
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Current Review Score: 10.0 (9.962)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 10 (9.962) out of 10 for Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 5.0 out of 5 from 26 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 26 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.962 for Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) is calculated as follows: ( (300 Excellents x 5) + (12 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 312 Ratings = 4.962
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) is based on 26 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 20 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews, 0.05 Points for the next five Positive Reviews, and finally 0.025 Points for the next ten Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.050, 7th = 0.050, 8th = 0.050, 9th = 0.050, 10th = 0.050, 11th = 0.025, 12th = 0.025, 13th = 0.025, 14th = 0.025, 15th = 0.025, 16th = 0.025, 17th = 0.025, 18th = 0.025, 19th = 0.025, 20th = 0.025) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.05 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 + 0.025 = 4
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 62 number of registered child places is 12.4, which has been reached with 26 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Awards / Recognitions (13)

Meet the Team (3)

Aimee

Aimee

Job Title: Nursery Manager Joined: 2007

Aimee is a dedicated and experienced professional who takes great joy from overseeing the development of all the children within the nursery and most importantly seeing the smiles on their faces each day. She, along with Deputy Manager Julie Dix, take great pride in the nursery and the team who make it all happen.


Aimee is also Sharnbrook's Designated Safeguarding Lead, so if you ever have any concerns or would like to chat about anything safeguarding related, please visit or call the nursery on 01234 608899 and ask to speak to Aimee directly - alternatively, the setting can provide a direct email address for her.

Julie

Julie

Job Title: Deputy Manager Joined: 2001

Julie - Deputy Manager

Anna

Anna Wills

Job Title: Administrator Joined: 2025

Anna joined Acorn in March 2025, having spent the previous 10 years working both as a scheme manager, working with the elderly and vulnerable for the local authority and also some time working as part of social services in the community.


Whilst it was new to be working within a new sector, Anna was able to bring some of the skills and knowledge from her previous roles and apply them to the admin role within an early years setting.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Acorn Day Nursery (Sharnbrook) has an Enhanced Service - more info.