"From little acorns

mighty oaks grow"

Welcome to the Acorn Group

The Acorn Group provides a welcoming, warm environment that provides a bridge between home and school.

What is our Acorn Group?

Our Acorn Group is a small class of 4-6 children who remain part of a class group but spend one or two afternoons a week within our Acorn Room.  Our Acorn group supports children to meet the social and intellectual demands of school life, improving their self-confidence and self-esteem, through a carefully planned curriculum.

Our Acorn Group Principles

1.  Children's learning is understood developmentally.  Planned activities within the Acorn group reflects the curriculum of similar children in the school but is adapted as appropriate for the developmental stage of each child in the group.  Acorn Group staff meet regularly with the class teachers to discuss the children's learning, emotional needs and their progress.

2. The classroom offers a safe base.  The Acorn room provides a bridge between home and school, a warm and friendly environment where children feel emotionally safe and secure.

3. The development of self-esteem is an important aspects of the Acorn group.  With a growing self-esteem children will be more able to face the challenges of everyday life, to solve problems and to tackle new experiences.

4. The development of language skills for communication is vital.  Great attention is paid to the use of language with high levels of child/adult interactions, everything is explained and explored.

5. All behaviour if communication.  The children learn acceptable ways of communicating their likes, dislikes and feelings.  There is a clear rewards and sanctions system, understood by children, within the group.

6. We recognise the importance of transition in children's lives.  Managing transitions is a key feature of our Acorn Group, preparing the children for day-to-day events and changes to the usual routines.

Our Acorn Room

Our room has the following areas:

A dining area, equipped with utensils, baking equipment, cooker, fridge etc.

A living area with a sofa, rug, photographs, lamps and curtains.

A quiet area with cushions and books

A work area with maths and English equipment, paper, card, display boards.

A general area with jigsaws, bricks, games and role play.

An Acorn Group Session

Each session is planned to meet the emotional and learning needs of each child.  A range of practical activities, rich in speaking and listening, take place with an over arching group focus for developing the children's social and emotional needs.  Each child also has an individual personal and social target which is developed through relationships with adults and other children within the room.  The National Curriculum and information from the Boxhall Profile analysis are used to plan for the group and individuals.

Snack times are an important part of the Acorn group session.  The children learn to socialise with each other, to eat and enjoy others company during a meal time, to try new foods, to take turns, to learn acceptable ways of making their needs, likes and dislikes known, and to take on helpful roles within the group, e.g. washing up, laying the table, pouring drinks.

Parents as Partners

Regular informal meetings with parents take place to discuss progress, share concerns and to plan next steps.

A key aim of the Acorn Group is for the children to develop the necessary skills to be able to integrate positively into their peer and class group.