We genuinely love what we do.
At Little Acorns, we strive to emit a feeling of warmth and compassion; you are leaving your most precious belongings in our care and we want you to know that we will look after them to the very best of our abilities. We have a wonderful team, all of whom have had children attend the setting.
We really are a family at Little Acorns.
Claire Burbery
Manager
Claire has over twenty years of teaching experience and spent the first ten years of her career teaching in primary education. For the last ten years Claire has worked within the EYFS and since 2014 has been the manager of Little Acorns.
Claire is the ‘Teaching and Learning’ lead and is responsible for developing and planning the preschool curriculum and ensuring it is implemented to a high standard by all staff. It is Claire’s responsibility to analyse assessment data each term and advise the staff of which particular areas of the curriculum require further development and offer strategies to individual key workers on how best to support their key children.
In 2017, Claire gained a qualification as a level 3 forest school lead which enables her to lead forest school sessions within the setting. Claire has successfully managed to interweave the forest school ethos into the daily life at Little Acorns.
Claire is a qualified first aider and is a designated safeguarding lead.
Louisa Harris
Assistant Manager
Louisa has over twenty years of experience as an early years practitioner. Since 2015 Louisa has been employed at Little Acorns. In 2018 Louisa was promoted to assistant manager and in 2022 Louisa took on the role of manager whilst Claire was on maternity leave.
Louisa is the communication and language lead. It is her responsibility to plan this area of the curriculum and ensure that staff are delivering it to a high standard. Louisa ensures parents are kept updated on which sound we are focussing on so that it can be reinforced at home.
Louisa is the ‘Health and Safety’ lead and is responsible for ensuring all staff have a clear awareness of the various health and safety procedures at Little Acorns. Louisa undergoes regular fire drill and lockdown practices and implements all the necessary risk assessments needed.
Louisa is a qualified first aider and is a designated safeguarding lead.
Jodie Thomas
Business Manager
Jodie began working at Little Acorns in 2016 as a member of our bank staff. In 2018, Jodie qualified as a level 3 early years practitioner and since early 2022 has been an assistant manager. Jodie’s role altered towards the end of 2022 and she is now responsible for the administration at Little Acorns.
Jodie is excellent at liaising with committee members and ensuring that their induction process goes smoothly. Our fundraising events are always managed by Jodie who has an array of wonderful and fun ideas to help bring the community together and make Little Acorns a pivotal focal point.
Grace Sciascia
Preschool Assistant / SENDCo
Grace joined our team in 2022. She has been an early years practitioner since 2018, when she qualified with a cache level 3 diploma in early years education. Grace has a creative flair and is very passionate about providing exciting and memorable learning opportunities for the children at Little Acorns; her tuff trays are exceptional. Since 2025, Grace has been the setting SENDCo. Grace has an extensive knowledge of SEN and in particular processing, social communication and autism in the early years, which she puts to good use in her daily practice at Little Acorns.
Michelle Dickenson
Preschool Assistant
During the second lockdown of 2020, Michelle kindly began volunteering at Little Acorns and has been with us ever since; firstly as a member of our bank staff, then as a 1:1 SEN support worker and more recently as a preschool assistant. In June 2024, Michelle gained her cache level 3 diploma in early years education qualification. Since September 2024, Michelle has been leading our mother and baby group, ‘Mini Acorns’.
Our Committee.
Little Acorns Preschool is a registered charity run by a Management Committee of volunteer parents and supporters of the preschool. The Committee work within the parameters of a constitution and any profits made are put back into the preschool.
Committee members are elected each year at the AGM. All committee members are registered as Directors of the Company and have to undergo the necessary checks by Ofsted and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
The Committee role is strategic rather than operational with regards the day to day running of the preschool. Some of the work involved includes; reviewing Policies and Procedures, setting a financial framework and overseeing finances and recruitment of staff. The committee generally meet once a term, although sometimes this can be more frequent, dependent on what they are working on.
In addition, the Committee play a vital role in fundraising for the preschool. Government funding levels put the preschool under enormous pressure financially making break even extremely hard to achieve and therefore fundraising is of paramount importance. Funds raised from events we have held really make the difference – they allow us to renew and replace toys and books, invest in new equipment, regenerate the outside learning space and make necessary repairs to the building.
In June 2023, several staff members embarked on a sponsored climb of Mount Snowdon. Funds raised from the event will pay for a sensory garden which is scheduled to be installed in September 2024.
In July 2024, the preschool is undergoing a complete refurbishment with a grant that has been awarded by the community levelling-up project. This is very exciting for us and secures the future of the preschool.
If you are interested in joining our committee then please contact Claire King (Manager) or Jodie Thomas (Business Manager). Without our committee members, we quite simply cannot operate.
Frank Burbery
Chairperson
Frank joined the committee in 2013 when his grandson was attending the preschool and quickly became a valued member, with his years of business and construction experience. In May 2014, Frank took on the senior role of chairperson and oversees the committee meetings and liaises regularly with our manager and assistant managers.
Adam Male
Treasurer
Adam has been a parent at Little Acorns since September 2024. He joined the committee in June 2025 and was appointed Treasurer.
Sylvia Rowe
Secretary
Sylvia has played a crucial part to the Little Acorns committee since 2009. She is a wonderful help to our fundraising team and is very good at assisting in the organising of events