About us Our Awards We are super proud of all the awards and nominations we have achieved so far and it is all down to the hard work and dedication of our staff teams! Eco-Friendly Early Years Award at the 2023 Nursery World Awards: (September 2023) Alongside winning the Eco-Friendly Early Years Award, which recognises our eco-friendly approach and blossoming sustainability journey in many aspects of our work, ranging from management, to connecting children with nature on a regular basis and educating and inspiring them with what sustainable living can look like, we were also shortlisted for the Nursery Food Award and one of our Early Years Managers was shortlisted for the Nursery Trainer of the Year Award. 2023 Eco-Schools Green Flag Awards: This is an international accreditation that recognises young people's environmental actions! 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction accreditation' at our Sharnbrook nursery (November 2023) "The projects in your Action Plan are very relevant to the young children you work with; hosting your own litter-picks as well as creating a rewilding area for your nursery are a perfect variety of actions for engaging younger children." "Staff members should be proud that you have provided young people with a good awareness of environmental issues and strong foundations for them to build on as they progress to school and hopefully continue their journey as environmentalists." 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction accreditation' at our Burton Latimer nursery (November 2023) "We love the open and inclusive approach you've taken to appointing your Eco-Committee, welcoming parent members who are passionate about supporting your young people to make a difference through drop-ins. This sets a positive and encouraging tone for your work and supports a collaborative and community ethos." "We commend how you are using your outdoor resources, such as your wildlife homes, as anchors for your environmental education provision and teaching children how to care for animals. You have made significant efforts to involve your wider community, and your litter-picks, parent drop-ins and bee-keeper talk are all great examples of this. The food collection box for your local foodbank and parents is further testament to your charitable and community spirit. Well done!" 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction accreditation' at our Westcroft nursery (September 2023) "We love the range of activities that you and your Eco-Committee planned for delivery. The fact that they cover both indoor (recycling bins and plants in every room, and using wet bags instead of nappy sacks) and outdoor (regular litter-picks, growing fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers, promoting outdoor learning and the Great British Spring Clean) activities is excellent!" "We loved reading about how you had incorporated learning about global issues into such key Early Years topics as Understanding the World, Expressive Arts & Design, Communication & Language and Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Great work!" 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award' at our Jubilee Wood nursery (September 2023) "You have provided practical and fun curriculum examples, which impressively build on the projects you have worked on in your Action Plan. This is a great way to add context to your Eco-Schools work, it means young people at your nursery are given the opportunity to learn about important environmental issues and then then chance to work on these issues - a great dual approach. You have used environmental issues to enrich learning and increase engagement with learning in your nursery and this is something to be very proud of." "Your hard work and dedication within the staff team has inspired young people and empowered them with the belief that they can positively impact our planet!" 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award' at our Stony Stratford nursery (September 2023) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "It's very impressive that you have formed such a large Eco-Committee. It shows that young people in your nursery are aware of environmental issues and are committed to being active and creating positive change. This knowledge and attitude has provided your nursery with excellent foundations for the many successes that you've achieved this year." "Staff members should be proud for providing the children with a good awareness of environmental issues and strong foundations for them to build on as they progress to school and hopefully continue their journey as environmentalists. Your greatest successes link clearly to the experiences of the children." 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award' at our Brafield nursery (September 2023) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "We were impressed with the way you conducted your environmental review! You held a discussion with the children, to answer the questions. The review gave you the chance to find what the children were interested in and what ideas they had. Your action plan focused on topics children were excited about, like biodiversity, healthy living, and litter. This will increase their engagement and allow them to take ownership of the programme, even at a young age!" "From the beginning of your Eco-Schools journey you have shown how the programme can be delivered in an early years setting, so we are delighted to award you an Eco-Schools Green Flag, congratulations - you are fantastic ambassadors of the Eco-Schools programme." 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award' at our Stanwick nursery (September 2023) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "We love the range of activities that you and your Eco-Committee planned for delivery. The fact that they cover regular litter-picks, planting bee-friendly flowers, creating a garden sensory space and improving your frog pond and nature area is excellent. It was also great to see accountability and monitoring and evaluation clearly marked in your Action Plan. Great work!" "We also love that the children have taken their great work beyond the nursery and into their local community - for example, collecting for a local food bank - superb work! We are also certain that the children will have greatly benefited from your involvement with such outside organisations as the RSPB and The Wildlife Trust." 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction accreditation' at our Shenley nursery (September 2023) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "It was amazing to see how your Eco-Committee maximised the impacts of their Eco-Schools work by reaching out to their local parish council to work together. It’s a great initiative to start involving the wider community!" "It’s also wonderful to see that even though the children are small, they are still being heard." "Your Action Plan shows that your Eco-Committee have carefully considered how they can involve their entire nursery in their planned Eco-Schools’ activities to achieve maximum impacts." 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction accreditation' at our Kents Hill nursery (July 2023) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "You have worked with a variety of different individuals and organisations including your local care home, relying on their expertise and passion to enrich and inform your Eco-Schools journey. No doubt this was a mutually beneficial experience for all, as these individuals and organisations must have also been inspired by your dedicated Eco-Committee." "It was also wonderful to read you had supplemented your environmental learning with your natures walks – they sounded brilliant! Thank you so much for submitting such a terrific application. We have loved reading about your journey and are incredibly impressed by all you have achieved. We have no hesitation in awarding you an Eco-Schools Green Flag with Distinction, congratulations!" 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award' at our New Bradwell nursery (June 2023) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "Your greatest successes link clearly to the experience of the children. Reducing your waste has clearly been a great success, well done! This is what the best forms of climate action are about – impactful but achievable things that create a positive experience and prompt more action. We love this!" "We have loved reading about your journey and are incredibly impressed by all you have achieved. We have no hesitation in awarding you an Eco-Schools Green Flag, congratulations!" 'Top 20 DayNurseries Group Award 2023' (June 2023) This recognises Acorn as one of the top 20 rated large nursery groups in the region, based on the reviews from our parents & carers. 'Customer Facing Social Enterprise of the Year Award' at UK Social Enterprise Awards (December 2022) Alongside winning the Customer Facing Social Enterprise of the Year Award, which recognises us as one of UK's most effective and leading social enterprises, we were also shortlisted for the Education, Training & Jobs Social Enterprise of the Year Award. 'Large Employer of the Year Award' at Milton Keynes Apprenticeship Awards (September 2022) Alongside winning The Large Employer of the Year, which recognises businesses with 250+ employees that offer apprenticeships, we were also shortlisted for the Diversity and Inclusion Award, which recognises employers who embrace equality and diversity in their apprenticeship programme. 2022 Eco-Schools Green Flag Awards: 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Merit accreditation' at our Sharnbrook nursery (November 2022) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "We were impressed to see that your action plan foci were informed by the children's interest and voice!" "We have no doubt that the way your Eco-Schools work is guiding children along their path to becoming curious, caring and compassionate young eco-citizens must be an immense source of pride for you all at Acorn!" 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award' at our Westcroft nursery (October 2022) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "We have enjoyed hearing about how involved you have been with the RHS Campaign For School gardening, the RSPB Wild Challenge, the Great Big School Clean 2022 and litter picking - well done! We love that your children have taken their great work beyond the nursery gates and into their homes and local community. This is a very challenging aspect of the Eco-Schools programme, so your Eco-Committee should be very proud of their successes in this area!" 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction accreditation' at our Burton Latimer nursery (September 2022) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "It is wonderful to hear that the children have developed their confidence and skills in leadership, active citizenship and how to work in a team! It is clear that your approach to the Eco-Committee demonstrates a proactive, inclusive and educational approach to the programmes. It is impressive to see!" "It is great that you have worked alongside the local community to create a better environment and that you also have a relationship with your local government to support your local community. This kind of work is a good example of the collaborative approach we will all need to adopt to help protect and improve our environment - your application made us feel really positive for the future!" 'Eco-Schools Green Flag Award with Distinction accreditation' at our Kents Hill nursery (July 2022) Some of the feedback received from Eco-Schools: "From adding more bird feeders and bug hotels, to growing more vegetables and introducing more plant-based meals, everyone involved should be incredibly proud of the changes they have made!" 'Top 20 DayNurseries Group Award 2022' (June 2022) This award means that we are placed in the top 20 of all large nursery groups in the UK, and we are the only nursery group to have received this award in Milton Keynes! 'Top 20 DayNurseries Award 2022' at our Kents Hill nursery (June 2022) Our Kents Hill nursery is in the Top 20 nurseries in South East England! Nominations Finalists for two National Nursery Management Today (NMT) Nursery Awards: (November 2022) 'Indoor Learning Award' (recognises the nursery in the sector which has created an environment that most inspires and excites children, as well as most actively involves children in their learning, and celebrates their achievements) 'Team Award' (recognises the nursery team in the sector that has developed and maintained an excellent standard if childcare showing exceptional group values and a commitment to working together for the common good)