Acorn Park is an independent, specialist school that caters for autistic children and young people aged 4 – 19. Our curriculum centres on Autism and related needs, this is supported by our fully integrated clinical team.
The school’s ethos is underpinned by a guiding principle that the young people are placed at the heart of everything we do. This means supporting them to achieve their potential, but much more than this, it means making sure that the things that are important to them are important to us.
We make every effort to make sure that the young people are respected as individuals, and encouraged to exercise choice, and every member of staff is tasked with advocating for the young people they work with.
We make sure that we work in partnership with families, recognising that we share a commitment to the young people’s welfare and valuing the knowledge and experience that family members offer.
We recognise that our young people have a vast range of academic and cognitive abilities along with very individual communication and learning styles and so we offer different pathways to meet those diverse needs.
The layout of Acorn Park means our young people enjoy our adventure playgrounds and outdoor space and engage with our animals at the Care Farm. We enjoy frequent trips to local villages and the zoo, and regularly enjoy activities around Thetford Forest and the seaside towns around East Anglia. We have recently invested in our outdoor education and regulation resources, which have been designed to meet both the young people’s clinical and therapeutic needs.
Acorn Park Vision, Mission and Values
Our vision: For every child to be safe, nurtured and supported to succeed.
Our mission: To care and educate our children, empowering them to reach their full potential, to think big and dream bigger!
Our values: Our values act as the central principles and widespread truths that impact our practice, how we collaborate as a team, how we build our core methods and how we present our mission.
Care: We are courageous in advocating, educating and caring for every child, confident in our purpose to promote kindness respect.
Strive: We are striving for a better future by always doing our best with the children we work with. Our inventive efforts support children at Acorn Park to aspire to healthier futures.
Grow: We help children fulfil their personal growth and build positive relationships. Children are empowered to reach their full potential.
Thrive: We uphold the belief that by being reliable and consistent in our therapeutic practices, by advocating for children and promoting our values, children will thrive on the next step of their life journey.
Our two school rules
- Always be kind
- Always try your best
