Carter's Sunflowers

Help us support the invisible children

Carter’s Sunflowers is a non-for-profit specialist nursery for children on the autistic spectrum or with social communication needs. At the beginning of 2021 this special place was just a vision that evolved because a little boy had nowhere to go to school...because he was different.

The early years should be full of exciting opportunities for children to play, learn and grow, but instead at the beginning of this journey many autistic children experience rejection and waiting lists! In April 2021 Carter’s Sunflowers opened its doors to just 6 children. Specialist teachers worked alongside speech and language therapists and occupational therapists to ensure staff were highly trained and ready to provide an inclusive learning environment where every child could be their unique self and still learn. The children thrived, and the word spread. We now support 24 families across Hertfordshire. Our nursery is full and there is a waiting list for places. Carters Sunflowers receives phone calls from desperate parents every day. Many of these children have been turned away from their local nursery, others find the sensory experience so overwhelming that they can’t cope.

Early intervention is critical at this age to enable our children to access an education, make friends and reach their full potential. Without this, our children would not have the skills or support in place to move on to school. We are so proud of our achievements so far and the progress every child has made, but we have outgrown the space we are in and desperately need support so we can afford a bigger building.

Unfortunately, we have been unable to secure a council building and have to look for a commercial building, this comes with big costs. We are fundraising to cover the costs of the building for 1 year whilst we are in this period of growth, We will also use the funds to make the building fit for purpose for our children.

This is what Carter's Sunflowers means to our parents;

“ Carter's Sunflowers isn't just a Nursery to us, they are a part of our lives. An extremely important part. Without them, ours and our children's lives would be limited, isolated and overwhelmingly difficult to cope in. All of the staff at Carter's Sunflowers understand and include our two boys in the same way that we do as their parents. Having specialist teachers and an Autism approach to learning and development within an Early Years setting has enabled our boys to make the progress that just felt unreachable in mainstream. Their support to us as a family far exceeds the confines of their curriculum and we will forever be indebted to each and every member of staff at Carter's Sunflowers for their knowledge, compassion and outright determination to make a difference to the lives of all the Autistic children that are fortunate enough to come under their care. They are a part of our family”

“Our little boy didn’t quite ‘fit in’

Our little boy proved challenging

The nursery he went to couldn’t cope

We struggled and started to lose hope

After a visit to Carter’s Sunflowers we learnt to understand

That all our little boy needed was just a helping hand

Carter’s Sunflowers have changed our lives and many others too

Our children receive support and care all the way through

A huge thank you to their amazing team

They’ve created a space where his face beams

He can talk, he can play and communicates in his own way

There’s no judgement or rejection

Just lots of care and affection”

Help us continue to change lives and give these children the opportunities they deserve.