Wild Arts

Art projects, woodland trails and a campfire give Wild Arts its character. At Wild Heart Hill in Findon, children’s questions become the starting point for making, investigating and playing outdoors. This is creative childcare for children aged 4 to 11, with a particular role alongside home education and approved flexi-schooling arrangements, rather than a conventional nursery for babies and toddlers.

At its May 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Wild Arts Good and found safeguarding effective. The setting has 10 places in total. Its outdoor setting includes woodland and grassy fields, while its creative work connects practical making with questions about materials, wildlife and the environment.

Term-time days and separately booked holiday clubs serve different family routines. The important distinction is educational responsibility: Wild Arts supports children’s learning but does not provide statutory education, and parents remain responsible for their child’s education.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for younger children’s learning, development and care, encompassing learning through play alongside communication, early literacy and mathematics. Wild Arts adds a child-led, art-based approach: adults listen to children’s ideas, provide materials and help an enquiry develop into a project. A child’s question or interest can become the starting point for a project.

Reggio Emilia inspires the use of different forms of expression, including drawing, construction and sculpture. An Atelierista is an educator with an arts background who helps children experiment with creative materials and documents their thinking. That gives making a purpose beyond decoration: a model, picture or piece of writing can become a way for a child to explore and explain an idea.

Bug Hotel explored insect habitats and biodiversity; Paper Cycles examined paper reuse and recycling. Earth Ship involved children devising and illustrating a story about an environmentally friendly vessel. Environmental questions become practical creative tasks.

Translating Movement used spinning game pieces and paint to investigate patterns and motion. Fairy Garden brought stones, twigs, flowers and moss into miniature garden designs. The materials vary, but the common thread is experimentation: children can test an idea, see what happens and develop it further.

Adults introduce work by professionals connected with a project’s theme to extend the investigation. A presentation, film, exhibition or book shared with parents gives children’s work an audience.

Outdoor and Community Life

Wild Heart Hill occupies 26 acres in the South Downs National Park, with shaded woodland paths, open fields and a hillside. Forest School, an approach to learning through outdoor exploration, informs days combining nature, games and creative work.

Term-time activities include yoga, tai chi or mindful walking, with cooking or hot chocolate around a fire. Holiday days combine seasonal creative work with forest activities such as den building, climbing and tool use. Children’s interests and the season shape what happens, rather than each day following an identical activity list.

In May 2025, children discussed pollution and how to care for the planet. They compared plastic, cardboard and bamboo, explained composting and considered how materials could be used again. Environmental learning therefore had practical examples attached to it, rather than stopping at a general message about caring for nature.

Early learning also used outdoor materials. In May 2025, children traced letters in sand, while turning a wooden cube into a dice prompted discussion about numbers and dots. These examples show how a creative task could carry literacy or mathematical learning within it.

Relationships and Communication

Personalised session diaries use photographs and recorded comments to share children’s interests and learning. They give families starting points for conversations and activities at home, and can support collaboration with schools and other support networks.

Time is also devoted to developing trust between children and facilitators. Group conversation gives children space to talk about their experiences and hear other perspectives. In May 2025, discussions included pets, relatives and friends, giving children familiar subjects on which to practise speaking with others.

At the same visit, parents received regular information about learning, but communication with other early years settings needed development. At that visit, leaders did not exchange updates with other early years settings on how children were learning and developing. For children attending more than one setting, that matters because adults need a shared understanding of what a child is learning and where support is needed.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The outdoor setting includes real activities that need clear boundaries. In May 2025, staff explained why children should stay together during forest visits and discussed respecting other people’s personal space. These were concrete instructions linked to the setting and its activities, rather than safety messages detached from the day’s experiences.

Health conversations covered toothbrushing, exercise, drinking water and using sun cream in hot weather. Wild Arts also has policies covering SEND, safeguarding, illness and medication. Those arrangements sit alongside the practical need to understand an individual child’s circumstances before taking part in outdoor activities.

Reading was a weaker part of the May 2025 picture. Competing conversations and activities distracted children during stories, reducing their attention and interest. Improving story-time engagement was an explicit action, alongside strengthening links with other early years providers. Both are relevant counterweights to the setting’s creative and outdoor appeal.

Sessions and Attendance

The setting address is Charmill Cottage, Long Furlong, Findon, Worthing, BN14 0RJ, and activities take place at Wild Heart Hill. Term-time sessions follow West Sussex school terms and run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 9.30am to 3.15pm. These are full-day workshops, with projects connecting children’s interests to learning across subjects.

Families can book by half-term block or use a monthly subscription for term-time attendance. Holiday clubs are booked separately and run Tuesday to Thursday during school holidays, from 10am to 3pm.

Regular attendance is encouraged so children can develop relationships and contribute to ongoing projects. A first-session guarantee provides a full block refund if a child does not enjoy that session. Enquiries go to wildhearthomeed@gmail.com, and holiday clubs have online booking.

Funding and Paid Extras

Tax-Free Childcare is accepted; families send their payment reference after setting up a payment so a voucher code can be issued. Universal Credit support may apply, and the booking system supplies the receipt and identifying information needed for a claim.

The term-time day price includes the booking fee, and current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation. The session and fees information sets out the monthly subscription and block-booking options, including the separate booking of holiday clubs.

For holiday clubs, parents provide packed lunches and snacks; campfire treats may also be made, depending on the activities and weather.

Flexi-schooling requires a formal parental request and the school’s approval, with the child remaining on the school roll. Wild Arts does not follow the National Curriculum or provide the majority of a child’s education. Families using it alongside home education therefore retain responsibility for the wider educational plan.

• Reading alongside making. Story-time distractions were an improvement point in May 2025. During a visit, ask how quieter reading opportunities now fit around the creative and outdoor activities.
• Learning across settings. Communication with other early years providers needed development in May 2025. For a child attending elsewhere, discuss how progress information will be exchanged, including how session diaries contribute.
• Outdoor participation. Woodland activities, climbing, tools and campfire cooking are part of the offer. Use a visit or trial to discuss how your child’s health, sensory or support needs fit these activities, including food allergies.
• Your educational arrangement. Term-time workshops serve home-educated and flexi-schooled children. School approval is required for flexi-schooling, so establish that arrangement before building attendance into your child’s week.

Wild Arts suits families seeking term-time creative workshops alongside home education or approved flexi-schooling, and those wanting separately booked outdoor holiday clubs. Its appeal is specific: children develop projects with art materials, explore woodland and connect environmental questions with making and play.

The May 2025 improvement points deserve attention, especially for children who need quieter story time or coordination between settings. For families comfortable with the outdoor activities and their own educational responsibilities, the combination of sustained project work and nature-based days offers a clear reason to choose it.