The Treehouse Forestry Nursery & Out Of School Club, Brentwood

A 98 acre woodland gives this Brentwood nursery its defining character: climbing structures, logs and boulders make the outdoors a place to play and investigate. Based at Thriftwood Scout Centre, it combines woodland surroundings with care for children aged 2 months to 5 years. Outdoor learning is the clearest reason to consider it.

At its 21 May 2026 inspection, Ofsted judged achievement, behaviour and routines, welfare and wellbeing, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance to meet the Expected standard, with safeguarding standards met. The practical offer includes full days and morning or afternoon sessions for children aged 2 years and over, subject to attendance rules.

Learning and Activities

EYFS sets the requirements for children's learning and care: here, play and everyday experiences provide opportunities to practise communication, physical skills and independence. Forest School adds learning through woodland exploration, rather than replacing that framework. The surrounding woodland and natural outdoor play features give children concrete things to climb, handle and investigate.

In May 2026, children explored the woods daily, while babies travelled in a buggy bus to see ducks at the pond. Older children discussed bees, nectar and the shapes in honeycomb. These were useful examples of nature supplying material for conversation and early mathematical thinking, rather than outdoor time serving only as exercise.

Cooperation also had a practical purpose. In May 2026, children encouraged one another while weaving ribbons around a maypole, and worked together to combine mud and water for pretend pancakes. Such activities gave them reasons to negotiate, persevere and share a task. Learning followed their interests, with observations helping staff choose what to introduce next.

Outdoor and Community Life

Climbing structures sit alongside logs and boulders in the outdoor play areas. These physical features make the woodland character tangible, offering different surfaces and materials for movement and imaginative play.

In May 2026, children rolled large logs together and climbed trees, learning rules alongside the activity. They also understood that gathered twigs needed to be no longer than their arms to avoid hurting others. The emphasis was on participating carefully in a challenge, with children learning to consider their own actions and the people nearby.

The optional enrichment offer includes cooking, baking and gardening, alongside Forest School Sessions and activities delivered by external providers. Sports Day and Graduation are among the seasonal activities covered by the Essentials & Extras service. That service packages meals, consumables and enrichment during funded hours; families can choose whether to purchase it.

Relationships and Communication

An online journal gives parents a way to follow their child's day. In May 2026, staff also spoke with families at collection and shared learning, next steps and ideas electronically. This connected nursery activities with what parents could continue at home.

For babies, settling discussions in May 2026 covered individual routines and parental preferences. Children sought comfort from familiar adults before returning to their play, and staff used stories and conversation to help them recognise feelings and express emotions. These everyday exchanges made relationships part of the nursery day, rather than something confined to settling in.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the May 2026 inspection, Ofsted found that the key-person system supported children's emotional security and that work with families and external professionals helped children with SEND make progress, while identifying uneven language teaching, baby-room routines and layout, and insufficiently targeted staff development as weaknesses. The positive findings and the limitations belong together.

In May 2026, nappy changes and meals sometimes drew staff away from supporting learning. The baby-room layout also restricted movement and access to equipment and resources; changes intended to improve access had yet to work effectively. Separately, the playroom layout made drinks difficult for some children to reach. For a baby, these are substantial details because care routines and opportunities to explore occupy the same day.

Staff training needed to respond more precisely to individual development needs in May 2026. Support for speech and language varied across the nursery, so the strongest conversations were not representative of every interaction. School preparation included practising independence, such as getting dressed for outdoor activities, and planning children's next learning steps.

Meals are cooked in-house, with provision for dietary requirements. Privately paid hours include meals and consumables; during funded hours, families can purchase the optional Essentials & Extras service or supply meals, snacks, drinks and consumables themselves.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Thriftwood Scout Centre, Orchard Avenue, Brentwood, CM13 2DP. Opening hours are 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, and the nursery operates across the year.

Full Day sessions run from 7.30am to 6.30pm, with a minimum attendance of two days each week. For children aged 2 years and over, AM sessions run from 7.30am to 1pm and PM sessions from 1pm to 6.30pm. These require attendance across at least two days and a combination of mornings and afternoons, so a shorter session does not mean an unrestricted morning-only booking pattern.

An adjusted 8am to 6pm attendance window supports access to funded hours without unfunded time where required. The funding terms also allow attendance on one day when only using the 15 hours entitlement through the stretched offer. Enquiries use the branch contact form or telephone 01277 402 016.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15 hours and 30 hours funding, stretched across the year to approximately 11 and 22 funded hours per week respectively. Up to 10 funded hours can be used in a day. Attendance beyond what funding covers is charged privately, making the chosen booking pattern important to the overall cost.

Essentials & Extras is voluntary during funded hours and is not a condition of accessing funding. It covers food, non-food consumables and optional enrichment; children whose families decline enrichment receive alternative EYFS learning experiences. Private hours include those categories as part of the service. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Outdoor clothing is part of the practical commitment. The daily kit includes spare clothes, wellies and plimsolls, with sun protection for warmer weather and a waterproof coat, gloves and a hat for winter. Families need to plan for woodland play as an ordinary part of attendance.

• Room organisation. The May 2026 findings concerned baby-room movement, resource access and interruptions to learning during care routines. Separately, the playroom layout hindered some children's access to drinks. On a visit, ask to see how the layout and daily organisation now address these points.
• Consistency of teaching. In May 2026, language support varied and staff development needed sharper targeting. Ask how staff now sustain conversation and learning across different ages and activities.
• Shorter-session rules. AM and PM bookings for children aged 2 years and over require a mixture across at least two days. Compare that pattern with your family's working week before choosing sessions.
• Funding choices. The stretched entitlement, daily funding limit and optional Essentials & Extras service affect the balance between funded and paid care. Request a written quotation showing your chosen attendance and opt-in or opt-out arrangement, including any dietary needs.

Thriftwood suits families who want woodland learning alongside either full-day attendance or a mixture of morning and afternoon sessions for children aged 2 years and over. Its physical setting gives outdoor play substance, and the May 2026 examples show how nature, cooperation and independence entered children's learning.

For parents of babies, the room-layout and routine concerns deserve equal weight. This is a nursery with a clear outdoor identity and practical session choices, whose consistency of teaching and organisation of baby care remain important decision points.