Out There Forest School and Kindergarten

Nightingale Valley Woods and St Anne's Woods help define this Brislington kindergarten: children explore woodland beyond the garden at East Winds Activity Centre. An indoor base gives families an outdoor preschool experience with somewhere to return to.

Out There Forest School and Kindergarten has 28 places in total. Kindergarten entry starts at two years and six months, including children reaching that age during September, and extends to five, with restrictions on new admissions for children of Reception age. Ofsted rated the setting Good on 25 April 2023.

Attendance combines a term-time kindergarten day with an optional After Kindie club. The practical limits matter: provision runs Monday to Thursday, with a minimum booking of two days each week.

Learning and Activities

Forest School here means learning through outdoor exploration and play, with children choosing activities and adults supporting them. The Brislington team's approach includes imaginative play and opportunities to take considered risks. Woodland is part of the learning setting, rather than simply somewhere to exercise after an indoor activity.

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care, so outdoor experiences sit within the same educational requirements as other early-years settings. In April 2023, children compared plants through touch and observation, talked about beans they had planted and used brushes and markers for early drawing and writing. Nature exploration and early literacy shared the day.

In April 2023, children climbed tree trunks and balanced across ropes while inventing stories, combining physical coordination with imaginative play.

There were limits to adult-led activities in April 2023. Staff needed to consider activity length and available resources more carefully so every child could contribute. Children also needed more encouragement to attempt practical problems independently. The next step was to give children more room to contribute and work things out, including during tasks such as managing tangled ribbons.

Outdoor and Community Life

The garden and nearby woods give children different outdoor spaces to explore, with indoor space at East Winds available too.

The Forest Code sets out boundaries for woodland sessions. Children and their key person wear matching colours of high-visibility clothing, boundary cones mark the play area, and road journeys use a walking-bus arrangement. These are practical routines for moving a young group between its base and public outdoor spaces.

Younger and older children may spend part of the day in separate groups. Shorter walks can then suit younger children, while older children tackle more demanding outings. This is an adjustment to the day's organisation, rather than a promise of fixed groups or separate rooms.

Relationships and Communication

Before starting, an All About Me meeting connects the family with a practitioner, usually the child's key person. Parents can explain their child's routines, worries and needs.

The start is gradual. During the first week, children attend from 9am to noon; the second week runs from 9am to 2pm and introduces lunch, before the third week moves towards the usual day. The normal session charge applies during these shorter settling sessions, so families need to plan both their time and their budget around the transition.

In April 2023, advance warnings gave children time to finish playing. Staff adapted behaviour strategies to individuals and used emotion cards to help children express feelings.

Famly handles registration, booking plans, invoices and payments. It also records authorised collectors; another collector must be added as a contact and given a password.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At its April 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described successful emotional support through key persons, alongside SEND support coordinated with parents and other professionals, using a wobble board and fidget toys to help children engage. These are dated findings, rather than assurances about every child's experience today.

Current SEND procedures involve discussion with the manager and SENCO, a child-specific risk assessment and consideration of any additional staffing needed. The assessment includes the woodland journey and a child's ability to respond to outdoor boundaries. Attendance can depend on suitable support being in place; the policy also allows attendance to be paused or ended if needs exceed what the setting can support.

East Winds has a wheelchair-accessible disabled toilet. Physical access is one part of the decision, while the demands of travelling to woodland and participating outdoors need individual consideration.

Naps can be supported in a quiet area, with staff checking children and recording sleep through Famly; children can also attend in nappies. Before a move to another setting, SEND transition procedures include inviting receiving staff to meetings and sharing individual plans and successful strategies. This is continuity of support, not an admissions advantage.

Sessions and Attendance

The base is East Winds Activity Centre, St. Annes Terrace, Bristol, BS4 4DY. The Kindergarten Day runs from 8am to 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday, during term time. After Kindie runs from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on those days and requires a continuing booking rather than occasional sessions.

The kindergarten operates for 38 weeks each year, closes on bank holidays and requires at least two kindergarten days per week.

Holiday Club operates separately at East Winds, with a Full Day from 8am to 5.30pm or a School Day from 9am to 3.30pm. It normally takes children aged four to nine; kindergarten children aged three years and eight months may also attend, subject to the club's admission conditions. Selected holiday periods are covered, with neither Christmas nor February half-term provision, and Fridays are excluded.

September is the main intake. Waiting-list registration requires the child's birth date; families later reconfirm interest and requested days. General enquiries go to info@outtherekindergartens.co.uk.

Getting There

There is no parking at the site, and families are discouraged from driving down St Anne's Terrace. Parking on St Anne's Park Road followed by a walk down the lane is the kindergarten's recommended arrangement, making the final approach part of the daily routine.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded and privately paid hours are both offered. Term-time funding can cover kindergarten and After Kindie attendance across 38 weeks, including universal and extended hours for eligible families and disadvantaged two-year-old funding; it cannot pay for Holiday Club care.

For funded kindergarten hours, an Enhanced Provision Contribution is added to invoices for specialist Forest School activities, with the first 15 funded hours exempt for children receiving disadvantaged two-year-old funding or Early Years Pupil Premium. Food charges are itemised and optional, with arrangements for food from home subject to discussion and the eating and allergy policies.

Families supply packed lunch; private After Kindie fees include light tea, while tea is charged separately when funded hours pay for that session. Non-food consumables, including nappies, wipes and sun cream, carry no separate charge.

A one-off administration charge applies when any attendance is privately paid. The deposit is refundable after attendance begins and the child later leaves with fees fully paid, but is retained if the family withdraws before starting. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation; the funding and charges page explains the structure.

• Outdoor participation. Local trips, mud sliding and climbing are part of the activity permissions required before starting. At a See and Play visit, explore how your child responds to the woodland routine and its boundaries.
• Term-time working patterns. Two days is the minimum kindergarten booking, Fridays are excluded, and After Kindie needs an ongoing booking. Match these commitments to your working week and holiday arrangements.
• Funded-hours contributions. Forest School contributions are automatically invoiced for funded attendance, with the stated exemptions for disadvantaged funding and Early Years Pupil Premium. Before accepting, establish how opting out affects the booking: the admissions policy prioritises some funded applicants who opt in.
• Independent problem-solving. In April 2023, children needed more chances to attempt practical problems themselves and contribute during group activities. Ask how practitioners now balance helping a child with giving them time to try.

Out There suits families choosing an outdoor preschool experience with a recurring term-time Kindergarten Day, and those who need that day followed by After Kindie. Its garden, indoor base and access to named woodland give the choice substance. Holiday Club offers Full Day and School Day patterns for eligible older children.

The trade-offs are clear: no Friday kindergarten, a two-day minimum and additional charges around funded attendance. Children needing extra support require an individual assessment of the outdoor routine and staffing. For families whose schedule and child's needs fit those arrangements, nature is a substantial part of the offer.