Out There Kindergarten

Snuff Mills and Stoke Park give Out There Kindergarten its outdoor setting, with a large garden at its scout hut base in Stapleton. Woodland exploration and practical play shape the day. This is a choice for families who want nature to be part of their child's ordinary routine, with indoor space back at base.

At its March 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated the kindergarten Good and found safeguarding effective, with children enthusiastically engaged in learning indoors and outside. The setting has capacity for 28 children in total and accepts children from two years and six months to five years old. Children must have reached the minimum age before starting.

Attendance is term-time, with a kindergarten day and a separately booked After Kindie Club for families needing a later finish. The outdoor emphasis brings practical responsibilities too: waterproof clothing, a backpack and a packed lunch are part of preparing for the day.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage shapes learning through language, physical activity, early writing, number work and nature exploration. Children's interests, seasons, local surroundings and food exploration guide the curriculum; practitioners observe progress and plan next steps.

Forest School adds outdoor activities children choose and develop with adult support, practising decisions, risk assessment and self-care. Birth to 5 matters guides observation and planning for individual development.

In March 2025, children explored frog development with models and reference cards, manipulated clay to prepare for writing, and recognised numbers through hopscotch. Staff introduced new vocabulary, while listening games involved identifying and describing sounds.

Stories, music, mindfulness and yoga bring a quieter close to the day at the scout hut, allowing time to unwind.

Outdoor and Community Life

The 252 Scout Hut has indoor space and a large outdoor play area near Snuff Mills and Stoke Park. Children need waterproof trousers or dungarees, suitable footwear and spare clothes. They carry their backpacks, making size and contents important.

In March 2025, children examined small creatures with magnifiers and reference books, balanced on a slack line between trees and imitated a woodpecker with sticks and stones. Movement and investigation worked together.

The Forest Code covers outdoor boundaries and behaviour, discussed around the fire circle before sessions. Orange cones mark boundaries. In March 2025, children recognised plants to avoid touching and cooked outdoors safely.

Family Afternoon events usually take place towards term-end on a Thursday. Famly invitations bring families together in the garden for food, stories or music and time with other families.

Relationships and Communication

A key person is assigned before starting, supporting emotional needs, toileting and changing, and acting as the family's main contact. The All About Me Meeting introduces the child and family to staff and informs care.

Settling starts with 9am to noon in week one and 9am to 2pm in week two, reaching the usual day in week three. Familiar objects, books and photographs help. Privately paid sessions retain the normal rate despite shorter days.

Famly shares photographs, activities, observations, assessments and messages, plus weekly updates and home-learning ideas. Families can also discuss their child's day with the key person towards collection time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the March 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that staff worked effectively with outside professionals to support children needing additional help and maintained strong partnerships with parents, but needed to develop links with every other setting sharing children's care. Families combining providers need learning information shared between them.

The manager also holds the SENCO and designated safeguarding lead roles, with a deputy safeguarding lead in the team. Forest School leaders and assistants contribute to the outdoor provision. Staff receive child protection training, and qualified staff hold paediatric first aid training.

Naps can be supported when requested or when a child falls asleep through tiredness. A calm area and regular staff checks are part of that arrangement, and sleep times are recorded through Famly. Children can also attend in nappies. For younger children, the group may sometimes divide by age so that shorter walks can suit their pace.

Sessions and Attendance

The kindergarten day runs from 8am to 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday, with a minimum attendance of two days each week. Children arrive between 8am and 9am, and collection is between 3pm and 3.20pm. It operates for 38 weeks annually and closes on bank holidays. Families need separate arrangements for Fridays and the weeks outside its term-time calendar.

After Kindie Club runs from 3.30pm to 5.30pm on the same days, combining indoor or outdoor play with light tea. It requires an ongoing booking rather than occasional sessions, and a six-week cancellation policy applies to the place. Collection is requested by 5.20pm, with an earlier preferred collection of 5.15pm on Thursdays while the team holds its meeting.

Scout groups share the premises. Packing begins around 5pm, with suitable television used during that period: a consideration for extended afternoons.

Getting There

The address is 252 Scout Group, Stonechat Gardens, Stapleton, BS16 1UQ. Parents must use the side streets in Stonechat Gardens and walk through to the scout hut; the adjacent residents' car park is reserved for residents and their visitors.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded and privately paid childcare are both offered. Eligible working-parent two-year-olds can receive 30 funded hours from the term after their second birthday, provided their eligibility code has been applied for, received and validated before the funding term starts; attendance here starts only from two years and six months. Children aged three and four can use 15 or 30 hours, according to eligibility, from the term following their third birthday, with code-dependent 30-hour funding requiring an eligibility code applied for, received and validated before the funding term starts. Funding is delivered over 38 term-time weeks and can cover kindergarten and After Kindie hours, with the minimum two-day attendance applying.

Families provide lunch; light tea is included in privately paid After Kindie sessions, while on funded hours morning snack and afternoon tea carry optional food payments, with parents able to supply their own after agreeing arrangements that follow the healthy eating and allergy policies. The branch's default policy excludes nuts unless families are told that no nut allergies are present, and non-food consumables, including nappies, wipes and sun cream, carry no separate charge.

An Enhanced Provision Contribution supports the specialist Forest School activity on funded kindergarten hours and is automatically added to invoices; the admissions policy describes it as voluntary and gives priority to eligible funded applicants who opt in, except those qualifying for disadvantaged funding or Early Years Pupil Premium. The contribution is waived for the first 15 funded hours for those qualifying children, but applies above those hours; it does not apply to privately funded attendance.

A one-off administration charge applies where families pay privately for any hours. The deposit is returned after the child leaves if they have started attending and all fees are paid, but is retained if the place is withdrawn before attendance begins. Details are on the admissions and funding page. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• Outdoor readiness. Waterproofs, spare clothes and a child-sized backpack are everyday requirements. At a See and Play visit, discuss how your child would manage the walks and outdoor routines.
• Shared childcare. The March 2025 improvement point concerned coordination with other settings children attend. Families using another provider should discuss how learning information will be exchanged.
• The late afternoon. Packing away begins around 5pm and television forms part of that period. Consider this alongside the earlier preferred Thursday collection when choosing After Kindie.
• Funding choices. The voluntary Forest School contribution is automatically invoiced, and opting in affects admissions priority for some funded applicants. Discuss the opt-in arrangements and applicable exemption before accepting a place.

Out There Kindergarten suits families seeking outdoor preschool learning through either the term-time kindergarten day or that day followed by After Kindie Club. Its scout hut garden, nearby green spaces and practical activities give the choice a clear character. Gradual settling and key-person contact support the move into that routine.

The decision rests on how comfortably the family can accommodate outdoor preparation, a Monday-to-Thursday calendar and the funded-hours contribution arrangements. For children sharing care across providers, the March 2025 partnership improvement point deserves attention too.