Growild Kindergarten

A 2.2-acre woodland gives Growild Kindergarten its defining character: mud kitchens, den building and campfire learning are central to the day. This Sprowston setting accepts children from 18 months to five years and has 46 places in total. For families who want nature to shape their child's early education, the outdoor space is the main attraction.

At its July 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Good and found effective safeguarding, good progress and well-supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The improvement point concerned helping children recognise how their behaviour affects others. That distinction matters: the positive judgement came with a specific next step for social learning.

Care is organised through age-based Hub Teams, with several familiar adults sharing responsibility for knowing each child. Attendance choices include sessional days and longer full days, alongside conditional half-day arrangements. The practical offer therefore reaches beyond one daily pattern.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the requirements for early learning and care: children develop language, movement, relationships and early literacy and mathematics through play. Forest School adds regular learning in a natural setting, with exploration and practical experiences shaped by children's interests. Here, the woodland supplies much of the material for that learning.

Seasonal learning combines plant and insect investigations, den building and natural materials with storytelling and early number work.

Possible daily experiences include herb potions, dinosaur searches and blanket-and-tarpaulin forts, with slack lines and hammocks for balancing. Staff extend children's interests through stories, tools and games.

In July 2022, children examined insects and fungi with magnifiers, while older children experimented with lighting a fire using fire steels. Mathematical play included matching age numerals and talking about the position of wooden shapes. These examples show how outdoor experiences carried observation, vocabulary and number learning at that time.

Yoga poses and reflection sometimes close the day. School preparation emphasises independence, friendships, communication and managing feelings through play.

Rooms and Ages

Hub Teams cover 18 months to two years, two to three years and three to four years. These are groups of familiar adults with responsibility for particular ages, rather than a system that separates children throughout their woodland play. Siblings and friends can still spend time together across the setting.

For the youngest children, the emphasis includes sleep, settling, language and physical confidence; the middle age group receives support with early friendships and independence; older children have opportunities to practise responsibility and prepare for school. Sharing information between teams supports gradual moves as children grow.

Outdoor and Community Life

Children help arrange the Forest School Classroom for singing, stories and group projects. Puzzles, a train set, toilets and storage support indoor time.

Shelters and a bell tent support rainy-weather play; high winds or storms bring a move indoors. Target trees in Norfolk helps with woodland checks and management planning.

Families join annual tree planting, campfire coffee mornings and storytime. In December 2024, children planted 60 trees from The Woodland Trust's Hedgerow Pack, including hazel, dogwood and crab apple.

Relationships and Communication

The Hub Team arrangement spreads knowledge of a child across familiar staff. Another adult within the team can support handovers when a usual key person is away. For parents, the useful feature is continuity: routines, friendships and learning do not depend on one adult being present.

Settling follows a staged pattern. There are three sessions: an hour with a parent or carer present, an hour independently and a further two-hour session independently. For most start dates these take place during the preceding two weeks; start dates from 1 to 10 September have a separate August booking arrangement. This gives the child practice with short separations before their usual attendance begins.

Famly carries weekly updates and allows parents to message staff, see progress and report absences. A baseline review gathers information about the child's existing language, social and physical development so staff can plan from that starting point. With parental consent, the nursery also contacts another setting a child attends to share interests and experiences.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

Makaton combines speech with signs and symbols to support communication; visual aids, social stories and observations also form part of the support for children with special educational needs. At the July 2022 inspection, Ofsted found that staff adapted their questions, allowed thinking time and used communication aids to support children with SEND. Those are concrete practices behind the dated judgement.

Children can sleep in the classroom, bell tent or hammocks. Indoor and outdoor areas have toilets and nappy-changing facilities, including accessible toilet spaces.

Allergies have a dedicated management form, with a long-term medication form where relevant. The nursery's policy requires long sleeves and trousers throughout the year and insect repellent before sessions, with staff able to reapply it during the day. These requirements make preparation at home part of the care arrangement.

Relevant information is shared with the child's next school, while older children's preparation includes independence, emotional regulation and responsibility through play.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Unit 3 Sapphire House, Roundtree Way, Sprowston, Norwich, NR7 8SQ. Opening hours are 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, across 51 weeks, with a Christmas closure.

Sessional day care runs from 9am to 4pm, while full day care runs from 8am to 5.30pm. Half days run from either 9am or 8am until 1pm and are for two- to three-year-olds attending an additional full day. Morning wraparound runs from 8am to 9am and afternoon wraparound from 4pm to 5.30pm.

The minimum commitment is 1.5 sessional days each week for two- to three-year-olds and two sessional days for three- to four-year-olds. Fully funded-only sessions have a separate 9am to 2.36pm pattern. These distinctions matter when matching the nursery day to work and family routines.

Funding and Paid Extras

Working Family Funding is offered for children aged 18 months, two and three years, and the fee structure also includes Extended 30hr funding. Funding is stretched across the opening year, spreading the entitlement over more weeks. Additional private hours use a subscription model with fixed monthly charges; a 9am to 4pm day includes paid hours even where a child qualifies for funding.

Parents supply packed lunches, while breakfast and tea are included in full day care; morning and afternoon snacks are provided, and the nursery has a nut-free lunch policy. Families supply named sun cream and insect repellent, while extra consumables can attract separate charges, including alongside funded childcare.

A deposit is required, and the registration charge covers settling support and waterproof clothing. For fully funded-only attendance, the registration charge is voluntary and the deposit is returned within a reasonable timescale; other deposit refunds depend on starting the place, completing the agreed notice and clearing outstanding fees. Six weeks' notice applies to leaving or changing attendance, and normal fees continue during absences and bank holidays.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The hours and funding information sets out the attendance choices and funding offer.

Getting There

Free parking is available on site throughout the day, and wheelchair access to the woodland is via Falcon Road East. Enquiries can be made by form, email or telephone, and private viewings can be booked.

• An outdoor day needs preparation. Long sleeves, trousers and insect repellent are part of the routine, and the kit lists require at least two changes of clothing. At a viewing, discuss how outdoor sleep and cold-weather play work for your child's age.
• Funded-only and subscription places follow different rules. Funded-only attendance uses the 9am to 2.36pm session, while longer core days include paid hours. Allocation can favour full-day subscription requests when applications compete, so discuss the exact pattern and written charges before accepting an offer.
• Social learning had a specific next step. In July 2022, children needed more help understanding the effect of their actions on others. Ask how staff now support sharing and disagreements during mixed-age play.
• Food allergies need a practical conversation. Packed lunches come from home, snacks are supplied and the nursery operates a nut-free policy. Allergy-affected families should confirm current snack, campfire-food and medication arrangements.

Growild suits families who want woodland exploration to be a substantial part of early childhood, with indoor resources supporting the outdoor day. Its sessional days and longer full days serve different routines, while conditional half days offer another option for two- to three-year-olds.

The strongest reasons to choose it are tangible: a substantial woodland, seasonal practical learning and familiar Hub Teams. The decision also carries practical commitments, from clothing and packed lunches to minimum attendance and the distinction between fully funded-only sessions and paid subscription hours. Families comfortable with that arrangement have a clear reason to consider Growild.