Wyld Thyngz Forest School Kindergarten

Fourteen acres of woodland and a yurt for shelter give Wyld Thyngz Forest School Kindergarten a clear identity: the woods are the learning space, rather than an occasional destination. Near St Mellion in Cornwall, its mixed woodland provides the setting for exploration, practical skills and learning about seasonal change. The kindergarten has capacity for 10 children in total.

Ofsted rated the setting Good at its November 2021 inspection. That is a dated judgement, and the detail behind it is useful: in November 2021, children used tools, counted during everyday activities and helped shape their own play equipment. Two improvement priorities concerned knowledge of the surrounding community and support for learning at home.

The kindergarten opens during term time on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, from 9.30am to 2.30pm. Its appeal rests on a substantial commitment to outdoor childhood, with families supplying clothing suited to the weather and a packed lunch.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage is the required framework for children's learning and care: here, play provides opportunities to develop language, movement, number skills and relationships. Forest School adds hands-on woodland exploration, with children encouraged to pursue interests and learn to judge risks. The curriculum centres on contact with nature and opportunities to try unfamiliar skills, rather than separating outdoor activity from the rest of learning.

Choice matters within that approach. Children have time to investigate what interests them in the natural environment, while adults encourage exploration and practical learning. Families choosing this kindergarten are choosing woodland as the setting for those experiences, with changing seasons supplying material for discovery.

In November 2021, adults helped children put their actions into words while they investigated pumpkins with tools. Earlier experiences were revisited, including comparisons between tools used for different jobs. This gave conversation a concrete purpose: children could describe a task, recall what they had done before and explain their choices.

Number work also grew out of ordinary activity that November. Children counted movements through the mud and compared portions of raisins. Books brought from home became shared reading, and a storyteller visited regularly. These examples show how woodland provision can include stories and mathematics as well as physical adventure.

Outdoor and Community Life

Yurt in the Dirt provides shelter, with cooking facilities and compost toilets alongside the woodland base. It gives the outdoor day a sheltered point of return. The trees include both broad-leaf and coniferous varieties, so the setting itself supplies different natural materials and environments to explore.

In November 2021, children contributed ideas for a trapeze attached to a climbing tree and developed strength and balance on cargo nets. They also prepared apples with knives before warming them over a fire, with staff guiding knife handling and children alerting each other to the heated stick ends. These were practical opportunities to learn caution while taking part in an activity.

Green Thyngz is the kindergarten's sustainability plan. Fallen wood supplies fuel for cooking and winter warmth, while tree planting and work on woodland biodiversity extend care for the environment beyond discussion. Cooking is mainly plant-based, and experiments with food crops in straw bales add another practical connection between the site and how resources are used.

Relationships and Communication

At its November 2021 inspection, Ofsted found that staff supported individual needs well and that safeguarding arrangements were effective. During that month, picture-based schedules helped children anticipate the next activity, while emotion cards helped them express feelings. Those are concrete support mechanisms, rather than a general promise that outdoor education suits every child.

In November 2021, parents received accounts of the day's activities and updates through an online platform. Staff also exchanged information with other settings children attended, sharing interests and possible next steps. That communication mattered for children whose learning took place across more than one provider.

The improvement priorities from November 2021 deserve equal attention. Children needed more opportunities to understand the local community, and families needed better-organised support for continuing learning at home. Neither priority is answered simply by having extensive woodland or sending an account of the day.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

A SENDCO role forms part of the team, alongside designated safeguarding responsibilities. The admissions policy provides for reasonable adjustments and extra staffing where possible, with an Inclusion Lead working with families to obtain outside support. It also sets limits on the additional support the setting can provide within a term when resources or staffing cannot maintain safety. For a child needing substantial support, the practical arrangement matters as much as the educational approach.

Parents supply lunch; the food policy recommends an ice pack and requires shared cooking ingredients to accommodate the allergies or dietary preferences of children present. Families supply suitable clothing, and the kit list recommends bringing labelled sun cream from home, making preparation part of the outdoor day.

Sessions and Attendance

The kindergarten's address is Woodland Nr Trelyn, Frogwell Road, Callington, PL17 7HN. Opening hours are 9.30am to 2.30pm on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, during term time, following local school term dates. This is an important calendar commitment for families whose working week includes Tuesdays or school holidays.

The admissions policy allows attendance patterns to be adjusted around individual families where continuity for the children is preserved. Siblings and the length of time on the waiting list are among the admission considerations; a request for full-time attendance can receive preference over part-time attendance depending on work commitments, occupancy and availability. Interest in the kindergarten is registered through its waiting-list route, and enquiries can be made by telephone or email.

Weather is part of the model. Sessions continue unless conditions create an adverse risk, with high winds and thunderstorms given as examples; affected sessions are rearranged. The payments policy also provides for rearrangement when a leader cancels because of illness or unforeseen circumstances, but gives no refund for a child's illness or a missed session within a block booking.

Funding and Paid Extras

Eligible children can use 15 funded hours per week for 38 weeks of the year. The funding page describes an additional contribution from families of funded three- and four-year-olds towards provision beyond basic preschool care, with invoices issued each half term. Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Families provide packed lunches, including for children using funded hours; bringing labelled sun cream from home is recommended. The funding contribution is described separately from lunch and kit; families should distinguish the funded education from the accompanying costs and preparation.

• Outdoor readiness. Children walk to the woodland site and carry their own bags; waterproofs, sturdy footwear and spare clothing are recommended. At a visit, discuss how your child would manage the walk, belongings and changing weather.
• Calendar fit. The kindergarten opens on four named weekdays during local school terms. Tuesday and holiday childcare need to fit into the family's wider arrangements.
• Additional support. The admissions policy allows adjustments but sets limits where staffing or resources cannot maintain safety. Discuss the support plan and any outside input your child would need before joining.
• Learning beyond the woods. The November 2021 priorities concerned local-community knowledge and learning at home. A visit is an opportunity to ask how both are now built into children's experiences.

Wyld Thyngz suits families who actively want woodland learning and can organise childcare around its term-time weekday opening hours. The yurt, practical exploration and Green Thyngz sustainability work give that choice substance. Families considering different attendance patterns also have a policy allowing flexibility where continuity is preserved.

The Good judgement dates from November 2021, and its improvement priorities remain useful questions for a visit. For children needing additional support, the admissions policy makes an individual discussion essential. The strongest reason to choose this kindergarten is its clear outdoor approach, matched with a realistic understanding of the clothing, calendar and support arrangements it requires.