Little Barn Owls Forest School Nursery, Southwater

A private forest and art studios give Little Barn Owls Forest School Nursery, Southwater a clear identity: children can develop an idea outdoors, then work it into a creative project back at the nursery. The setting cares for children aged 3 months to 5 years and has 52 places in total. Its renovated barn, large garden and neighbouring playing field provide different spaces for exploration and play.

At its April 2026 inspection, Ofsted awarded Exceptional judgements for achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance, with Strong standard judgements for inclusion, welfare and wellbeing, and behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines. These are area judgements, rather than a single overall grade. The practical offer centres on full-time day care, with weekday opening hours of 8am to 6pm.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage sets the requirements for children's learning, development and care. Here, practical projects bring learning into everyday experiences: discussing an idea, comparing materials, measuring something and explaining what happened. Those activities connect communication and mathematical thinking with making and problem-solving.

The Reggio Emilia Approach adds an emphasis on children's ideas and creative expression. Ateliers, dedicated art studios where children work alongside professional artists, give those ideas somewhere to develop. Southwater works with two artists, and creative research can continue over weeks or months. This makes the process of exploring a question as important as producing a finished object.

In April 2026, a bridge project had lasted nine months. Children researched bridge designs after making two wooden cities they wanted to connect, and a community vote selected a suspension bridge. They investigated metal, stability and weight, then used measurements and real tools to put their ideas into practice. It is a concrete example of an extended project combining discussion, design and physical construction.

Another April 2026 example began with children wanting a tree house. They sought permission from the landowner, developed designs, helped choose one through voting and tested materials before assembling the structure in the forest. The children had decisions to make throughout. Their ideas led to something they could actually use.

Outdoor and Community Life

Forest School means child-led learning through outdoor experiences, including den building, climbing, bug hunts and preparing lunch around a campfire. Children over 3 take turns attending the daily programme in the nursery's private 11 acre forest, 5 minutes drive away. Over a calendar year, their Forest School attendance covers at least half their nursery days, with those sessions included in the fees.

Back at the barn, a large landscaped garden provides another outdoor setting. The adjacent green playing field and children's play area are used for games, picnics and events, while Southwater Country Park provides a destination for walks. The outdoor offer therefore includes both forest sessions and experiences closer to the nursery.

In April 2026, a story had prompted a month-long anti-deforestation project. Children investigated the subject, made campaign signs and took them into local woodland. Outdoor experiences became material for further thought and action, rather than ending when the outing finished.

At the April 2026 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding standards met and effective support for children facing barriers to learning or wellbeing, including regularly reviewed support plans, work with families and professionals, and speech and language resources shared through parent packs. That finding matters for families who need support to connect the child's experiences at home with their nursery day.

Emotional support also had practical forms in April 2026. Staff used social stories and a cool down box to help children recognise feelings and develop ways to manage them. Care routines included children serving their own lunch, giving them a manageable part to play in looking after themselves.

The next step identified in April 2026 was to continue developing the work that removes barriers for children needing extra help, so its benefits extend fully to children's achievement and wellbeing. Families considering additional support should weigh that continuing priority alongside the specific mechanisms already used.

Creative work does not depend on children finishing quickly. The long-running bridge and tree-house examples show time being given to revisiting designs and testing materials. For a child who wants to return to a question repeatedly, that continuity is a useful part of the experience.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is at Easteds Barn, Easteds Lane, Southwater, RH13 9DP. It offers full-time day care and opens Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Those hours describe the opening window.

Southwater's Parent Information Pack can be requested through its enquiry form. The branch can also be contacted at southwater@littlebarnowls.co.uk or on 01403 731 690. Its own parking supports families making the nursery journey by car.

Funding and Paid Extras

The group-wide inclusive fee package reproduced for Southwater covers three daily meals, morning and afternoon snacks, milk, nappies, wipes and nappy creams. That reduces the everyday supplies families need to organise for this package.

Funded childcare is offered for eligible children aged 2 to 3 and for children aged 3 and 4. The younger entitlement starts in the term after the child turns 2 and requires an eligibility code; children using that entitlement do not pay additional service charges. For the older age group, entitlement begins in the term after the third birthday, with stretched funding of up to 22 hours a week across the year.

On funded places for children aged 3 and 4, meals, snacks and non-food supplies such as nappies and wipes sit outside the funded entitlement and can be charged as additional services. Forest School and work with artists are also among those additional services. The distinction matters: an inclusive private fee and funded hours have different charge structures.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. Ending a place, or reducing attendance days, requires two months' notice. Booked days cannot be exchanged for different weekdays, and absence for holidays or sickness generally does not reduce fees, although very severe cases may be considered.

• Forest participation starts over 3. The daily programme operates on a rota, with children attending for at least half their nursery days across a calendar year. During a visit, ask how your child's pattern would fit that rota and how the transition into forest sessions is managed.
• Funded charges depend on age. Eligible 2-year-old funded places carry no additional service charges, while the arrangements for children aged 3 and 4 separate funded hours from additional services. Compare the written quotation with the precise entitlement your child will use.
• Continuity needs planning. Attendance days cannot be swapped, and two months' notice applies when ending or reducing a place. This is a material consideration for families whose work schedules change frequently.
• Settling and additional support. April 2026 practice included reviewed support plans and resources for families to use at home. Ask how settling would be organised for your child and how any support plan would carry through their early weeks.

Southwater suits families choosing full-time day care who want substantial outdoor experiences and sustained creative projects. The forest programme for children over 3 and the artist-supported Ateliers give that choice substance. April 2026 examples of bridge building, tree-house construction and environmental campaigning show what an idea-led nursery day can involve.

The practical decision is whether the attendance arrangement and age-dependent funding charges fit family life. For children who enjoy making, testing and returning to their own questions, there is a clear educational character here.