The Wood Shed Forest School and Nursery

A yurt, a large fire circle and tented shelter give this woodland nursery its character. The Wood Shed Forest School and Nursery occupies a site within 65 acres of semi ancient woodland near Selsdon, South Croydon. Outdoor learning shapes the day, rather than sitting alongside an indoor classroom routine. This is a choice for families who want nature to supply the materials, challenges and discoveries of early childhood.

Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding at its 9 September 2025 inspection. The current capacity is 21 children, with an accepted age range of two to five. Those whole-setting figures describe the scale of the nursery; they are not a daily group size.

Care runs during term time, with opening hours of 8am to 6pm on weekdays across 38 weeks. The woodland setting is the central attraction, but the term-time calendar is an equally important part of the decision.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the framework for children's learning, development and care: play and everyday experiences are used to build skills for later learning. The Forest School Way adds this nursery's emphasis on outdoor exploration, children directing their discoveries and learning to assess challenges. Nature supplies the subject matter. Children can investigate something they find, test an idea and work with others rather than follow an activity detached from their surroundings.

Forest Rules is a daily discussion about safety, friendship, feelings and respect. It gives children a shared language for managing the woodland day and getting along with one another. Yoga also takes place daily, using breathing, simple movements and playful exercises. These routines bring conversation and movement into the outdoor programme rather than treating the forest purely as somewhere to run around.

In September 2025, children investigated how to extract a conker from its casing safely, while staff explained the hazards of poisonous plants and mushrooms. These are concrete examples of learning to judge a situation before acting. The approach asks children to think, with adult support close to the task.

A child-initiated swing-making project during that same month illustrates how interests could become practical work. Staff supplied equipment and helped children try their ideas. Storytelling also introduced vocabulary connected with their experiences, including words about plants and equipment. The woodland was both a place to explore and a source of language.

Outdoor and Community Life

The site combines open woodland activity with substantial shelter: the yurt and tented areas support the outdoor model in changing weather. A large fire circle is another physical feature of the setting. Families are choosing a day organised around this environment, so comfort with an outdoor routine matters as much as enthusiasm for its possibilities.

Children travel into the deeper woods by trailer. That journey belongs to the nursery's daily life, alongside exploration and shared activities. It makes the setting more specific than a nursery with occasional woodland outings: the forest is where its approach takes shape.

In September 2025, staff helped children with everyday independence, including toileting, and responded to difficult feelings with discussion and calming strategies. Guitar playing was one way of helping unsettled children rejoin an activity. These examples show how practical care and participation were connected: a child needing help with self-care or emotions received support within the day's experiences.

At the September 2025 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and described staff identifying emerging needs, creating support plans, seeking local authority help and working closely with parents. The useful detail is the mechanism of support, rather than a general promise of inclusion. Needs were identified, plans were made and outside help was sought when required.

Communication in September 2025 included conversations about children's learning and advice for parents on sleep and nutrition. Staff assessed starting points and planned next steps for individual children. For families, that connects what happens in the woods with the child's development and routines at home.

Food supplied by the nursery is vegetarian, with cereal breakfasts, fruit snacks and hot lunches prepared elsewhere. Parents provide a picnic tea, so the later meal remains a family responsibility.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Frylands Wood Scout Outdoor Centre, Featherbed Lane, Croydon, CR0 9AA. The nursery opens on weekdays from 8am until 6pm and operates for 38 weeks during term time. This calendar needs to fit the family's working year as well as the child's nursery routine.

The morning drop-off window runs from 8am to 9.30am. This is a timing arrangement within the day, rather than a stated morning-session booking. It should be considered alongside the trailer journey into the woodland when planning the morning routine.

Families can register their interest through the contact form, and visits can be scheduled. Seeing the woodland, shelter and daily arrangements is a useful part of choosing a setting whose environment plays such a large role in the child's day.

Funding and Paid Extras

In September 2025, the nursery provided government-funded childcare places and received additional funding for disadvantaged children. That is a dated participation fact, rather than a promise about a particular child's entitlement or booking.

Parents supply the picnic tea. Breakfast, fruit and an off-site-prepared hot lunch form the nursery's food offer, so meal planning involves both nursery provision and food brought from home.

• An outdoor day. The yurt, tented shelter and woodland are central to the setting. During a visit, discuss how your child would manage the outdoor routine and what clothing they would need.
• The term-time calendar. Care operates across 38 weeks, with weekday opening from 8am to 6pm. Families needing childcare through school holidays should weigh that calendar against their working arrangements.
• Funding and the total package. Funded childcare formed part of the offer in September 2025, and parents provide picnic tea. Which funded attendance arrangement, meals and non-food consumables would apply to your child's proposed booking?

The strongest reason to choose The Wood Shed Forest School and Nursery is the way its environment gives substance to its approach: woodland exploration, daily Forest Rules and Yoga, backed by an Outstanding judgement from September 2025. It suits families seeking term-time care for a two-to-five-year-old whose nursery day they want built around outdoor play and practical discovery.

The decision is also practical. A 38-week calendar and responsibility for picnic tea need to work for the household. For families comfortable with those arrangements, the forest is the defining attraction, with shelter and shared routines giving the day structure.