Tree House Friends

Woodland camp areas, rope swings and a day shaped partly by children's ideas give Tree House Friends its character. Based in Trent Park, Barnet, this outdoor nursery has capacity for 12 children. It welcomes confident walkers, with children starting from 16 months and provision extending up to five years. This is a setting for families who want nature to form the substance of the day, rather than an occasional outing.

At its January 2025 inspection, Ofsted rated Tree House Friends Good, found safeguarding effective and recognised the involvement of other professionals in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The strongest practical attraction is the woodland itself: children can dig, investigate wildlife and build with natural materials in the place where they find them.

Attendance can be full-time or part-time, with ad hoc days subject to prior arrangement. The daily nursery timetable runs from 9am to 3pm.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the learning framework: play develops children's language, physical skills, relationships, early literacy and mathematical understanding. Here, those areas of learning take place largely outdoors. The nursery's learning roots curriculum adds an emphasis on movement, thinking through problems and emotional wellbeing, including breathing exercises, mindfulness and yoga. These are additions to the shared framework, giving families a clearer picture of how the day is organised.

Forest School means learning through practical exploration of the natural world. At Tree House Friends, that includes den construction, investigating insects and balancing on fallen timber. The curriculum connects seasonal change with conversation and understanding the world. A changing woodland gives children something real to notice and discuss, rather than relying entirely on prepared resources.

Choice has a place alongside adult direction. Children contribute ideas during the opening circle, while practitioners also organise activities such as working with wood and gathering around a campfire. Camp areas include a mud kitchen, a reading space, loose materials and an obstacle course. That combination allows a child to move between making, looking, listening and physical challenge.

Daily reflection helps shape later planning. Children might talk about what happened, create a picture or collect objects to help recall an experience. Activities can be revisited when children want to return to them, so an interest need not end with the first attempt.

Outdoor and Community Life

A dedicated woodland camp provides the base for exploration. Rope bridges and swings bring physical challenge; growing beans, watching birds and pond dipping offer quieter ways to investigate. Temporary shelters can be constructed with the children when shade or protection from rain is needed. The setting makes preparation part of the activity, rather than treating the environment as a finished classroom.

In January 2025, children tackled stream crossings, used hammocks and worked together to shift bark with gardening equipment. Ofsted also found at that inspection that some activities did not sufficiently match younger children's development, limiting their participation, and asked for better planning for them. That qualification matters for a nursery with mixed ages: the same woodland task needs to make sense to a younger child as well as an older one.

Friends of Trent Country Park is a local partner involved in caring for the park. Families can direct some or all of their registration charge to the volunteer group as a donation. This gives the partnership a practical connection to the landscape children use, rather than leaving community involvement as an abstract idea.

Two settling visits precede a child's first full day, each lasting two hours with a parent alongside them. The introduction therefore happens in the forest setting itself. Children have time to meet staff and become familiar with the surroundings while retaining that immediate parental support.

Rest is accommodated outdoors through hammocks and sheltered sleeping spaces. Indoor accommodation can be used in severe weather, and indoor facilities are used for changing and toileting; private outdoor toileting areas and an emergency potty also support the woodland day. Warm water and soap are provided for washing hands. These arrangements matter as much as the climbing and exploration when considering whether outdoor nursery life will suit a particular child.

In January 2025, the day included breathing exercises and other calming activities, such as contact with grass and trees. Staff monitored development and used that information to plan what children would attempt next. The practical theme was helping children understand their feelings alongside developing independence.

Parents supply lunch, while morning and afternoon snacks are included in the fee. Nappies, wipes and creams are also included, reducing the number of routine supplies families need to pack separately.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Trent Park, Cockfosters Road, Barnet, EN4 0PS. Nursery sessions run from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, across 49 weeks of the year. Closures include bank holidays, Christmas and New Year, and there are five staff development days during the year.

Full-time and part-time attendance are both offered. Ad hoc days use the same 9am to 3pm window and must be arranged with a member of staff before booking. They are a separate option for an additional day, rather than permission to book without discussion.

Enquiries can be made by email to info@treehousefriends.co.uk or through the nursery form. Siblings and families already enrolled receive priority in the joining process. A registration charge and deposit form part of enrolment; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The registration charge is non-refundable, and the deposit is refundable during the month the child leaves, but is forfeited if the child does not attend on the agreed start date.

Getting There

The nursery is near the Cockfosters Road entrance to Trent Park, which has council parking; the car park beside the toilets includes designated spaces for disabled visitors. Cockfosters Station is A 10 minute walk from this station, while Oakwood is served by the Piccadilly Line.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare is offered through the 15 / 30 hours free funding entitlements, alongside paid attendance. The distinction between private attendance and the funded booking pattern deserves attention when choosing days across the year.

• Younger children's participation. The January 2025 improvement action concerned activities that did not sufficiently engage younger children. At a visit, ask how a woodland task is adapted for a child just starting nursery.
• Weather and rest. Children need suitable layers, waterproof clothing and boots, and park wardens can close the park when conditions are unsafe. Explore how shelter, rest and severe-weather arrangements would work for your child.
• Term-time attendance. The attendance options include term-time places, but the funding information also says term-time-only attendance is currently not offered. Resolve which arrangement applies to your intended booking before committing.
• Mixed-age staffing. Children of different ages learn together, including confident walkers. Ask how adults are deployed across the ages during exploration and personal care.

Tree House Friends suits families seeking full-time woodland nursery care, a regular part-time pattern or pre-arranged ad hoc days. The appeal is concrete: a woodland camp, practical exploration, child contributions to planning and a supported introduction with a parent present. Outdoor clothing and a supplied lunch are part of the family routine.

The younger-child planning concern from January 2025 deserves a direct conversation. For a child who enjoys movement, making and investigating nature, the setting offers a clear alternative to spending most of the nursery day indoors.