Footprints On The Moon Outdoor Nursery

Hammocks between trees and a weekly journey to the coast give Footprints On The Moon Outdoor Nursery a clear identity. At Plessey Woods Country Park in Bedlington, children spend their nursery day outdoors, choosing adventures, making shelters and investigating the living world. Forest School means learning through exploration and children's own interests in a natural setting. Here, that approach shapes both activity and rest.

The nursery has capacity for 25 children aged two to four. At its September 2021 inspection, Ofsted rated it Good overall and found safeguarding effective, with children showing confidence, enjoying friendships and developing independence. That is a dated judgement, and its practical findings deserve attention alongside the current outdoor offer.

Attendance requires at least two days each week, with wraparound care extending beyond the usual afternoon collection. The strongest reasons to consider this nursery are its woodland day, included Beach School experiences and staffing ratios above the legal minimum for the ages specified.

Learning and Activities

The early years foundation stage provides the required framework for learning and care; here, children practise language, planning and physical skills by discussing adventures, choosing what to investigate and working together outdoors. Forest School supplies the approach through which those experiences happen. Children's interests help determine the activity, while adults support exploration and set boundaries.

A typical nursery day begins with a group discussion and a check of the grounds involving the children. They revisit their boundaries and agree how to treat one another and the forest. This makes responsibility a practical part of the routine: children contribute to decisions about the space where they will play.

An adventure might involve searching for streams, identifying plants or investigating small creatures. Shelter-building also has a purpose, providing somewhere to eat lunch or protection from sunshine and rain. For a child who enjoys making things and exploring outdoors, these are tangible reasons to engage with the day.

In September 2021, children experimented with pouring water, adjusting their methods when it spilled. They also harvested vegetables using cutters and spades, and balanced on stumps and logs.

Language was another emphasis in September 2021: staff introduced vocabulary and concepts, and children retold familiar stories and contributed ideas to group conversations. However, opportunities to stretch literacy were sometimes missed. The improvement priorities included greater challenge based on children's existing skills and more sharing of staff expertise to make teaching more consistent.

Outdoor and Community Life

Beach School, an included part of nursery provision involving coastal exploration, takes children to the beach every week. Each outing lasts approximately five hours including travel, using the nursery's minibuses, and every child has the opportunity to participate. Rock-pool exploration and collecting beach materials for artwork give the coastal day its own character.

Cresswell, Druridge and Newbiggin are among the destinations, alongside Blyth, Seaton Sluice, Whitley Bay and Cullercoats.

Environmental care also has concrete routines. The setting avoids single-use plastics and uses reusable bottles, metal utensils and wooden spoons. Children take part in recycling, composting and reusing found materials, connecting care for the environment with everyday choices about equipment and waste.

Relationships and Communication

Settling starts with an anticipated minimum of three visits, each lasting two hours, over a fortnight. A parent stays for the first, remains present with a smaller role during the second, and the third is intended to take place independently. The sequence can change to suit the child. Settling visits take place on the same weekday as their regular attendance, helping children meet the people they will spend time with.

In September 2021, practitioners gathered detailed information about children's needs and interests from parents and knew their key children well. Induction arrangements used that knowledge to help children adjust to the routine. For families, this makes the early exchange of information purposeful: familiar interests can become a starting point for a child's nursery experience.

Tapestry, the system used to share photographs of children's experiences, gives parents a view of what their child has been exploring. In September 2021, electronic updates also communicated observations and achievements, helping parents understand children's learning and continue it at home.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The nursery's usual ratios are one adult for three two-year-olds and one for five three-year-olds. Both exceed the corresponding legal minimums of one adult for five two-year-olds and one for eight children aged three and over. This provides more adult capacity to support the outdoor day; it does not state how many children attend together.

Rest is accommodated outdoors. Hammocks are attached low between trees, with a sleeping tent and pop-up bed as an alternative. Toileting has its own practical arrangements too: there is a cabin at camp, access to the park's public toilets and portable facilities for outings, including changing tents and handwashing equipment.

Staff work together on outings and use radios to communicate. Children learn routines for keeping track of the group and how to respond to off-lead dogs in the park. These are arrangements for managing an outdoor setting, rather than a current inspection judgement about their effectiveness.

Breakfast, snacks, lunch and afternoon tea follow a seasonal menu; meals and snacks are included in the private daily fee, while funded places carry an additional daily food charge, with packed lunches offered as an alternative. Beach outings include a packed lunch, water and snacks, and Beach School food arrangements cater for dietary requirements.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is based at the Visitors Centre, Plessey Woods Country Park, Shields Road, Hartford Bridge, Bedlington, NE22 6AN. Opening hours run from 7.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays. Children are dropped off between 7.30am and 9am, with usual collection at 3pm and wraparound care until 5.30pm.

Full-day attendance is offered, with a minimum booking of two days each week. The nursery operates across the year, and its funding arrangement uses 51 weeks.

Getting There

The country park has a public car park where council parking charges apply. Allowing for parking is therefore part of the practical cost of using this woodland setting.

Funding and Paid Extras

Subject to government eligibility criteria, the nursery offers 15 and 30 government funded hours; the 30-hour entitlement is stretched over 51 weeks, providing 20 funded hours each week across two full days. Additional days are privately paid.

Private fees include equipment, resources, tools and day trips as well as meals and snacks. The non-refundable deposit pays for outdoor kit, including waterproofs and durable wellies. Parents also receive a seasonal clothing list, making preparation for wet and cold weather an explicit part of nursery life.

Fees are payable at month end. Sickness and holidays do not attract refunds, and holiday day swaps are not normally offered. A swap may be possible for a pre-booked hospital appointment if staffing ratios permit. For current prices, ask the nursery for a quotation.

• A day outdoors. Children spend the whole nursery day outside, using shelters and outdoor sleeping arrangements. During a visit, discuss how the hammock or sleeping-tent option would work for your child and how the seasonal kit list fits their needs.
• Challenge within child-led learning. In September 2021, the improvement priorities included extending children's learning and sharing teaching expertise more consistently. Ask how practitioners now build on a child's existing language and problem-solving skills during woodland activities.
• Food and personal supplies. Food carries a separate daily charge on funded places, with packed lunches an alternative. Before joining, discuss any dietary needs and which nappies, wipes or other personal supplies families should bring.
• A regular commitment. Attendance requires two days each week, and fees are not refunded for holidays or illness. Factor that commitment and the usual restrictions on day swaps into your family routine.

Footprints On The Moon Outdoor Nursery suits families seeking a regular woodland nursery day, either with the usual afternoon collection or with wraparound care. Weekly Beach School adds a second natural setting, while outdoor rest, practical exploration and children's involvement in daily decisions make the offer recognisable.

The September 2021 Good judgement supports consideration, but the teaching priorities from that date remain useful discussion points. The central choice is whether this sustained outdoor routine, its clothing requirements and its minimum attendance fit your child and family.