The Children's Garden

Woodland is part of the working day at The Children's Garden, rather than an occasional destination. The Walled Garden at Colney Hall gives children space to follow their interests between sheltered creative areas and the surrounding woods. Montessori, an approach that encourages independence and learning at the child's pace, shapes the offer. This is a nursery for families who want nature to do substantial educational work.

At its August 2025 inspection, Ofsted judged the nursery Good overall and found safeguarding effective, while identifying inconsistent oversight of staff practice as an area requiring improvement. The practical distinction matters: the outdoor setting has a clear educational purpose, but the consistency of adult support deserves attention alongside the surroundings.

The nursery accepts children from birth to five and has 167 places in total. Full days are offered, with morning or afternoon attendance restricted to new starters in the zero-to-two fee band during their first two months of settling. For older children, the weekly woodland programme makes outdoor learning a sustained part of nursery life.

Rooms and Ages

The Baby Room provides a cosy base for the youngest children, while Explorers occupies the Old Vinery, shares the babies' garden and takes regular woodland outings. These are different starting points for outdoor childhood: younger toddlers have their own familiar base as well as opportunities to explore beyond it.

From 28 months, The Walled Garden becomes the main base, with creative activity spread between the garden and connected buildings. Children can choose between the Art Room, Mud Kitchen and Loose Parts space, among other areas, rather than spending the day in one conventional room. The Boot/Kit Room puts outdoor clothing within their reach, making getting ready another opportunity to practise independence.

A yurt and tipi, each heated by a wood burner, provide covered spaces within the garden. The physical arrangement matters here. Outdoor learning includes places to pause, create and shelter as well as space to move, climb and explore.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the foundation for children's learning, development and care: play, communication and everyday experiences build the skills they will use as they grow. Montessori adds an emphasis on practical independence and learning through doing. Preparing food, dressing and looking after belongings are part of that approach, rather than tasks adults automatically take over.

Reggio Emilia also influences the nursery's practice, with children's ideas and shared investigations helping to shape learning. Staff listen to children's theories and help them explore those ideas with friends. This gives a child's question somewhere to go: an interest can become a collaborative investigation rather than ending with an adult's answer.

Forest School brings regular, practical learning in woodland. Soon after children turn three, the nursery looks to place them in its Forest School Experiences groups, which meet on a fixed weekday throughout the year and have a maximum of 12 children. Keeping the group together gives these sessions continuity, both in friendships and in familiarity with the woods.

Activities include wood sawing, climbing, exploring and storytelling, with children's discoveries sometimes becoming projects back at nursery. In August 2025, children practised identifying plants that were unsafe to eat and discussed previous cooking experiences involving gathered ingredients. Outdoor exploration was connected to practical decisions about safety and food.

Outdoor and Community Life

Daily time in the woods and wider estate extends beyond the older children's weekly programme. Younger children may collect kindling or forage for blackberries, while the garden offers log climbing, chickens and opportunities to grow and harvest produce. These experiences give children concrete things to notice, handle and discuss.

An organ pipe bandstand was created in 2019 using donated wooden pipes and floor-mounted air pumps. Children could produce different sounds through their own physical actions: an inventive combination of music and experimentation. It is a useful example of how this setting has adapted unusual materials for children's exploration.

A Night For Stories is an annual family event centred on sharing stories. It brings parents and carers into an activity children already know, creating a connection between books, conversation and time together at home.

Relationships and Communication

For children based in The Walled Garden, a Forest Family is a group linked to one key person, who checks in on their engagement and wellbeing. That relationship gives an individual point of contact within a setting where children move between several activity spaces. Freedom to choose sits alongside an adult who knows the child.

In August 2025, staff used family photographs to help children settle and kept babies' routines aligned with home. They also explained nappy changes before lifting babies. These small actions made care predictable and treated babies as participants in what was happening to them.

Daily conversations and online updates supported parent communication in August 2025. Parents were encouraged to share experiences from home, so communication worked in both directions. The account of the March 2023 Parent Community Evening described termly discussions where adults explored children's learning, viewed documentation and raised questions together. Individual educator meetings also took place when needed at that time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

At the August 2025 inspection, Ofsted found that children learning English as an additional language received targeted help through words and phrases learned from parents, but that monitoring staff practice needed greater rigour so learning experiences were consistently worthwhile for every child. Families should read the Good judgement alongside that specific qualification.

Outdoor sleep is part of the nursery's approach. Families provide bedding for children who nap, with sheets and blankets for the Baby & Explorers group and an insulated sleeping bag for the Walled Garden group in winter. Sleep arrangements therefore belong in the conversation about a child's routine, alongside their experience of outdoor play.

Food is largely made from scratch, with bread baked daily and some seasonal vegetables grown in the garden. Children help with food preparation and serving, making mealtimes another opportunity to practise everyday independence.

Sessions and Attendance

Full days are the main nursery booking pattern. Morning and afternoon sessions for children in the zero-to-two fee band are restricted to new starters for their first two months, so these are a settling arrangement rather than an ongoing alternative to full days. That distinction is important for families planning a lasting attendance pattern.

Opening hours are 7.45am to 6.15pm, Monday to Friday. The nursery operates across the year, closing for bank holidays and a week at Christmas. Fees are spread evenly over monthly invoices, with Christmas closure, bank holidays and inset days already allowed for in the fee structure.

The Small School in the Woods offers a Reception-year continuation of the nursery's approach, with term-time-only attendance also welcomed, including charges for half-terms. Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families considering this continuation should distinguish it from admission to a mainstream primary school.

Getting There

The address is The Walled Garden, Colney Hall, Watton Road, Norwich, with the postcode changed to NR4 7YB in April 2025. Enquiries and showarounds can be arranged through the contact form or by telephone on 01603 813011.

The registration enquiry asks for a child's age, intended start date, requested sessions and whether funding will be used. Terms, conditions and policies form part of accepting a place, so the booking decision involves the attendance arrangement and its contractual terms together.

Funding and Paid Extras

Government-funded childcare is offered, alongside privately paid attendance. The fees and funding information directs families to the funding booklet, charging policy and packed-lunch policy; current prices come in the nursery's written quotation.

Parents supply nappies, wipes, nappy cream and formula when needed. The outdoor kit also involves waterproof clothing, spare clothes and suitable seasonal layers, making preparation at home part of making this attendance model work.

Forest School charging needs attention before booking: the fees information includes Forest School Experience in standard fees, while the woodland programme information describes an additional charge and expects older children to participate. That difference affects the total cost of the nursery's central activity.

• Outdoor routines. Children spend substantial time outside throughout the year, and the nursery promotes outdoor sleeping. During a showaround, discuss how your child's sleep routine, clothing and comfort would work across the seasons.
• Consistency of learning. In August 2025, oversight of staff practice did not ensure equally rich learning experiences for all children. Ask how staff now review children's engagement across the garden's different activity spaces.
• Forest School charges. Forest School Experience is included in standard fees in the fee structure, but the programme description specifies an additional charge. Resolve this difference in the written quotation, including the position for funded attendance and meals.
• Short-session limits. Morning and afternoon sessions are a two-month settling option for new starters in the zero-to-two fee band. Families wanting continuing shorter attendance should discuss the intended booking pattern before accepting a place.

The Children's Garden suits families seeking full-day nursery attendance rooted in outdoor exploration, as well as those using morning or afternoon sessions for a young child's initial settling period. The Small School in the Woods adds a term-time option at Reception age. These patterns serve different purposes; the temporary short sessions should not be mistaken for an enduring part-day model.

The strongest attraction is the connection between place and practice: woodland groups, creative spaces in The Walled Garden and a key person within each Forest Family. The August 2025 concern about consistent staff practice and the difference in Forest School charging deserve a clear response. For a family comfortable with outdoor routines and substantial kit preparation, there is a recognisable educational approach here, with practical independence running through play, clothing and food.