Kids Go Wild Forest School

Ponds, a polytunnel and a sheltered outdoor classroom set the character of Kids Go Wild Forest School. At Dane Bank Green Space in Denton, outdoor play is the main nursery experience, rather than an occasional addition to an indoor day. Children have crawling tunnels, slides and mud kitchens to explore, with planters for growing food. Weather is part of the arrangement.

The setting has capacity for 35 children, with a current age range from birth to five. Its nursery offer centres on children aged two to five; under-two provision is a separate development to consider before choosing it for a baby. Ofsted rated the setting Good on 28 May 2024, while identifying inconsistent staff practice and a need for clearer planning of activities led by adults.

Nursery attendance follows term time, with holiday clubs providing a separate option during school holidays. That distinction matters for families planning care across the year.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the educational framework: children learn through play, developing language, social skills, imagination and ways to solve problems. Alongside that shared foundation, Forest School Ethos and Principles shape the approach through repeated outdoor experiences, exploration and supported risk-taking. Children’s interests guide their play, with adults helping them extend an idea rather than supplying every next step.

The physical setting gives that approach substance. Growing food in the polytunnel and planters connects play with living things, while slides, crawling tunnels and play houses offer different ways to move and imagine. The sheltered outdoor classroom is also used for rest and protection from the weather. It is shelter within an outdoor setting, so families need to be comfortable with a day organised around being outside.

In May 2024, preschool children made protection for slugs using wood and a bug hotel. Staff helped them test which pieces would fit, leaving the children to work through their plan. Another activity involved cutting string and tying knots to make leads for toy animals. These examples show how small projects can combine practical skills, persistence and cooperation.

Not every activity was equally clear. In May 2024, children sometimes lacked a precise understanding of what an adult-led activity was intended to teach them. The improvement priority was to make those activities more purposeful and engaging, alongside more consistent coaching of staff.

Outdoor and Community Life

Dane Bank Green Space has ponds, wildlife and an accessible walking path. Kids Go Wild subleases part of the land from Dane Bank Green Space Charity, placing the nursery within a community green space rather than a conventional nursery building. Compost toilets and the outdoor classroom are practical parts of that arrangement.

Friday Stay and Play offers a different experience: a parent-and-child session with a story, exploration and a campfire finish. It runs during Tameside Council term time and welcomes babies who are cruising or walking, toddlers and preschool children. This is a family activity, separate from the nursery’s childcare day.

In its May 2024 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities making good progress, with specialist advice helping staff use signs, symbols and objects to support communication. This gives the inspection judgement concrete meaning: support included adapting the ways children could understand routines and express themselves.

During May 2024, staff shared information about individual needs, including allergies. Parents used photographs on an app to talk with their children about what had happened during the day. Communication therefore reached beyond a description of activities and gave families a starting point for conversations at home.

Fire was also part of the learning at that visit. Children understood the boundary around the fire circle and used long sticks to roast apples. The emphasis was on learning rules alongside practical experience, rather than treating outdoor hazards as invisible. For a parent, the useful distinction is between supported participation and unrestricted exploration.

Rest has a place in the outdoor model. The sheltered classroom at Dane Bank is used for naps as well as teaching and campfires. Nursery food arrangements combine supplied campfire food, snacks and drinks with a packed lunch and water bottle brought from home; families therefore still have a daily lunch-packing responsibility.

Sessions and Attendance

The nursery is open from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday, during term time based on Tameside Council holidays. Nursery arrangements are made directly with the director by email. A general enquiry form provides another contact route.

Forest School Holiday Clubs are for children aged three to eleven. Their Full Day runs from 9am to 3.45pm and their Extended Day from 9am to 5pm. The Morning Taster Session, from 9am to noon, is for children new to Kids Go Wild and is a one-time option unless agreed beforehand. These are holiday-club patterns, rather than alternative nursery sessions.

Holiday clubs extend the offer beyond nursery term time, with closures for two weeks at Christmas and the last week of July. Families choosing both nursery and holiday care need to plan around the different hours and age ranges.

Getting There

The address is Dane Bank Green Space, Windsor Road, opposite Denton West End Library, Denton, M34 2HB, alongside Denton West End Cricket Club. There are a small number of parking spaces on site, and users are asked to park on Windsor Road or nearby and walk down the access track.

Funding and Paid Extras

The nursery offers 15/30 hour funded placements alongside privately paid attendance, and requests a daily enhancement fee. Current prices come in the nursery’s written quotation, so the funded entitlement and the additional charge need to be considered separately.

Parents supply a packed lunch and water bottle alongside the campfire food, snacks and drinks provided by the nursery. Waterproof clothing kits and snowsuits can also be purchased, making weather preparation part of the practical planning.

• Outdoor care in all weathers. Nursery play takes place outside throughout the day, with a sheltered classroom and compost toilets. Consider how comfortably your child rests, eats and plays in that arrangement.
• Under-two plans. The baby provision announcements give April 2026 and October 2026 opening dates. Confirm whether it is operating and what indoor nap and lunch arrangements are in use before making a baby-care decision.
• Teaching consistency. In May 2024, staff practice sometimes varied and the purpose of adult-led activities needed greater clarity. A visit is an opportunity to ask how coaching and activity planning now address those specific points.
• Care across the holidays. Nursery runs Monday to Thursday in term time; holiday clubs have their own age limits and attendance patterns. Match those differences, and the Christmas and July closures, to your family’s calendar.

Kids Go Wild suits families who want outdoor exploration to shape the nursery day, with growing spaces, wildlife and practical play giving children material to investigate. The May 2024 findings provide useful examples of children developing their own projects, alongside clear priorities for improving adult-led teaching.

Its attendance options serve different needs: term-time nursery care, holiday-club Full Day or Extended Day attendance, and Friday parent-and-child Stay and Play. The strongest fit is for families comfortable with outdoor routines and those distinctions. For babies, the provision’s opening position needs settling first.