Little Sticks Forest School

Woodland exploration, real tools and camp-fire cooking give Little Sticks Forest School its character. Its Forest School approach centres on children choosing their play and learning through the natural environment, with adults joining in, modelling and asking questions. At Aspull Rugby Club, the Wigan setting has dedicated woodland and a heated indoor cabin for shelter in cold or wet weather.

At its August 2023 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding and found that staff used children's interests to shape an effective curriculum. That is a dated judgement, but a substantial one. The setting has capacity for 15 children and accepts children from their second birthday.

Attendance can be booked as a full day or a morning or afternoon session. Outdoor learning is the defining choice here; the cabin supports that model rather than replacing it.

Learning and Activities

The EYFS provides the framework for children's learning and care, including developing language, relationships and skills through play. Alongside it, Little Sticks uses woodland exploration as the basis of its day. Children can investigate their surroundings rather than being required to finish adult-selected activities. Books and woodland structures sit alongside the natural resources, giving children several ways to pursue an interest.

The provider-wide approach includes handling real tools, preparing food over a camp fire and helping care for the woodland. Staff support this learning through conversation and demonstration. Snack breaks at the fire circle and time to reflect give the day shared points around which children's chosen activities can unfold.

In August 2023, camp-fire cooking included roasting s'mores, with staff setting individual learning intentions around the activity. Practical experiences also introduced vocabulary such as gauntlets. This made language part of something children were doing, rather than a detached exercise.

Achievements had a visible place in the woodland day. In August 2023, children added rings to the proud tree to recognise personal successes. The feature connected recognition to each child's own achievement, rather than requiring everyone to complete the same task.

Outdoor and Community Life

Aspull's dedicated woodland gives this outdoor model a physical base. The heated cabin provides somewhere warm and dry during poor weather, a practical consideration for families choosing an outdoor setting across the year.

In August 2023, children helped clear litter and reopen overgrown footpaths. They also helped prepare an area called king wing by trampling weeds, then used it to investigate plants and nature. Caring for shared surroundings was part of their activity, with a visible purpose beyond keeping their own play space tidy.

These examples distinguish the experience from occasional outdoor sessions. Children were contributing to the woodland and using the results of that work in subsequent exploration.

Relationships and Communication

In August 2023, children ended sessions by talking about their feelings. Staff also used sticky feet as a gathering routine: children formed a circle and understood why they were coming together. Shared signals and opportunities to talk gave the outdoor day a recognisable structure.

Communication with families included sharing children's experiences. In August 2023, staff also contacted other settings to exchange information about children and invited practitioners to observe them in the forest. Those arrangements connected care across settings, allowing adults to see children in the environment where they spent their time.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

The Aspull team includes a Special Educational Needs Coordinator, a behaviour lead and designated safeguarding roles. These provide identifiable responsibilities for additional needs, behaviour and safeguarding within this branch.

At the August 2023 inspection, Ofsted found safeguarding effective, with staff practising responses to concerns and teaching children boundaries for dogs, fire and tools. Children used a respect position around fire and tools. The finding matters in a setting where adventurous activity is part of the day, although it describes practice at that inspection rather than a new assessment of current arrangements.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Aspull Rugby Club, Woods Road, Aspull, Wigan, WN2 1PJ. Full-day sessions run from 8am to 5pm; mornings are 8am to 12.30pm, and afternoons run from 12.30pm to 5pm, Monday to Friday. These are separate booking patterns, so families can choose between a whole day and a shorter session.

The setting operates for 50 weeks, closing for bank holidays and a two-week Christmas break. Session costs are spread into a consistent monthly payment across September to August, with invoices issued in advance. Enquiries use the contact form, email or Aspull telephone number, and visits can be arranged through the form or email.

Funding and Paid Extras

Funded childcare includes 15- and 30-hour provision for two-year-olds and for three- and four-year-olds. Funding can begin on a child's second birthday when the required code is valid before the beginning of that term. Tax Free Childcare and Childcare Vouchers are also accepted.

For privately paid sessions, snacks, drinks and Forest School consumables and activity clothing equipment are included within the session charge. The Forest School session charge covers the additional outdoor service alongside the EYFS, and is included in the overall private session price.

For two-year-old funded hours, that additional charge is covered by funding. For three- and four-year-old funded hours, it is a separate voluntary charge: families who opt out supply snacks, drinks and consumables themselves, and some Forest School activities may be excluded. That condition deserves attention when comparing the practical cost and experience of funded attendance.

Current prices come in the nursery's written quotation. The session and funding terms explain the charging structure.

• Outdoor comfort. Dedicated woodland and a heated cabin support an outdoor day. At a visit, ask how shelter, clothing and rest are organised for your child during prolonged wet or cold weather.
• Funded extras. The separate Forest School charge for three- and four-year-old funded hours is voluntary, but opting out means supplying snacks, drinks and consumables and may affect activities. Discuss that choice before agreeing an attendance plan.
• Session fit. Morning, afternoon and full-day bookings serve different routines. Consider which pattern suits your child as well as your working day, particularly when choosing an outdoor setting from age two.

Little Sticks suits families who actively want woodland learning, whether through morning or afternoon sessions or a full-day pattern. Real tools, camp-fire cooking and care for the woodland make that choice concrete. The heated cabin adds a practical shelter option.

The Outstanding judgement dates to August 2023, and the experience documented then included personal achievement, community activity and clear safety routines. For families considering funded hours, the different treatment of the Forest School charge by age is an equally important part of the decision.