I like people who get excited about the change of seasons, the sound of the ocean, watching a sunset, the smell of rain and starry nights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please find below some of our most frequently asked questions. If you cannot find the answer to your question, please feel free to contact us via telephone or email.
This depends on the type of session. If your child attends our day nursery then, yes of course. We are registered with CIW as a fully certified registered childcare provider. However, for Stay and Play sessions parents are unable to leave their children but, parents can enjoy quality time in the woodland environment, bug hunting, building dens and making memories together. If you are unsure as to what type of session you require, please just get in touch.
We provide play experiences for all – from tiny 3 month olds to big, confident 5 year olds – and older ones during our family sessions! For those who are not crawling or walking, we will have activities taking place under shelters. We will also provide tarps and spongy floor mats to enable children to relax under the forest canopy.
Our session ages are more of a guidance to enable us to offer different types of play, games and activities. During the shorter baby group, there will be more adult led options, such as singing, sensory play and, hopefully, very chilled out and sleepy babies after their time in the fresh air.
During the longer toddler group, the activities and session will be more child led, there will be more campfire cooking, tool use and adventure.
If you think that your fearless 1 year old would much rather the toddler group, I’d invite you to come to that one! If you have a 3 year old who is a bit shyer and would rather shelters and sensory play with songs, come along to the younger session. ?
We are a brand new business, and we are still learning as we go. The best way for us to learn and improve is from your honest feedback. All of our staff are friendly (when not hungry!) and welcome your insight into our sessions. If, however, we do look a bit grumpy, feel free to fill in the contact form on the website and tell us what you think.
We promote all kinds of learning in the woodland, and we will invite your child to experience new play and activities which we hope will peek their interest! However, the key is to follow their lead. We are passionate about child led learning, and we will not be following any kind of curriculum.
There is an absolute tonne of learning going on in each and every session, without a child going near a piece of paper or pencil. Just talk to one of our Forest School Leaders in the sessions to find out just what is going on with learning in the moment.
The sessions have been designed with adventure and fun in mind, which is not without its risks.
However, we want our children to become resilient, strong and capable humans who need to learn how to manage risks and hazards.
Risk assessments will have been completed before each session begins, and are often updated throughout the days as we observe children play. The hazards we keep in place are there to teach and to help our children learn. For example; if we removed every nettle in the woodland, how would they ever learn that nettles can sting? Hazards and risks are there to teach us, for good reasons!
At Nestlings we are teaching children not to wait for the sun to get outdoors, but enjoy and get the most out of all weathers and seasons. After all, we have a lot of rain in this country!
The only time we will have to cancel sessions for health and safety reasons, are in high winds or thunderstorms.
If this happens, we will either offer a full refund or provide the option to re-book on a subsequent session.
Places are limited, we recommend you book in advance. However we welcome new explorers, if you are unable to book, give us a quick call to prevent disappointment on arrival.
Yes! At each of our sites we have at least one Nocompost toilet, which is even better than a wild wee! We have hand washing facilities and hot soapy water.
Absolutely. As we are managed by a fully qualified teacher, with years of experience leading classes, small groups and forest school sessions, we are happy and excited to offer this as part of our Nestlings mission to get children outdoors. We will come to your grounds and set up activities for your learners, based loosely around the topic you are currently exploring. The play equipment will come too, as will our campfire dish for a tasty treat at the end. Please get in touch for more information.
Please take a look at the type of sessions we offer for parents and schools, or get in touch via telephone or email.