Cobham Forest
School Nursery
Welcome to our Cobham forest school nursery. We are located at the Walton Firs Activity Centre, Cobham. Your child will have an owlsome daily adventure outdoors, covering an ambitious curriculum delivered by amazing educators!
Ages: 12 months - 5 years
Opening Hours: Monday - Friday (8am - 5:45pm)
51 weeks a year (Closed for Christmas, bank holidays and INSET days)
30hrs Funding Available. Fees reviewed annually in April.
Call us: +44(0)20 4537 8901 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm)
Our Cobham Nursery Location
Located only a mile and a half from Cobham town centre, our Cobham outdoor forest school nursery is set in a peaceful but accessible location. Nestled within 50 acres of beautiful forest, it is the perfect backdrop for your child to learn, explore and develop all while enjoying the benefits of fresh air.
Our Cobham outdoor nursery is in the ideal location for families around Weybridge, Walton-on-Thames, Esher, Oxshott, Stoke D’Abernon, Epsom, West Byfleet, Leatherhead, West Molesey, Hersham, East Horsley, Surbiton, Ashtead, Claygate, Byfleet, Chessington, Addlestone and more!
We also have minibus pick up points in Fulham, Putney and Richmond, South West London which travel to Cobham along with a further forest school nursery in Guildford, Surrey.
Our ‘Real Deal’ Forest School Nursery
Cobham is the perfect location for an outdoor forest school nursery, surrounded by beautiful woodland and landscapes, Cobham is the perfect place for children to immerse themselves in the outdoors. Our beautiful nature camp has a yurt (with wood-burning stove), mud kitchen, arts & crafts area, forest school equipment, campfire circle, obstacle course area, reading and role-play areas. This provides a rich, multi-sensory environment for children to learn via play, first-hand experiences, and through seeing, touching, hearing, and smelling. Our forest camp is the perfect location for early years children to immerse themselves in the outdoors, surrounded by beautiful woodland and landscapes!
Our Setting
Meet Our Team
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![A woman with long wavy blonde hair wearing a dark hoodie with a badge on it stands outdoors with a background of green trees, smiling.]()
Bella
Nursery Manager
Bella is a qualified teacher and Level 3 Forest School trained. She has a background in Early Years, primary education, and leading forest school provisions. She has a strong love of the outdoors often spending her weekends windsurfing or paddle boarding.
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![A woman in outdoor clothing, wearing a blue shirt, a safety vest, and a lanyard, standing in a forest setting with green foliage in the background.]()
Sara
Deputy Nursery Manager
Sara has a PGCE Early Years Teaching qualification and a level 3 in Art & Design, with extensive experience in Early Years settings including her time working as a Deputy Head and Preschool class teacher.
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Greg
Camp Lead
Greg is an experienced outdoor educator having previously lead his own bush and home school groups on the East Coast of Australia. He loves being outside and the freedom it allows to be creative.
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![A woman with shoulder-length reddish-brown hair, wearing a green shirt and a pink and gray jacket, smiling outdoors with green foliage in the background.]()
Emilee
Camp Lead
Emilee is level 3 qualified with a diploma in Early Years and a BA in Film & Moving Image Production. She has experience working as a Nursery Room Lead and in children’s dance camps. Description goes here
Why Parents Choose Outdoor Owls?
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![A young child with curly blonde hair smiling while playing outdoors, wearing a gray sweater and a yellow safety vest, sitting at a rustic wooden table with a black pot, a silver ladle, and other outdoor items around.]()
Healthier and Less Sick
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![A young woman smiling and interacting with a small child with curly hair, both outdoors in a forest setting with trees and green foliage.]()
The Best Teachers
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A Focus on Life Readiness
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![Two children standing outdoors in a lush green forest, holding hands and facing away from the camera. One child has darker hair and is wearing a gray and orange outdoor jacket and pants, while the other has blonde curly hair and is dressed in a yellow jacket with a circular logo that says 'outdoor owls' and rain boots.]()
A Natural Environment
What Our Parents Say
“I could not recommend Outdoor Owls more! They completely blew us away with their amazing ethos, commitment and love for the children. Your child will thrive and grow and become a loving, resilient human being from their care and attention.”
— Gina
“Our son’s favourite time is the singing time on the minibus and to sit together with their friends, talk about the day, the weather, and sing songs together - it’s not something to be scared of. We love Outdoor Owls and feel so lucky our little boy (and hopefully his sister one day) gets to play, learn, and just “be” in the forest in a safe, loving, and caring environment. ”
— Hollie
Curriculum
Our holistic curriculum covers three learning roots. We focus on developing: Resilience, empathy and independence.
Creativity & Problem Solving
Resilience & Risk-awareness
Language & Knowledge
Body
Fitness & Strength
Balance & Coordination~
Gross & Fine Motor Skills
Mind
Soul
Social skills & Values
Self-regulation & Self-care
Nature & Culture
Learning Approach
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Child led
Your child takes the limelight and our teachers faciliate. This way it’s intrinsically motivating and provides the best method to test and learn, whilst they are fully engaged.
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Play based
Play is natural and allows your child to have full autonomy, to be in control and test their ideas whilst being in flow in what they are doing.
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![Young boy in outdoor clothing balancing on a wooden plank in a wooded area, with trees and other children in the background, engaging in a bridge-building activity.]()
Risky play
We encourage risky play under safe supervision which promotes grit. These enhanced activities encourage learning by having a go and building long-term resilience.
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![A young boy with dark hair and big eyes lying on green grass outdoors during daytime. He wears a bright yellow safety vest over a gray jacket and is holding a stick. The background includes trees and sunlight filtering through, creating a warm atmosphere.]()
Real world
Children learn best through their senses: seeing, touching, hearing, and smelling. There is no better substitute for learning than by experiencing and doing.
Nutritious Food
We understand the importance of giving children well balanced, nutritious, and healthy meals. Our meals are cooked and prepared by TwoTeaspoons, who specialise in cooking children’s meals for each season.
We provide breakfast (cereal & fresh fruits), lunch, and tea daily. We also offer an afternoon snack too.
A Day at Outdoor Owls
Cobham Forest School Nursery
Owlie Camp (1 year)
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Children arrive for breakfast (cereal, milk & fruits) in the forest, ready and fueled for exciting adventures ahead. We then gather in our yurt/ cabin for a circle time to talk about the day ahead and for a song.
After settling in with our friends children begin to play in our outdoor space with soft and hard ground for them to experience different provocations set up each day to stimulate their curiosity and enable rich play. This can be learning time in the mud kitchen, arts & crafts, books, and digging. This is child-led, free-play and where children can test the environment to learn.
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At 11:45am it’s time to gather around and eat our lovely freshly prepared meal at our al fresco dining. Our chef prepares a range of chia pudding/ natural yoghurt with fruit puree.
At 12:30pm, children head into our cosy yurt for a comfortable nap where our educators help put them down to the tune of natural soundscapes.
After, children are offered a snack of fresh fruit and vegetables.
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Depending on the day’s flow we may spend more time in our outdoor play space or in our yurt. Occasionally we may go for an little adventure to a different part of the forest.
After some further learning and play in camp we then sit down ready for our tea.
Tawny Owls Camp (2 year)
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Children arrive for breakfast (cereal, milk & fruits) in the forest, ready and fueled for exciting adventures ahead. We then gather around our campfire for circle time to talk about the day ahead, and how we’re feeling, and for a song.
After settling in with our friends children begin to explore the camp with different provocations set up each day to stimulate their curiosity and enable rich play. This can be learning time in the mud kitchen, obstacle course, arts & crafts, books, and digging. This is child-led, free-play and where children can test the environment to learn.
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At 11:45am it’s time to gather around and eat our lovely freshly prepared meal at our al fresco dining. Our chef bakes delicious homemade cookies.
At 12:30pm, children head into our cosy tipi for a comfortable nap where our educators help put them down to the tune of natural soundscapes.
After, children are offered a snack of fresh fruit and vegetables.
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Now it’s time for an adventure walk to explore and role-play. We go to visit our favourite trees, dens we’ve made, open spaces, dips, and also see robins. This is learning on the go, through first-hand experiences and it’s meaningful.
After some further learning and play in camp we then sit down ready for our tea.
Sooty Owls Camp (3 - 5 years)
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Children arrive for breakfast (cereal, milk & fruits) in the forest, ready and fueled for exciting adventures ahead. We then gather around our campfire for circle time to talk about the day ahead, and how we’re feeling, and for a song. After settling in with our friends children begin to explore the camp with different provocations set up each day to stimulate their curiosity and enable rich play. This can be learning time in the mud kitchen, obstacle course, arts & crafts, books, and digging.
After some time in camp, children are invited for an adventure walk to other favourite trees to swing and climb, places we are growing flowers and to see other friendly creepy crawlies, as well as soaking up the sights and smells of the seasons. This is learning on the go, through first-hand experiences and it’s meaningful. -
At 12pm it’s time to gather around and eat our lovely freshly prepared meal at our al fresco dining. Our chef bakes delicious homemade cookies.
For any children who fancy a short rest they can lie down in our tipi.
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For children approaching school we run small group preschool sessions in our mimicked classroom environment to develop their skills in listening, raising their hands, answering questions, and building confidence to speak in front of others. Our teachers will guide them through topics on phonics, mark-making, science experiments, and practical mathematics.
In other parts of the afternoon our teachers are running games and projects, including also forest school activities e.g. sawing, drilling, whittling.
How to Sign Up?
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Complete Enquiry Form
Fill out our enquiry form here and we’ll be right back in touch
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Showaround & Confirming Place
Come and see our forest camp and what we’re owl about. Meet the team and see where your child will be learning. Following this you’ll receive an email to book your child’s place.
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![A smiling child with light-colored hair, wearing a striped beanie and a waterproof jacket with orange and gray accents, is sitting on a tree branch in a forest during daytime.]()
Settling In Sessions & First Day
Attend our X2, 2 hour settling in sessions with your child at the forest in preparation for their first full day.
Cobham Forest School Nursery FAQs
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As the Danish saying goes, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes”. We’ve teamed up with Didriksons and all our Outdoor Owls are equipped with proper clothing for the outdoors, come rain or shine. When there are high winds and it is stormy we will adapt our plans and have some indoor shelters we can use at our Cobham nursery. For anything more severe we will need to close for safety for children and team (this is in extreme weather circumstances).
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We understand that for most children when they leave us they will be entering a different environment after amazing times in the forest. In the 9 months before school your child we partake in preschool sessions in our separate classroom style environment with outdoor blackboard and wood log stools. Children are exposed to this mimicked classroom environment, in small group sessions learn to focus on topics for periods of time, use their listening ears and raise their hands. Children build great confidence to speak in front of a group. Before they head to school you will receive a report of where they are at with their early years learning goals.
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We have cosy yurts for children to sleep in camp beds. Children nap after lunch time. For toilets we have a designated nappy changing unit, along with another potty/ toilet gazebo area for privacy (including handwashing station). We provide all nappies. Our chef brings our delicious meals which our team prep and children eat in camp at our al fresco eating area.
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For every new child starting as part of your enrolment fee you will receive a set of Didriksons, outerwear waterproofs with fleeced lining. These keep our children warm and dry all year round. Your little one will also receive their own hi-vis vest too.
Once you’re signed up we will share with you a kit list of how best to dress your child with others layers for the different seasons. -
Yes, we have weekday showaround slots available for you to come to visit us at our forest in Cobham. Complete our enquiry form here and we’ll share how you can do this.
Call us: +44(0)20 4537 8901
Forest School Rules
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“Stop, Orange Rope Return”
Our basecamp is marked with orange ropes so the children know where the boundary is of our forest. They learn to not go beyond them.
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“Yes to the Vest!”
All our children wear hi-vis vests so they are visible and all times. We give every child their own vest and our Educators wear them too!
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![A sticker with an illustration of a mouth with the tongue sticking out, and a red slash mark over the tongue. The text around the edge says 'No Picking and Licking!']()
“No Picking and Licking”
This is to remind the children that objects on the floor may be covered in dirt and germs which might make them poorly.
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![Logo with two hands forming a heart shape over a smaller orange heart, surrounded by the text "Sharing and Caring!" in a circular layout.]()
“Sharing and Caring”
To help look after nature, our resources and most important each other, we use sharing and caring hands to interact in our play.
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![A circular warning sign with a brown border and background. It features a dog sitting above a line, a hand with an extended palm, a person standing with arms crossed, and a large downward-pointing hand. The text inside the border reads 'STOP- DROP AND CROSS!' indicating safety instructions involving dogs and pedestrians.]()
“Stop, Drop and Cross!”
Should a doggy come into our forest, children learn to drop what they are holding and cross their arms which helps keep their interest elsewhere.
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