Guildford Forest School Nursery
OPEN DAY STAY & PLAY SAT 8th MARCH - sign up here!
Welcome to our Guildford Forest School Nursery in Shamley Green!
Our outdoor nursery in Guildford offers a unique and fulfilling nursery experience for children. With an abundance of fresh air, our Guildford forest school gives children the opportunity to build confidence, make new friends, explore the world around them and gain valuable life skills.
Ages: 12 months - 5 years
Opening Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8am - 5:45pm
51 weeks a year (Closed for Christmas, bank holidays and INSET days)
Fees reviewed annually in April
Call us: +44(0)20 4537 8901
Our Guildford Nursery Location
Willinghurst Estate
Shamley Green, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 0SQ
Tel: +44(0)20 4537 8901
Located only 8 miles from Guildford town centre, our Guildford outdoor forest school nursery is set in a peaceful and accessible location. Surrounded by picturesque woodlands, beautiful wild meadows, and scenic pathways it is the perfect backdrop for learning, exploration and adventure. With plenty of space for outdoor play, we make use of the landscape’s natural features—from obstacle courses and den-building to bug hunting and fun gardening activities.
Why Guildford?
Guildford is the perfect setting for an outdoor forest nursery school. Located on the edge of the Surrey Hills National Landscape, this area of outstanding natural beauty is the perfect location to immerse your little ones in the great outdoors.
A town rich in history and a vibrant community, our forest school location offers easy transport links, yet is far enough from the hustle and bustle to provide a peaceful environment for young children to focus on their learning.
Our Guildford outdoor nursery is in the ideal location for families around Guildford, Cranleigh, Godalming, Shalford, Shere, Witley, Milford, Ewhurst, Albury, Busbridge, Blackheath, Alfold Crossways, Bramley, Wonersh, Farley Green, Dunsfold, Hascombe, and more!
We also have a forest school nursery in Cobham, Surrey with pick up points in Richmond and Putney, South West London.
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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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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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.
A day at Outdoor Owls
Guildford Forest School Nursery
Owlies Camp (1 - 2 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 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 bakes delicious homemade cookies.
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 - 3 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. 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 and bluebells spring. 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.
Curriculum
Our holistic curriculum covers three key roots. We focus on developing: Resilience, empathy and independence.
Fitness & Strength
Balance & Coordination
Gross & Fine Motor Skills
Body
Mind
Creativity & Problem Solving
Resilience & Risk-awareness
Language & Knowledge
Soul
Social Skills & Values
Self-regulation & Self-care
Nature & Culture
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.
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
“Knowing that my son is spending his day exploring and learning about nature in the fresh air, surrounded by wonderful caring teachers, means everything to us. The Outdoor Owls educators are second to none, deeply caring about each individual child and are quick to provide incredibly insightful feedback.”
— Caitriona
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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“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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“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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“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.
Call us: +44(0)20 4537 8901
Guildford 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 Guildford 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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At our Guildford outdoor nursery, we have a large inside tipi space for children to sleep where we have cosy camp beds. Children nap after lunch time.
For toilets we have a designated nappy changing unit in our tipi, along with another potty/ gazebo toilet area (including handwashing station) for privacy. We provide all nappies. Our chef brings our delicious meals which our team prep and the children eat in camp at our al fresco eating area.
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For every new child starting at our Guildford outdoor forest school nursery, they will receive a set of Didriksons, outerwear waterproofs with fleeced lining (this is a part of your enrolment fee). 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 other layers for the different seasons.
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Yes, we have weekday showaround slots available for you to come to visit us at our forest in Guildford or Cobham. Complete our enquiry form here and we’ll share how you can do this.