Research shows that outdoor learning experiences are often remembered for a lifetime and provide relevance and depth to the curriculum in ways that are difficult to achieve indoors.

We are proud to be the first fully outdoor woodland Kindergarten in Sheffield, basing our philosophies on the Scandinavian and German Forest Kindergartens. Here children explore, learn and develop in the outdoors whatever the season, or weather!

This is an opportunity to bring back the type of childhood we as parents had. We often hear of adults reminiscing about being a child, they can always recall running through the woods, climbing trees and damming streams. These are remembered with joy, freedom, exploration and adventure.

Super Sunshine

On very hot days children are reminded and supported to drink plenty, apply sun cream, keep hats on and spend time in the shade. We will provide calm activities in the shade to help us cool down such as paddling pools, yoga, drawing and painting. Visiting the wider woodland area and the ponds for a quiet meander as the temperature is often a couple of degrees cooler. Experimenting with water painting and mud painting watching it dry and change colour is a brilliant learning experience. Warmer weather and the summer season brings us opportunities for growing and planting, natural dyes, foraging in the forest garden and much more.

 

Windy Days

Open your coat and get blown away! Feel the wind move your body and make you sway. Kite making, running with fabric and ribbons are simply joyous as well as fun around the parachute. Leaf catching in the autumn is one of our favourite past times! On days when we feel it is unsafe to be on site we will put an emergency plan in place which is likely to involve the use of Weston park Museum, Botanical Gardens or Broomhill Library, staff would contact you on the day to inform of any changes of plans.

 

Ice and Snow

We aim to stay open on snowy days, allowing children to experience sledging and ice painting. Extra snacks and warm drinks are always essential on super chilly days, fruit tea and hot chocolate are our favourites!. We enjoy creating ice sculptures and art work, painting snow, building snowmen, making trails and following tracks. Snowy days are the best! Unfortunately, in extreme snow we may close the setting to ensure that both the children and our Kindy adults are safe, we would always keep you updated with as much notice as possible if we were to close the setting.

 

Rain

Rain is brilliant for catching, measuring, mixing and pouring. It adds a new element to the mud kitchen. Puddle splashing is always a favourite but building bridges over puddles adds a whole new learning opportunity. Making boats, floating and sinking are all part of the day. Our tipi provides a space to eat and rest without getting soggy sandwiches where we can cuddle and read a story before heading out again!

As part of our bespoke curriculum, one of our learning areas is ‘Our Sustainable World’. Our aim is to teach children the basics of looking after our environment from an early age, hopefully instilling good practices and awareness in children which they can develop and enhance as they leave our setting and grow up in the world.

Michael Recycle & Litterbug Doug are two of our focus stories on our curriculum. Not only do these books have the links with the importance of looking after our environment, they are a great read with their rhymes and upbeat rhythm, supporting children’s language and literacy development also!

We have litter pickers which are regularly used, often on outings we’ll take a litter picker with us and tidy up our community, teaching children why it is important to clean up our streets and the dangers to wildlife if litter was to be left.

We aim to Reuse & Repurpose where we can, for example, using charcoal from the fire for mark-making, collecting used coffee grounds from costa for sensory play, and regularly attending car boots to find new treasures for our mud kitchen.

We have a course on sustainability as part of our employee induction plan, supporting our team from when they join us to help us on our sustainability journey.

“Fantastic staff in a fantastic setting, that is the perfect match! The staff are caring and responsive to children (and parents), very creative in the way they prepare new activities and mindful of each children’s needs. My son loves it there and he is able to develop skills that he wouldn’t in a more conventional nursery.” 2023

“My son absolutely loves his time here, it’s his favourite thing to do in the week! I love the freedom he gets not only physically with the activities they provide but mentally, they way the staff encourage the children to think independently is great. It’s such a lovely setting with brilliant staff that always provide a fantastic day of activities for the kids.” 2023

“An incredible setting – the children do the most amazing creative activities and are never bored! They have wonderful opportunities to explore the outside world and their environment.” 2023

“Wonderful staff with the most caring and loving energy! Izu has been looked after so incredibly. We are so grateful for all the support!” 2023

“Amazing nursery, giving children the opportunity to play and explore in the outdoors, whatever the weather. Completely unique! The staff are brilliant, with a nurturing and gentle attitude we didn’t find anywhere else” 2023

“Wonderful staff with the most caring and loving energy! My son has been looked after so incredibly. We are so grateful for all the support!” 2023

“We really value the staff’s creativity and activities provided. We love the use of natural and reusable resources for learning. We like the ethical and environmental ethos in learning (litter picking and recycling) and the focus on nature (foraging, identifying plants). We’re inspired by the settings range and variety of activities provided to inspire learning and curiosity about the world” 2023

“The staff are extremely nurturing and have built great relationships with our children so that they feel happy and secure. The environment is amazing, I’m always impressed with how cleverly you use the space and how cosy and welcoming it seems even in the cold and wet!” 2023

“I had an amazing experience here. My daughter absolutely loves everything about it. Her confidence has grown so much in the time she has been here and all of the staff are so lovely. Couldn’t recommend them enough” 2022

“Absolutely brilliant. My children loved it. Great fun for the little ones to have fun and get messy. Lovely and friendly and accommodating staff too” 2022

“We love Sheffield Woodland Kindergarten. Our eldest thrived in the care of the staff and now our son (with additional needs) is thriving too. The staff are attentive, passionate and generally outstanding” 2018

“The most wonderful nursery you will ever experience. The staff are incredible: passionate, compassionate, engaged and imaginative. The kids get so much from the outdoor setting, without ever feeling like it makes anything harder for them. Everything about this nursery is superb” 2017

“I can’t recommend Sheffield Woodland Kindergarten enough. The staff are amazing, really enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and they take the time to really listen to and get to know each child. My son loves it there and has really benefitted from the environment and care he receives” 2016