What we offer
Our forest school locations, and unique learning experiences are designed to inspire children and young people to develop a deeper connection with the natural world. Along with fostering resilience, confidence, independence and creativity.
Areas for play
FAIRY GARDEN
MUD KITCHEN
HAMMOCKS
BASECAMP
Magical fun in minitature form! Fantastic for promoting imaginary play.
Children love to create their own dishes with mud, flowers, stones or sticks in our mud kitchen.
Providing children a special place to read a book, take a nap, enjoy nature and simply unwind!
From roasting marshmallows to sharing stories, our campfire brings everyone together.
Placements and Sessions
FOREST SCHOOL NURSERY
Location: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB
Date availability: Monday - Friday
Times: from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Ages: 2-5 years old
Pricing: 15/30 hour Funded placements available. Paid day rate is currently set at £52.50 per day
Set on beautiful forest woodland in the Dane Bank Green Space, the site boasts shallow streams and balancing bridges, basecamps, mud kitchens, climbing trees, tyre swings and more.
Unlike traditional classrooms, our completely outdoor OFSTED-Registered Nursery allows young children to be fully immersed in nature, promoting resilience, physical fitness, mental well-being and a lifelong appreciation for the environment.
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Our Nursery follows the Forest School Ethos and Principles, which is a child-centred holistic learning process that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk-taking. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner-inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting, with the guidance of our caring highly skilled staff team.
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We currently follow The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, which believes play underpins learning and all aspects of children’s development. However, as a team we are now carefully creating our own bespoke forest school curriculum to truly show the benefits and learning that children gain during their time with us.
We are passionate about following the forest school 6 principles and child-led play overarches everything we do. Through play, children develop language skills, their emotions and creativity, and social and intellectual skills.
For us, play takes place all day outdoors, in all weathers and it is in this different environment that children explore and discover their immediate world. We see the children in our care practise new ideas and skills, take risks, show imagination and solve problems independently and with others.
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LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE
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Curious to see if this makes sense for your child? Let's chat!
Notes:
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We are a completely outdoors setting, with use of indoor toilets, running in term time only (based on Stockport Council's holidays)
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Camp fire lunch, snacks and drinks provided (packed lunch & water bottle to be supplied)
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Please dress children in appropriate clothing for the weather - special waterproof clothing kits and snowsuits are available to purchase
HOME EDUCATION GROUPS
Location: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB
Date availability: Mondays and Tuesdays
Times: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (5pm optional pick up in Spring/Summer/Autumn)
Ages: 5+ years old (no upper age cap)
Our Home Education groups are specifically designed for children 5 years and older who are home-educated. We offer full-day sessions to spend in nature at our diverse outdoor site, full of fauna and foliage. We are in the process of developing our own curriculum for this group based on combining the forest school ethos & outdoor learning skills.
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We run Monday & Tuesday, you can pick one or two days, we offer 10% sibling discount.
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Sessions are currently ran at Dane Bank Green Space. Qualified level 3 forest school leaders, who boast a wealth of experience & knowledge, carefully guide & lead the groups. The children are given the freedom to choose what they want to do and we are very flexible in following their interests and lead, taking advantage of seasonal on site changes, and friendships within the group.
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Our forest school sessions loosely follow the Wild Passport Scheme, which is a skill, knowledge and competency-based outdoor learning curriculum and progression monitoring system that we use. The scheme focusses on progressing in bushcraft skills such as tool use, fire lighting and building and den building. However, we still follow the children's lead with this scheme.
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Session structure:
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Welcome, introductions and safety rules
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Free play - Wild Passport time (led by children)
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Lunch served around the campfire
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Typical theme activities can include fire making, foraging, woodcraft, wildlife, bark craft, exploring and adventure walks, weaving, whittling and natural arts and crafts to take home.
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Finish around our campfire with snacks, milk or hot chocolate. Review of the day, what we have enjoyed and what we would like to do or learn about next session.
Notes:
-
We are a completely outdoors setting, with use of indoor toilets, running in term time only (based on Stockport Council's holidays)
-
Snacks and drinks provided (packed lunch to be supplied)
-
Please dress children in appropriate clothing for the weather - special waterproof clothing kits and snowsuits are available to purchase
STAY & PLAY
Location: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB
Session length: 1.5 hours
Day & Time: Friday mornings, Stockport Council Term Time 10:00-11:30 am
Recommended ages: open to babies (cruising/walking stage), toddlers and pre-schoolers up to age 5.
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Being outdoors and playing with other children greatly builds up confidence and physical development as children learn how to manoeuvre around uneven ground and practice climbing and balancing.
A more relaxed, child-led session built to encourage curiosity and exploration between parent and child.
Session structure:
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Welcome, introductions and story
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45-60 mins of free play with set up wildlife, nature and themed activities based on the seasons and/or the story
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Finish around our campfire with snacks, milk or hot chocolate and singing/sharing what we have enjoyed.
WEEKEND FAMILY FOREST SCHOOL
Locations available: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB or Heaton's School
St James Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport, SK4 4RE
Session length: 1.5 Hours
Recommended ages: 2-8 years, although some older children attend and enjoy.
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Can't commit to weekly stay-and-play sessions? Our themed forest school sessions run on the weekends and are the perfect family-friendly activity that allows you to enjoy some fresh air and adult socialisation time too!
Session structure:
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Welcome, introductions and rules
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Group games matching the theme
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Free play to explore the site, activities available based on the theme
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Arts and crafts or physical activity tied to the theme
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Sample themes: Dinosaurs Love Underpants, The Gruffalo, Stickman, Superworm, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc.
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Finish around our campfire with snacks, milk or hot chocolate and storytime​
During our Kids Go Wild sessions, your children can enjoy having the freedom to explore the outdoors, whilst being in a safe and secure environment that is monitored and thoroughly risk-assessed by our skilled staff team. See below for all our available options and remember to book early to avoid disappointment!
Additional sessions
HOLIDAY CLUBS
Locations available: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB or Heaton's SchoolSt James Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport, SK4 4RE
Dates: based on Stockport Council's term dates
Times: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Recommended ages: ages 3+, no upper age cap (siblings welcome!). We also welcome 2 year olds that attend our Nursery setting.
Our OFSTED-registered Forest School Holiday Club provides an exciting and immersive adventure for children during school breaks! We are completely outdoors and outdoor clothing kit is important.
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We accept tax-free childcare, childcare vouchers & childcare grant schemes as methods of payment for holiday club provision.
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This nature-centric program includes a range of outdoor activities aimed at fostering exploration, curiosity, creativity, and a deep connection with the natural world.
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Children engage in activities such as nature walks, wildlife observation, crafting with natural materials, and outdoor games. We provide children with unstructured play to encourage building friendships and social skills with the support of our Forest School Team. We also promote seasonal learning, ensuring that children experience and appreciate the different seasons.
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We are an inclusive setting and support many children with additional needs, please get in touch to tell us about your child's specific needs so we can let you know if we can safely support your child at our sites. We offer a small number of 1:1 SEND support places, funded by short breaks.
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
Locations available: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB or Heaton's SchoolSt James Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport, SK4 4RE
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Times: private 2-hour time slots
Recommended ages: ages 3-11 years
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Children's laughter echoes through the air as they embark on a magical adventure party with us. Guided by two enthusiastic outdoor leaders, children explore nature's wonders, build forts from fallen branches, and engage in creative activities like leaf art & and scavenger hunts. Activities can be fit to chosen interests and themes.
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Join us for plenty of fun in the forest with tree climbing, crafts, den building, game playing, roasting s'mores and themed adventures like pirates, knights, jungle and superheroes.
ALTERNATE PROVISIONS / SOCIAL EMOTIONAL MENTAL HEALTH PLACEMENTS
Location: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB
Date availability: Mondays and Tuesdays
Times: 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Recommended ages: 5+ years old
Is your child struggling in a traditional school learning setting? Our alternate provisions/therapeutic play may just be the right option for them. Children on alternative provision placements combine with our home-education group so that they can socialise, play and access forest school sessions with peers.
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Perhaps a child cannot cope with the academic & behavioural expectations of the classroom, has social or emotional needs that require an alternative approach or perhaps they have suffered trauma or have a mental health condition that means they need a slightly different approach to a school setting. No matter what the reason, we are here to welcome them with open arms and feel passionate that with the right approach paired with the great outdoors, we can offer a tranquil and beautiful space to support them to flourish.
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Sessions are run by OFSTED-registered and qualified level 3 forest school leaders. The staff leading the provision specialise in trauma training. The children are given the freedom to choose what they want to do and we are very flexible, taking advantage of whatever is happening in nature on that day.
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Our groups work loosely with the Wild Passport Scheme, which is a skill, knowledge and competency-based outdoor learning curriculum and progression monitoring system. However we follow the holistic needs and interests of our groups heavily. Leaders are trained in supporting those with developmental trauma and we work with a lot of looked after children, or previously looked after children. We have some children who can access our provision within the mainstream group, and others who may require a higher level of support, there are different costings depending on level of need.
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Session structure:
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Welcome, introductions and rules
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Free play in the mud kitchen, hammocks, rope swings, fairy garden and all our areas
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Lunch served around the campfire
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Typical theme activities can include fire making, foraging, woodcraft, wildlife, bark craft, exploring and adventure walks, weaving, whittling and natural arts and crafts to take home.
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Finish around our campfire with snacks, milk or hot chocolate and nursery songs
SCHOOL TRIPS
Location: Dane Bank Green Space, Denton, Manchester alongside Denton West End Cricket Club, closest postcode - M34 2HB
Times: Usually summer term but we can run all year round, our best day of the week is Wednesday or Friday
Recommended ages: All ages welcome!
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Are you a school or nursery provision looking for a new adventure for your children? We provide private bookings for school field trips allowing a full day of forest fun. Activities include bushcraft learning, forest art, campfire cooking & free-play. Schools can choose a theme based on what aligns with their curriculum.
