Wildlings Forest Kindergarten receive Ofsted OUTSTANDING!

Wildlings Forest Kindergarten, part of A Touch of the Wild Forest School, has been awarded an ‘Outstanding’ rating following their first Ofsted inspection.

Wildlings Forest Kindergarten is a holistic, nature-based childcare and education setting for 2.5+ year olds. The child-led pre-school offering has recently celebrated their second birthday, having been hugely popular with both children and parents since opening in January 2021.

The ‘Outstanding’ results were welcomed by the staff, as they pride themselves on meeting the needs and interests of their young people, while preparing them for their next stages in life.

Spaces at Wildlings Forest Kindergarten have been consistently sought-after and the setting has been consistently vibrant and diverse. Spaces are currently filling fast for September 2023.

Wildlings provide a natural environment for children from 2.5 years, Tuesday – Friday in term time. They have a dedicated, highly qualified, experienced and enthusiastic team.

Wildlings embrace and celebrate diversity and provide for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), allowing them to care for children with social and communication difficulties.

During the inspection, which took place on 18th January 2023, Ofsted held meetings with the staff as well as inspecting the camp and observing the children and staff in situ.

The recently published report describes the provision of Wildlings Forest Kindergarten ‘outstanding’, and a setting where “children thrive”, and “engage in activities that develop curiosity and investigative play” thanks to a “well-focused curriculum that enables staff to provide excellent activities that build very successfully on what children need to learn next”.

Staff are described as “knowledgeable in resourcing the environment to fully challenge the children and extend learning ”, and it’s noted that they “ensure the outdoor environment is engaging and helps children to solve problems with confidence.” The report comments that “staff are commendable role models, and children mirror the behaviours shown. Children display superb behaviour and are consistently kind and considerate of each other”.

According to the report, “children and staff have great relationships with each other that fully support learning and development. A real mutual trust and respect is clear”. This feeling is clearly prioritised in the setting, and “children feel safe and secure in the environment, and they flourish in their play”.

The children experience an environment that is “impressively full of language” and “what children know, understand, remember and recall is excellent”. The setting is praised as “progress in learning and development is enhanced”.

The inspection also took into consideration the views of parents and carers, commenting that “parent partnership is excellent and impacts positively on the learning and development of children”. According to the report “the setting is a real support to families and parents’ feel staff know their children very well and children make ‘lots of progress’”.

Commenting on the result of the Ofsted inspection, Beccy Spiers, Camp Leader, said:

“I won’t forget the feeling of elation when the Ofsted inspector gave me the feedback in the carpark at camp. All the children were running around enjoying the snow-covered ground, the sun had just come out and the whole forest was glistening. That crisp sparkle pretty much sums it up. The pure joy of watching the children frolic combined with the recognition of all the hard work and dedication our wonderful team pour into our Kindergarten… I couldn’t be prouder!”

“The result really does reflect everyone’s hard work; the last two years have been quite a journey and it’s so good to know we are recognised for our ‘outstanding’ efforts. We are bursting with pride – our staff, our children and our parents all just brilliant. We feel very lucky to have such a wonderful group of inspirational people to play in the woods with!”

You can read a copy of the full report here

For more information on Wildlings Forest Kindergarten click here.