Generally we carry on playing! Provided the children have the right clothes on they are usually happy to be outside – but keeping warm & dry are crucial which is why we have a recommended kit list and a list of suggested suppliers. It’s often more sheltered in the woods so often the children will carry on playing under shelters – we may have large tarpaulins between trees, shelters and tents to keep us dry. If the weather is so bad that it just wouldn’t be safe to be in the woods (e.g. if there was a storm or high winds forecast) we find a safe alternative space – this will be different at each site. At East Grinstead we have a yurt on the field or can use some inside space at the Sports Club. At Borde Hill we have a number of shelters on site and a large Tentipi but we may also use the large marquee in Borde Hill gardens in extreme weather or hire the Scout Hut for the day in Cuckfield. Having run an outdoor nursery since 2018, please do be assured that it is very rare for us not to keep playing outdoors! We have probably had to shut early due to weather on only a handful of occasions.

We take children from the age of 2 years until the end of the term in which they turn 5 in our Kindergarten. If you are intending to delay the start of school for your child, or are home schooling/flexi schooling please do get in touch. We always have a few children each year who do this and are happy to provide information & advice.

Not at all. We have facilities available for nappy changing and when children are ready we can support you with toilet training. We have potties on site to use before children move on to toilets and lots of spare clothes in case of accidents. We have composting toilets, which, for some children takes a little getting used to and prompts questions like ‘where’s the flush?!’

We are open Monday –  Thursday 8am – 4pm  & 9am -3pm on Friday.

Please note we are not a term time only setting so we are open for 46 weeks of the year – we close more frequently in the autumn and winter months and make the most of the warmer, longer days in the Spring & Summer. We are generally closed for:

• Bank holidays
• February Half term (following West Sussex County Council term dates)
• Last two weeks of August (when the team take their break)
• October half term (following West Sussex County Council term dates)
• Two weeks at Christmas (following West Sussex County Council term dates)

Children will need to bring snacks & a packed lunch with them each day. Whenever we can we will involve the children in the preparation of extra snacks and sometimes prepare & cook on the campfire – for example we may make ‘wild toast’, damper bread, baked fruit and popcorn. It is during the colder months we cook more on the fire but eating together is a great social activity and all that fresh air definitely builds up appetites! We have been inspected by Mid Sussex District Council at both our sites and awarded a 5 star hygiene rating, which is a great achievement for an outdoor setting.

At our East Grinstead site we rarely see visitors in the woods during the day as we are quite tucked away. We have gates and ‘dead hedging’ (natural fencing which is great for wildlife) around our site to help keep it secure. At our Borde Hill, Haywards Heath site we have picket fencing in place and gates that are kept locked during the day.Our numbers are small and we have very high adult to child ratios so are always able to keep children within sight. We do ask that children come to Treehoppers in a bright raincoat please and can recommend some good suppliers, many of whom have offered us discount codes to use. We can also provide a yellow branded t-shirt & sweatshirt to help ensure that the children are dressed in brightly coloured clothes that are easy to spot in the woods! If you aren’t able to buy a bright jacket then we may be able to lend you one for a term and we also have our own branded hi-vis jackets for the children to wear.

We generally only take children for a minimum of 2 days as this helps them to settle into the Kindergarten easier, make friends and really benefit from the Forest School approach. For young children in particular, a week is a very long time! You can send them to Treehoppers as well as another pre-school, nursery or childminder and if you are claiming funded hours we are happy to  help you with any paperwork.

If you would like to reserve a place (unless you are starting immediately) we ask for a £55 administration fee which is non refundable. Closer to the time we will ask for a £55 registration fee to cover the costs of our home visit and settling in sessions. If you are only using funding with us, the registration fee can be refunded after a term.

We do accept Government funding; this is paid for 38 weeks (term time) so we will ‘stretch’ the funding to cover the 46 weeks of the year we are open.

Please be aware that most of the literature you will see about Early Years Funding refers to it as ‘free’ and whilst the hours are to be given free, there are costs to the nursery which are not covered by the government funding. We do ask families using funding to support us by paying an additional daily charge to cover all the extra things we do.

Our standard hourly rates will depend on the age of your child when they join us & all fees are reviewed at the end of the summer term.  Families can usually reduce costs by using the Government’s tax free childcare scheme  – please see these links:

https://www.gov.uk/tax-free-childcare

https://beststartinlife.gov.uk/childcare-early-years-education/

Download our Funding Guide & Fees information sheet for more detailed information.

Like all nurseries, pre-schools and childminders we will follow the Early Years Foundation Stage. But the difference is we do it outside and we believe that anything you can do inside, you can do better outside! Literacy is so important and a huge part of our day – stories, songs, rhymes, role play activities, learning the names of animals, insects, reflecting on the activities they do during the day – all of this helps to build children’s language, literacy and communication skills. Outdoors, just as indoors there are lots of opportunities too for early maths – for example counting and calculating various materials/resources/sticks and while playing games. Children will spend so many years of their young lives inside, sitting at a desk – let them enjoy their early years outside!

Forest school is fun! We have well trained and highly qualified teachers who plan exciting activities to capture children’s imaginations and encourage them to play, explore and build skills. As you can imagine we have a lot of risk assessments in place and the children are taught safety rules in an age appropriate way. For example our older children learn a safety poem which reminds them about how to keep safe outdoors. 

Yes we can arrange visits to either our East Grinstead or Haywards Heath site. We would suggest you have a look at our social media pages too to get more of an idea of what we do. Please get in touch with us by email to find out more: admin@treehoppersfk.com