Forest School For Life
GoodTakes funded hours★ 5.0 on GoogleBirth to 8+Long established
A day nursery in Wymondham for babies from 6 months up to school age, open 08:00 to 17:00, 4 days a week. They take the funded hours. They do not publish prices, so ask. Rated Good by Ofsted in January 2025. Open since 2022, with 33 places.
What it costs
Prices change without notice. Treat these as what to ask about, not a quote.
Funded hours
We accept 15 hours and 30 hours (Working Families Entitlement) Government funded hours a week for Children aged from 9 months – 4 year olds.
Worth knowing. For funded only children, the fee will be returned in full within 6 weeks following the first day of attendance for early education. Where families have agreed a contract for more hours than the early education entitlement, the deposit will be returned when the contract is terminated, and any outstanding fees have been paid in full.
What childcare usually costs in Norfolk
This is not this setting's price. It is the median hourly fee across all providers in Norfolk from the Department for Education's 2025 provider survey. No national data holds what an individual nursery charges, so ring and ask.
Places, hours and the day
Who they take, when they are open, and what a day there includes.
Where it is
NR18 9NLWhat the inspector found
One grade is one visit. A run of them tells you whether it has been good for years or has only just got there.
Ofsted inspector, 8 January 2025 · read the full report
What it is like to attend
Children are warmly greeted upon arrival by a senior member of staff and their key person. Children spend time outdoors, mostly within a secure base camp area. In addition, there are covered areas and a large, purpose-provided wooden structure, heated by a wood burner. This is where children can spend time in inclement weather. Babies and toddlers' care needs are appropriately met. Staff follow these children's individual routines. Nappy changing is carried out in a sensitive manner.
Children are settled to sleep in the fresh air. Staff are calm and supportive, encouraging children to be polite, kind and respectful of each other and the environment. Younger children show that they feel secure as they confidently seek out their key person for a reassuring cuddle. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), learn to use a range of strategies to explore and recognise their own emotions.
Staff engage children in a wide range of activities, most of which are created from natural materials and embedded within an ecologically sound philosophy. Children recognise and name different leaves, as they make a winter collage. They learn about, and become involved in, planting, growing and harvesting foods. They enjoy social mealtimes together, eating colourful, nutritious food that has been prepared in the outdoor kitchen. Children learn how to nurture life as they care for the resident chickens. They use their imaginations as they spot 'fairies' hiding behind the trees on their woodland walk and go on 'outings', where they explore and discover life in the ponds and the meadow.
What Ofsted told them to improve
To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider should:
- strengthen mentoring and coaching, so that all staff are confident to plan, support and extend children's learning, building on what children already know and can do n support staff to identify the youngest children's emerging learning needs and to focus on giving these children the best opportunities to practise key skills.
- 8 January 2025Good Safeguarding: Yes
Still missing for Forest School For Life
- What it costs
- Meals
- Nappies
No dataset holds any of this. Two parents telling us the same thing puts it on the page for whoever looks next.
What to ask them
Some of this is above, from the setting or from parents, and it can go out of date. The rest is in no dataset anywhere. Either way it is worth ten minutes on the phone.
- What does it cost, all in? What is on top: meals, nappies, late pick-up, and what happens if you are late.
- How do you apply my funded hours? Whether they stretch them over the year, and the minimum days you have to book.
- Do you have a place for a child of my age now? Baby rooms fill first and waiting lists are common.
- Who would my child's key person be? And how long have the staff been there. No dataset holds this and it matters more than anything above.
- Can I visit at a busy time? Mid-morning on a weekday tells you far more than an empty room after hours.
Day nurseries within a couple of miles
This one is first. Tick it and one or two others to see them side by side.