Naturegarden Nursery & Forest School
BEST FOR
Ages 2-11
WHERE
Lymm
What it’s like
A registered nursery and forest school where kids build with natural materials, paint and explore outdoors most of the day, not a drop-in session.
This is a nursery place first, forest school second. Children aged 2 to 5 spend their days building with natural materials, painting, and getting stuck into open-ended exploration outdoors, following a Montessori and Reggio Emilia approach where the child leads what they do rather than following a set timetable. There's a Holiday Club for ages 5 to 11 too, so it can stretch beyond the nursery years if you need cover in the school holidays.
Doors are open Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 6pm, with funded EYFS hours available for the younger ones. That's a proper working day's cover, not a couple of hours of messy play, which matters if you're juggling a job around childcare. Term dates follow Ravenbank Primary School, and that's worth knowing because it can be out of step with other local schools when you're planning holidays.
The one thing to get straight before you enquire: this is a registered nursery place you sign up for, not something you turn up to on a whim. If you've got a baby under 2, they'll point you to their sister nursery, Rosebank Day Nursery, also in Lymm, since this one starts at age 2. There's also a Before and After School Club at Ravenbank Primary itself, with breakfast from 7:30am and a High Tea plus academic support in the afternoon, which could be the more useful bit if your child's already at that school and you just need the gaps either side of the day filled.
Facilities
Need to know
- Best for
- 2 to 5 in the nursery, with Holiday Club stretching to 11
- This is a registered nursery place, not a walk-in session, so you enrol rather than just show up
- Term dates follow Ravenbank Primary School, not the standard local authority calendar
- Under-2s are not taken here; their sister nursery Rosebank Day Nursery covers birth to 5
- Before and After School Club runs at Ravenbank Primary itself, with breakfast and a High Tea plus academic support
Plan your visit
Can we just drop in for a session?
No, this is a registered nursery place rather than a drop-in, so you need to enrol your child.
What age range do you take?
From 2 to 5 for the nursery and forest school, and 5 to 11 for the Holiday Club. Under-2s are pointed towards their sister nursery, Rosebank Day Nursery, nearby in Lymm.
What hours are you open?
Monday to Friday, 7:30am to 6pm, with funded EYFS hours available for eligible children.
What do the children actually do all day?
Building with natural materials, painting and creative play, and outdoor adventure in the forest, led by the child's own interests rather than a fixed lesson plan.
Do you follow normal school holiday dates?
They follow Ravenbank Primary School's term dates, which can differ from other schools nearby, so it is one to check against your own calendar.
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