Sustainability

stanmer kindergarten

From Little Acorns, Mighty Oaks Grow...

Our newest Kindergarten is due to open in SEPTEMBER 2023! Set inside a magical secret garden within Stanmer Park and surrounded by the Great Woods and the South Downs National Park, our new little woodland Kindergarten will provide the perfect base to grow and thrive amongst trees and gardens.

At Bee in the Woods, we spend all day playing and learning in our amazing outdoor environment, where children are given the freedom to explore and investigate the natural world around them in safety. Our camp is fenced and enclosed with high ratios of adults to children that are maintained at all times.

Our stanmer garden includes,

We are influenced by the philosophies of Froebel, Reggio Emilia, Te Whakiri and Scandinavian Forest Schools to harness the natural environment, community and the power of play.  We co-construct our curriculum on a much bigger, wilder, more democratic and more adventurous scale.We believe in listening to children and giving them the time and freedom they need and deserve to explore and express themselves. We trust in children's sense of curiosity and capability to construct their own knowledge and contribute to their community.We aim to create a nurturing, safe and caring community which fosters a strong sense of belonging and self worth.Wellbeing is vital to our setting and through taking care of our staff, our families and our children's wellbeing, we aim to build a resilient and supportive community with deep connections to each other and to the natural world.

  • A lovely natural play area with swings, dens, mud kitchen and rope bridges
  • A large Parachute shelter that provides a cosy base for our together times.
  • A campfire area where we cook communally, sing and story-tell.
  • A vegetable patch for our children to grow their own flowers and vegetables
  • The Pond Garden - located just outside of our Kindergarten camp is a beautiful pond to visit & wildlife-watch
  • Stanmer Park Great Woods - beyond our garden is the wider woodland, where we occasionally head out on adventure walks.

What do you need to know?

We are influenced by the philosophies of Froebel, Reggio Emilia, Te Whakiri and Scandinavian Forest Schools to harness the natural environment, community and the power of play.  We co-construct our curriculum on a much bigger, wilder, more democratic and more adventurous scale.We believe in listening to children and giving them the time and freedom they need and deserve to explore and express themselves. We trust in children's sense of curiosity and capability to construct their own knowledge and contribute to their community.We aim to create a nurturing, safe and caring community which fosters a strong sense of belonging and self worth.Wellbeing is vital to our setting and through taking care of our staff, our families and our children's wellbeing, we aim to build a resilient and supportive community with deep connections to each other and to the natural world.

  • We are open for children aged 3 - 5 years-old, 4 days a week from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, Monday to Thursday from April 2024/ 5 days a week from September 2024.
  • Our Kindergarten is entirely outdoors, year round.
  • Beach School will be available on Thursdays from April 2024 for children already attending Stanmer Kindergarten.
  • We follow Brighton and Hove term times
  • We offer a breakfast club between 8.30-9.30am, Tues - Thurs.
  • We offer weekly music, gardening, yoga and Beach School.
  • We are teacher-lead and have a highly qualified and passionate team.
  • Our HomeEd groups run 3 times a week from Portslade for children aged 5-8.
  • We have high ratios of adults to children
  • We run a Forest School Holiday Club out of term time.

    Home-Ed: We are developing plans for further home-ed groups at Stanmer Park from April/September 2024.  We currently are welcoming Home Ed families to join our community and share ideas for developments - join our dedicated     Home-ed Mailing List to keep in the loop.

our day

OUR DAILY SCHEDULE

9.30

Parents drop off children at our woodland garden. Sign-in, self-register and play.

9.45

Welcome song, morning snack and check-in.

10.00

Free play in the garden.

11.30

Morning circle time. Forest school songs, games, stories and word play.

11.45

Toilet and wash hands.

12.00

Lunch followed by stories and play.

1.00

Afternoon session - Music, Gardening Club, Explorer walks, yoga, pond-dipping, small group games or rest and quiet time.

2.30

Tidy up time.

3.00

Gather together, afternoon snack and reflection time.

3.30

Goodbye time. Parents come to the camp gate for collection.

find our more

Registration & Fees

Join waiting list

Getting to the Kindergarten

Our Team

Read Our Portslade Ofsted Inspection Report

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