At Hazeldene Family Centre we enjoy high quality outdoor learning opportunities as the children access our local woodland area to experience a weekly, full-day Forest Kindergarten session. Each child is assigned their very own ‘Woods Day’ where they are encouraged to be self-sufficient as they properly dress and equip themselves for the outdoors. We embrace the elements outside and understand that our learning does not stop for the weather, rather the weather provides us with unlimited learning opportunities.

Our woodland space is equipped for all our essential needs to facilitate a full-day session. We enjoy our snack, lunch and other refreshments at our Base Camp and, over time, have developed this space into an enabling environment where our children feel comfortable, safe, and stimulated. We take ownership in identifying any ‘Risky Business’ and confidently discuss how to keep ourselves, and our friends, safe.

Children play an active role in shaping and enriching the woodland environment. They confidently share ideas and collaborate with adults to enhance the space, such as constructing tyre swings, building stick dens, climbing ladders, and creating cosy corners for quiet play. Beyond the Base Camp, children regularly venture further into the woodland on small ‘adventures’. Through these explorations, they have developed a strong sense of belonging by naming special places within the woods that are meaningful to them, including areas such as Bunny Land, Dragon’s Leg, The Slide, and Mount Everest.

At Hazeldene Family Centre children also access our garden spaces, ensuring that outdoor learning remains a central feature of daily life at Hazeldene. By embracing our natural environment in all seasons, we provide children with meaningful opportunities to explore, investigate, and learn through play in the outdoors every day.

“There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”
Scandinavian proverb