Forest Preparatory School

Moss Lane, Timperley, Altrincham WA15 6LJ
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9.9 48 Reviews
  • Forest Preparatory School, Altrincham
Situated in the attractive suburb of Timperley, south of Manchester, Forest Preparatory School is a co-educational, independent day school for children aged two to eleven.

The school maintains a strong balance between academic excellence and pastoral care, with the belief that a happy child will learn and that, within a sound and supportive framework, every child can thrive. Forest is proud of its academic achievements, with pupils progressing to notable Independent and Grammar Schools.

The Nursery occupies its own standalone building. In September 2022, significant investment was made to relocate the Nursery to a newly refurbished building within the school grounds, enabling it to open year-round (48 weeks). Continued development of facilities has included the opening of a new outdoor learning area in September 2025, which is home to two pygmy goats. This space, along with a dedicated outdoor classroom, is used by the Nursery and Kindergarten children during their weekly Forest Explorers sessions.

By welcoming children as young as two into the Forest community, the school is able to nurture and challenge them academically throughout their primary years. Teachers work closely with pupils and their families, ensuring smooth transitions at key stages, developing an understanding of individual strengths and challenges, and supporting each child to achieve outcomes that are both aspirational and right for them.
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Type of Service

  • Nursery School
  • Open term time
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Group/Owner

Person in Charge

  • Graeme Booth (Headmaster)

Number of Childcare Staff

  • 35

Total Places for Children

  • 48

Age Range

  • from 2 years 0 months
  • to 4 years 0 months

Funding & Fees

  • School Fees (Term Time) for academic year 2025/2026 are as follows:


    Nursery and Kindergarten - £54.30 per day
    Nursery and Kindergarten - Mornings + lunch - £44.70 per session
    Nursery and Kindergarten - Morning Only - £37.30 per morning

    Non Term Time Nursery Provision Fees 2025/2026:
    Half Day (between 7:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m) - £33.00
    Full Day (between 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) -   £53.00

  • Our school day runs from 8:40am - 3:10pm. We do offer wrap around care which incurs the following costs:


    Breakfast club 7:30am to 8:40am including breakfast - £6:50 per session.
    Late stay (runs from 3:10pm to 6:00pm) including afternoon tea - £13:00 per session.


    Our non term time provision which runs in the school holidays, is flexible and is booked on a pay-as-you-go system.

Opening Times

  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00

When Closed

  • 4 weeks per academic year

Forest Preparatory School Reviews (48)

9.9

Forest Preparatory School has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.942) out of 10, based on 19 reviews in the last 2 years.
Over all time Forest Preparatory School has 48 reviews.

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Reviewer Connection to Forest Preparatory School
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Total of 48, showing 41-48
Review from Abhi (Father of Child) published on 13 February 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Very pleased with Forest School.
The staff are able and really helpful with managing our son's allergy.
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Review from Nathalie S (Mother of Child) published on 13 February 2020 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
The nursery has been wonderful for my daughter, so much so that I am increasing the number of days that she attends. Her excitement as she gets dressed for nursery speaks volumes; she loves her time there and the staff that she is with. As well as being extremely happy in the nursery, my daughter has
also learned a huge amount since she started attending- her speech development, in particular, has been striking. The staff are kind, helpful, and take great interest in all aspects of every child’s development. I would not hesitate to recommend.
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Review from Adrian T (Father of Child) published on 21 November 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Forest is a lovely school, my wife and I are really happy with our decision to move our son to Forest. One of my son’s friends moved to Forest and his parents told us how good Forest was for their son and how happy they were with their decision to move him. When hearing this we thought we would contact
the school and arrange an appointment to speak with the headteacher. My wife had a tour of the school and was very impressed with what she had seen when walking around with the headteacher. We both then attended an open day and when walking around different classrooms and meeting the teachers and headteacher we knew straight away that it was the correct choice for our son. My son has been very happy at Forest and he attends various extra-curricular clubs which are helping him grow and prosper. He is a very happy child who enjoys attending Forest.
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Review from Lu (Mother of Child) published on 6 November 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Very caring school with friendly staff and very well behaved children. Both my son and daughter love going to school everyday. Their progresses on all aspects have been amazing.
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Review from Gemma (Mother of Child) published on 1 November 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Extremely welcoming and supportive environment. Very good at tailoring activities to children’s individual levels. Great handling of transitions (eg toilet training).
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Review from Matthew S (Father of Child) published on 1 November 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
Forest is an excellent school and nursery where both of our daughters have attended and flourished. Recommended highly.
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Review from Julie (Mother of Child) published on 1 November 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My daughter has settled so well into the Forest family, she loves school. The teachers are supportive and nurturing and she is flourishing.
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Review from Ines C (Mother of Child) published on 1 November 2018 Submitted via Website • Report
Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5
My two children are at this school and they just love it! They gain in confidence, maturity and self-esteem.
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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.942)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.942) out of 10 for Forest Preparatory School is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  1. The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 19 Reviews in the last 24 months.
  2. The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 19 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  1. 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months. The Average Rating of 4.942 for Forest Preparatory School is calculated as follows: ( (212 Excellents x 5) + (13 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 225 Ratings = 4.942
  2. 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5'). The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Forest Preparatory School is based on 19 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    1. 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4
    2. 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 48 number of registered child places is 9.6, which has been reached with 19 Positive reviews. Points = 1
  3. When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.
  4. If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

Please contact us for latest vacancies.

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Awards / Recognitions (3)

Meet the Team (8)

Graeme

Graeme Booth

Job Title: Headmaster Joined: 2002

At Forest, we believe that we have found a perfect balance in pursuing academic excellence whilst at the same time maintaining strong pastoral care standards.


We strongly believe that if a child is happy they will learn and if they have a sound and efficient framework within which to work they will thrive.


Every child is made to feel important and valued by all concerned and through this atmosphere of collaboration, success is achieved.

Beverley

Beverley Budd

Job Title: Kindergarten Teacher and Deputy Head (Academic and Early Years). Joined: 2017

Mrs Budd is the Kindergarten teacher supported by Mrs Singer and Miss Naylor.


They aim to give our youngest children the best possible start to school life, so that they feel happy, safe and secure, whilst learning in a rich, varied and challenging environment.


The whole of the curriculum is delivered in our vibrant and well-resourced indoor and outdoor areas, which are carefully planned to cover each area of development.

Hayley

Hayley Bardsley

Job Title: Nursery Manager Joined: 2022

Miss Bardsley is our Nursery Manager. She is responsible for the daily running of Forest's Nursery. She has a strong passion for Early Years, especially outdoor learning.

Ana

Ana Saez

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner Joined: 2018

Miss Saez is our Nursery Practitioner, working with the 2-3-year-old age group at Forest Prep. Miss Saez is a native Spanish speaker and teaches Spanish to the children in Nursery. Miss Saez also teaches the extra-curricular Spanish club.

Christine

Christine Singer

Job Title: Kindergarten Teaching Assistant Joined: 2023

Christine is our Kindergarten Teaching Assistant and works with our 3 - 4-year-old preschool children. Christine is a qualified Early Year Teacher and completed a BA (Hons) Education with EYTS in July 2025.


Christine has worked with preschool children for over 16 years which included managing a nursery for 5 years.


Christine is also a pediatric first aider.

Katie

Katie Naylor

Job Title: Kindergarten Teaching Assistant Joined: 2024

Miss Naylor is our Kindergarten Teaching Assistant and teaches our 3-4-year-old preschool children.

Zena

Zena Smith

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner Joined: 2020

Mrs Smith works in the nursery with our 2 and 3-year-olds.

Aymie

Aymie Moroney

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner Joined: 2024

Mrs Moroney works in the nursery with our 2 - 3 year olds.


Mrs Moroney previously worked as a Lunchtime Assistant at Forest, so fully understands and embraces the Forest values.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Forest Preparatory School to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Forest Preparatory School has an Enhanced Service - more info.