School Outdoors Dulwich

The teachers are engaging, very caring, and give me detailed reports of her day. The surroundings are just lovely, and all that's needed for the little ones' comfort is well thought of. The manager and the team do a great job!

We are sending her younger brother to join her in January, which says it all!

We still keep seeing positive changes week by week, and she is so proud of all the new skills she is learning! I absolutely love starting my day at their site and with a short walk in such lovely woodland surroundings.

My child has had an incredibly happy two years at School Outdoors Dulwich; given that they started in 2020 during the pandemic, School Outdoors Dulwich gave my child an opportunity to have a normal (better than normal, actually) early years experience. They have developed into a confident, resilient little child with a love of nature and a sense of adventure for exploring the outdoors, which come from their time at forest school. The staff are fantastic and have supported my child and us on their journey, working with us positively when we encountered difficulties with toilet training last year. We get regular feedback on my child's progress against early years development, and also really value the daily updates and photos. My child left to start school in September, but we will be back in School Outdoors Dulwich for holiday camp as we value this unique outdoor setting and are glad they can continue to benefit from it as they grow up.

For anyone with a love of the outdoors who is looking to give that experience to their children whilst living in a city, then this setting is perfect - I would recommend it highly!

School Outdoors Dulwich is an excellent idea - a forest school in London where children can play outdoors all day, learn woodworking and how to make a fire, and build things out of what they find around them! In many ways, the execution is lacking though. The staff were excellent, for example, and developed deep and lasting relationships with our children that we all really appreciated. They did not seem to be well supported by management, however, and turnover is very high (if you missed a couple of weeks on holiday you would often come back to find 1-2 people had left). This constant flux was jarring for both children and parents. Related, the site needs some investment, especially provisions for winter when it becomes very wet, but there seems like a lack of willingness to invest in proper facilities. Reading between the lines, I got the distinct sense that this has been contributing to the turnover issue, with staff not feeling particularly supported or well looked after.

My son attended forest school for nine months. He absolutely loved it and always came home very happy and full of tales of what he'd been up to. He learnt so much about independent play and working in a practical way. The staff were friendly and caring; though staff turnover was high - he didn't seem to mind. The management was helpful and approachable.

Our daughter attended School Outdoors Dulwich for the summer before she started school. She has also attended the sister nursery, which she loved, so was familiar with the setting as they are taken over to the forest school for trips. She had always come back with positive reviews, and so I enrolled her. It is lovely for the children to spend the day outside, enjoy nature and getting muddy. The teachers are positive and engaging, and the days are structured so that they enjoy a variety of playful, educational activities and nutritious food. She loved playing on the swings, cooking in the mud kitchen and climbing the trees. It has helped her gain confidence and pushed her to try new activities whilst making new friends. I would highly recommend School Outdoors Dulwich and feel that we are lucky to have this facility available whilst living in the city.

Our 3-year-old son has been attending School Outdoors Dulwich 2-days a week since September 2020. He absolutely loves his days there and always comes home beaming, covered in mud and telling us proudly about all the exciting things he has done that day. He has benefited hugely from being able to spend so much time outside. His interest in nature and confidence in exploring and climbing trees are lovely to see. He has been able to do all sorts of new activities from woodwork to different crafts to helping cook outside over a fire. The staff are warm, supportive and knowledgeable and are really interested in activities being child-led. Our son loves role-playing, and this setting has really sparked his imagination in lots of new ways. I am very happy we decided to move some of his days here, and would highly recommend it.

We’ve been really happy with the School Outdoors Dulwich nursery since our daughter started three months ago. They are always trying new activities, and she comes home each day muddy and very happy. The staff are switched on, caring and nurturing. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in their child spending time in nature. The option to split time between this nursery and the ‘sister’ nursery has worked well for us.

Our two and a half-year-old daughter has split her weeks since September between School Outdoors and a more formal kindergarten setting. She absolutely loves her days at forest school, and invariably comes home full of beans and caked in mud, telling us all about building dens, cycling and drinks around the campfire. We have found SOD to really complement her days spent in a more traditional school environment - indeed her teachers there report that she is completely fearless outdoors and likes to chat to them about what she’s done in the forest! The SOD staff are very friendly and committed to the forest school ethos and we have no hesitation in recommending it to other parents looking for a more rural option for children growing up in London - we’re really pleased our daughter has the chance to spend so much time outdoors.

My son and I would both wholeheartedly recommend the School Outdoors Nursery in Herne Hill. It feels as though we have stumbled across a little oasis and is a refreshing contrast to indoor urban nurseries. My son loves the amazing variation of outdoor activities and caring kind staff. The staff are fun, gentle and inspiring. The nursery is creative and nurturing. My son loves it and tells me all about his day on the way home on the bike. What a wonderful opportunity to spend quality time outside as a child in London. Thank you.

Excellent experience for my 4-year-old daughter. She loved the teachers and the experience of returning from Forest school every evening (looking enormously healthy and rosy-cheeked) with exciting stories of what she got up to, what she ate and proudly sharing the various "object d' art" she had created. She can't wait for the next holiday break to return. I personally believe that her time in the outdoors all day, in all types of weather, has toughened her up, calmed her down, she seems slightly more reflective and definitely has helped with certain development milestones. Dare I say slightly matured her, can't recommend this enough.

Both of our daughters have loved attending School Outdoors Dulwich. Our oldest started when she was 3 and attended until she started school this September and our youngest daughter has just started aged 2 1/2. The staff are fantastic, taking a genuine interest in the children and the activities that the children do sound brilliant as well. They come home telling us about climbing trees, going biking at the velodrome, blackberry picking in the summer, roasting marshmallows and baking bread on the fire on colder days! We really love the setting and would definitely recommend it!

My 2.5-year-old child has been going to School Outdoors Dulwich for two months now and my partner and I can’t be happier. Not only do we love the ethos of forest school but also the school itself is a happy and wonderful environment with loving and caring staff. The evidence-based for the benefits of forest school is strong and growing and although we had our apprehensions about setting our young child outdoors all day in whatever weather, these we easily allayed by the staff and the excellent setup and resources there. Whatever the weather, my child comes home happy and full-on stories of their adventures although very very muddy! It has helped nurture his independent and imaginative play, motor skills and love of nature with the reliance on tv or lots of toys. It makes our own family outings much more fun and gives a balance at home allowing screen time etc as I know their developmental needs are being more than met. Also, I would praise the staff!

We love this nursery and our daughter has absolutely flourished here. We were quite nervous about sending her to nursery as she has always been quite a shy child. We need not of worried though as she loves it, she's made lots of friends and looks forward to going each day. The things she makes there we actually want to keep and put on display. She's learning skills such as drilling and sawing that are giving her so much confidence and she has loads of fun. If you were ever torn over bringing up kids in the city versus the countryside send them to this nursery. Our daughter is experiencing countryside childhood whilst living in a city. Literally the best of both worlds!

A rare find - a forest school education in SE London for early years. Fantastic staff/ teachers, with great relationships between children, staff and parents. Outdoor activities and child-led learning are prominent, in a small, intimate setting. A flexible, warm and nurturing nursery space.

My daughter (3 years old) has grown in confidence and creativity since she started at School Outdoors Dulwich. She comes back from SOD absolutely exhausted (and grubby), having done some carpentry, creative play, having drinks by the open fire and generally exploring and engaging with nature and mud! For parents that want their kids to be more curious and creative as well as have a better sense of their bodies and movement, I cannot recommend SOD enough. The teachers are absolutely great, giving room for fun while still providing direction and safety.

My son has settled so well into the nursery and I think the staff are great. I really feel as though they care about him and he comes home exhausted but really engaged (e.g. singing songs from the day and always mentioning Forest School). He’s had a turbulent year for various reasons so it’s been such a relief for us to know he is settled and having so much fun in a nurturing nursery setting. All staff seem to take the time to get to know the children and plan fun activities that are child-led, exciting and allow them to take risks in a controlled way.

Our daughter (4) attended the School Outdoors Nursery after a recommendation and we were not disappointed! The staff are lovely and our daughter had lots of fun. She made friends but more importantly grew so much in confidence which really helped with her start at school. She is also a lot more interested in nature and wants to spend time outside a lot more. She loved the teachers too who really care about the kids having a good time. Really lovely setting, we will be coming back for the holidays!