Leweston boasts over 40 acres of exceptional park land, and the Nursery truly benefit from all this wonderful space. 

All our children head out for a nature walk at least once each day; from babies in pushchairs to our oldest children racing across the grounds, exploring the pond and reaching the Belvedere, we have outdoor exploration firmly at the heart of our provision.  

Our Transition (Pre-School) pupils often join with the Pre-Prep pupils for afternoon walks across the grounds, which is great for their wider sense of community and helps to create an even smoother transition for those who stay with us through into the Reception class.

Our enormous, dedicated Nursery garden is fully secure and enclosed, and offers consistent free-flow access to the outside for all our children.

It features a large covered, hard-surfaced area for structured activities, with an all-weather awning providing shade in the summer months. The garden itself consists of mixed surfaces, with concrete areas for bikes and scooters, huge swathes of grass lawn and a leaf and wood chip covered woodland area. The garden is large enough for children to feel that they have an exceptional level of freedom, when the reality is that they remain within the safe environment of the enclosed Nursery space.  

The large tree-covered woodland area at the bottom of the garden provides a natural, fully-shaded space for the very warmest days of the year, and a variety of different environmental spaces all year round – including digging pits, playhouses, a dinosaur world, swings and play kitchens.  

There are appropriate climbing opportunities for all ages, with a small climbing unit for our younger pupils and a substantial wooden framed climbing unit for our over 3’s. Sand and water play is always available, and children are encouraged to access and set-up their own outdoor equipment.  

We also benefit from a designated Forest School space on the school site – a 4 acre dense woodland, known as ‘The Enchanted Wood’, in which a clearing holds a fire circle and parachute covering.

In this space, our pupils benefit from regular Forest School sessions with our fully qualified Forest School leader. In their weekly session, our Pre-School age pupils learn to explore and engage in their outdoor environment, working together and problem solving in real, hands-on activities.  

The Forest School approach, which originated in Scandinavia, is firmly rooted in the importance of real engagement with the outdoor environment in all weathers, and this is a culture that we strongly align with at Leweston. Every child has full waterproofs, welly boots and a warm coat as part of their kit, and we never shy away from the outdoors as a result of the weather – rain is an excuse for puddle splashing and the cold requires good hats, scarves and gloves!  

Our newly established on-site equestrian centre offers yet another outstanding experience for our youngest pupils.

Regular visits to the stables are encouraged, and even our Babies get involved with replenishing hay and watching the horses enjoy their feed.  

On our regular walks, we often visit the equestrian centre and watch the riding lessons taking place, and in the coming months we hope to be able to extend this provision and offer some early riding lessons for our pupils too.