Little Diggers Montessori Bosham

About this day nursery

Little Diggers Montessori Bosham is a Montessori day nursery and Forest School situated at the Bosham Broadbridge Centre. It provides care for babies and children aged 3 months to 5 years, operating all year round from 7:30 am to 6:00 pm.

The nursery offers inclusive breakfast and after-school clubs, flexible meal arrangements, nap times, and adaptable pick-up and drop-off schedules. Committed to an eco-friendly ethos, Little Diggers Bosham integrates Montessori and non-Montessori toys and equipment in free-flow nursery rooms and garden areas, encouraging child-led exploration and development.

In the woodland, children participate in hands-on, age-appropriate activities like den building, fire lighting, tree climbing, bug hunting, and bushcraft, fostering self-esteem and a connection with nature. The nursery provides nutritious snacks and meals, with an option for children to bring packed lunches or order hot lunches from a nursery caterer at an additional cost.

The on-site Nursery Café serves as a central point for meals and a Cookery Club, where children prepare dishes using ingredients they have grown in the Gardening Club. Parents can stay updated on their child's progress through a dedicated app and termly parent consultations.

The approach combines the Montessori philosophy, which emphasises self-directed learning and hands-on exploration, with the Forest School ethos, promoting holistic development, risk-taking, and environmental awareness through outdoor experiences.

Our ethos

The Montessori and Forest School approaches are central to Little Diggers Montessori, sharing a commitment to child-led learning and exploration through hands-on, nature-based experiences. Both philosophies cultivate innate curiosity and provide a holistic, engaging learning environment. The Forest School ethos focuses on the well-being and development of children through regular, immersive nature experiences. Key aspects include fostering a deep connection with nature, encouraging child-led learning where activities are based on individual interests, needs, and abilities, and promoting managed risk-taking to build resilience, problem-solving skills, and self-confidence. Learning is experiential, emphasising hands-on activities and sensory engagement with the natural world. This approach also promotes holistic development—physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and spiritual—and instills environmental awareness and stewardship through repeated interactions with nature. Community and collaboration are encouraged in small, mixed-age groups, enhancing social skills and empathy. The Forest School ethos complements the EYFS by emphasising outdoor, self-directed, and play-based learning that promotes creativity, problem-solving, and physical development. The Montessori philosophy stresses self-directed learning, hands-on exploration, and independence in early years. Children learn at their own pace within an environment designed to support their natural curiosity, with teachers acting as facilitators. The Montessori method encompasses practical life, sensorial, language, mathematics, and cultural studies. While Montessori focuses on hands-on learning and self-directed exploration, and EYFS on adult-guided and play-based activities, both aim to foster child-led learning, independence, and social skills, thus complementing each other for a well-rounded early childhood education.