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Outdoor Owls

Ofsted: Good
(Aug 2022)
·
5.0(44 parent reviews)
·Richmond & Putney Unitarian Church, Ormond Road, Richmond, TW10 6TH · Richmond upon Thames
Number of places
50 places
Age range
2–4 yrs
Last inspected
Aug 2022
Local authority
Richmond upon Thames

About this day nursery

Outdoor Owls in Richmond offers a forest school experience for children aged 6 months to 5 years, operating 51 weeks a year. Children from 6 months to approximately 2 years are based at the Richmond & Putney Unitarian Church, while those aged 2 to 5 years enjoy daily adventures at a dedicated nature site in Cobham, transported by a nursery minibus.

The nursery focuses on an ambitious curriculum delivered by experienced educators within a rich, multi-sensory outdoor environment. Their approach is child-led and play-based, encouraging risky play under supervision to foster resilience, creativity, empathy, and independence.

The nursery provides nutritious meals, including breakfast, lunch, tea, and an afternoon snack, prepared by TwoTeaspoons. Outdoor Owls emphasises the benefits of outdoor learning, aiming to develop well-rounded, resilient children who thrive in a natural setting.

They provide a nurturing and stimulating environment where children can explore, learn, and grow through first-hand experiences with nature.

Our ethos

Outdoor Owls offers a forest school experience with a child-led and play-based approach, encouraging 'risky play' under supervision to foster resilience, creativity, empathy, and independence. They emphasise outdoor learning through first-hand experiences with nature to develop well-rounded, resilient children.

What it's like

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this warm and welcoming forest school nursery, feeling safe and secure as they confidently board the 'classroom on wheels' minibus for camp. They show a positive attitude to learning, engaging in open-ended play and developing strong physical skills and an understanding of the natural world. Staff set high expectations, teaching children risk assessment and safety.

Forest School NurseryOutdoor EducationNutritious Meals ProvidedChild-led LearningMinibus Transport to Forest Site

Pricing & funding

Funding accepted

15 hours — universal (3–4 yrs)Tax-Free Childcare30 hours — working parents (3–4 yrs)15 hours — working parents (9 months–2 yrs)
Pricing on request

This nursery doesn't publish its fees online. Contact them directly for an up-to-date price list and availability.

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Key facts

Opening hours

Monday - Friday (8am - 5:45pm) 51 weeks a year

Food

Breakfast (cereal & fresh fruits), lunch, and tea daily, plus an afternoon snack. Meals are prepared by TwoTeaspoons.

Age range

6 months - 5 years

Term time / All Year

All Year

Established

2019

Ofsted Inspection

Ofsted rating for Outdoor Owls

Last inspected 1 August 2022

Safeguarding effective
Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good

What it's like to attend

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this warm and welcoming forest school nursery, feeling safe and secure as they confidently board the 'classroom on wheels' minibus for camp. They show a positive attitude to learning, engaging in open-ended play and developing strong physical skills and an understanding of the natural world. Staff set high expectations, teaching children risk assessment and safety.

Inspector highlights

  • Leaders create an ambitious curriculum focusing on children's physical, personal, social and emotional development.
  • Staff interaction with children is good, fostering early literacy and deepening knowledge.
  • Children develop their imaginations through animated staff demonstrations and imaginative team games.
  • Staff successfully incorporate simple mathematical concepts into everyday activities.
  • The environment fosters children's independence, for instance, in handwashing after messy play.

Areas to develop

  • 1enhance the already good partnerships with parents further so that all parents consistently receive information about the curriculum and how they can support their child's learning at home.
Inspection #10233457 · Source: OfstedView full Ofsted report

What parents say

Verbatim quotes recorded in the Ofsted inspection

'parents are happy with the progress their children make'

Inclusion & environment

How they support every child

Outdoor space

Children confidently board the

Parent Reviews of Outdoor Owls

5.0
(44)
Donya Kharazi
5 months ago

My daughter goes to Outdoor owls and she loves it. The way she has learnt embraces nature is amazing. Her development in all areas has been nothing but great. The teachers are lovely, caring , educated and very experienced. Their emphasise on emotional intelligence makes them really stand out and we are so glad that we have chosen Outdoor owls.

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Sophie
4 months ago

Such a fantastic nursery! The team are all consistently brilliant, incredibly kind, warm and caring. The focus is on having fun outdoors and they do it with a relaxed and ‘can-do’ attitude. I’ve never had any issues with 2 kids over the last 2 years, they’re brilliant. Both of my boys have been going to outdoor owls since they were 2-2.5 and the oldest still goes to the school holiday camps. They both love playing outside and can make fun out of anything outdoors and this is 100% thanks to outdoor owls.

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Nienke Offer
6 months ago

Outdoor Owls has been a brilliant experience for our now 3.5-year-old son, who has been going there since he was 2. He absolutely loves it, and it’s wonderful that he gets to grow up immersed in the outdoors every single day, something that feels increasingly rare in today’s world. The social development we’ve seen has been incredible - together with his friends he’s constantly dreaming up imaginative adventures and creative ways to incorporate play, without the need for actual toys. The teachers are all genuinely lovely, caring, and attentive. You can feel how much they value each child. The activities they organise are both entertaining and refreshingly down-to-earth, teaching real-life skills in a natural, hands-on way that you just don’t find anywhere else. A huge bonus is that he hasn’t been ill once since he started! We couldn’t be happier with Outdoor Owls and wholeheartedly recommend it to any family looking for a nursery. I wish they had an adult version!

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T K J
5 months ago

My almost 6 year old attended OOs Richmond and my 4 year old son still attends. This was the best decision for our boys, their sense of adventure, resilience, connection to nature and confidence has flourished more than we could have imagined. They absolutely adore the setting, the teachers and the how the days are set out. They also hardly ever get sick, bonus! It's been an amazing journey! I've had family collect the children from the setting and all have remarked how wonderful it is, how great the feedback is and what attentive staff they have.

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Nick Petrie
4 months ago

Our Son has been attending Outdoor Owls for nearly a year and we can’t imagine having him at any other nursery. He is incredibly happy, confident and outgoing, interested in nature and observing the world around him with a desire to be outside and the ability to be entertained with the simplest of objects. The staff are friendly, attentive and clearly build great rapport with the children. We couldn’t be happier.

Read on Google

Reviews from Google for Outdoor Owls. See all on Google Maps

Inspection history

Date: August 2022

  • September 2022Good
  • August 2022Good

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