Outdoor nursery and forest school sound like the same thing, and most parents searching for either in Nottingham use the terms interchangeably. They are not the same, and the difference matters more than the marketing suggests. One describes a setting. The other describes a teaching approach. Understanding which is which changes the questions you should be asking on a nursery visit and the kind of provision you should expect to find.
The Industry Reality
Outdoor provision has become a popular selling point for early years settings, partly because parents value time in nature and partly because Ofsted gives weight to physical development and characteristics of effective learning. The result is a crowded marketplace where almost every nursery claims an outdoor element. The substance behind those claims varies enormously.
Some settings have a paved yard with a few ride-on toys and call it outdoor learning. Others run genuine Forest School sessions led by qualified Forest School Leaders following the Forest School Association ethos. Between those two extremes sits a wide band of provision that uses the language without the practice, often in good faith but without the depth that the terms imply.
What an Outdoor Nursery Actually Is
An outdoor nursery is a setting where outdoor time is a daily, structured part of the curriculum rather than a break from indoor learning. Children spend significant portions of their day outside in all reasonable weather, with planned activities that use the outdoor environment as the primary learning space. The indoor base is still used for sleep, meals and quieter focused activities, but the centre of gravity sits outdoors.
A good outdoor nursery will have:
- Secure outdoor spaces with zones for physical, imaginative and sensory play
- Suitable clothing routines so weather rarely cancels outdoor time
- Planned outdoor activities that build specific skills, not just free roaming
- Staff who are comfortable teaching the full curriculum outside
- Storage and changing arrangements that make daily outdoor time practical
What Forest School Actually Is
Forest School is a defined teaching approach with its own qualifications, ratios and ethos. It involves regular, repeated sessions in a woodland or natural setting, led by a qualified Forest School Leader. Sessions are child-led, with the adult role focused on supporting risk-benefit assessment, observation and gentle scaffolding rather than directing activity.
The hallmarks of genuine Forest School include long-term engagement (children attending across many weeks, not a single visit), a high adult-to-child ratio for risk management, use of tools such as knives and fires under careful supervision once children are ready, and a strong emphasis on emotional and social development rather than measurable outputs.
A one-off woodland walk is not Forest School. Nor is a weekly outdoor session led by a member of staff without the qualification. Both can be valuable, but neither delivers what genuine Forest School is designed to deliver.
What Each Approach Develops in Children
Both approaches support physical development, confidence and connection to the natural world, but they emphasise slightly different things.
Outdoor nursery provision tends to strengthen gross motor skills, stamina, sensory development and a broad familiarity with weather and seasons. Because children are outside daily, the routine becomes unremarkable to them, which is a quiet success. They learn to dress for the day, to keep going when it rains, and to use the outdoor space as their working environment rather than a treat.
Forest School emphasises self-regulation, problem-solving, intrinsic motivation and managed risk-taking. A child who has spent a year of regular Forest School sessions is often noticeably more independent in unstructured situations and more comfortable with productive struggle. The approach also tends to support children who find indoor environments overwhelming, because it gives them space, time and autonomy that classroom-style provision cannot.
How to Tell Which You Are Looking At
On a visit, the questions that cut through the marketing are simple. Ask how many hours a day children spend outside in winter. Ask whether any member of staff holds a Forest School Leader qualification. Ask what happens to outdoor time when it is raining or cold. The answers tell you whether the outdoor element is structural or decorative.
It is also worth asking what the children themselves do outside. A genuine outdoor or Forest School approach will have children digging, building, climbing, observing and using real tools, not running between fixed pieces of equipment. The presence of mud, real wood, simple loose parts and natural materials is a better indicator than the size of the playground.
Look at how the staff are dressed. Adults wearing waterproofs and walking boots have a different relationship to outdoor time than adults in indoor clothing watching from the door. That visual cue tells you whether outdoor provision is something the team participates in or supervises from a distance.
Which One Suits Your Child
For most families, the answer is not either/or. A strong nursery setting in Nottingham will offer significant outdoor provision as standard and may layer Forest School-style sessions on top when the site and staff support it. The Wolds Day Nursery, set between Normanton-on-the-Wolds and Plumtree, has large gardens, fields and woodland access nearby, which allows daily outdoor learning alongside nature walks and outdoor challenges woven into the week.
If outdoor development matters to you, look past the term used on the website and look at the timetable, the staff qualifications and the children’s clothing. Those three things will tell you more than any brochure, and they will help you choose provision that genuinely suits how your child learns best.
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