"Our son started at Little Forest from the beginning of term, 2 days a week, and we are really pleased with how it's going. We know that he is in a very nurturing environment that enables his learning at his pace and expanding his interests and experiences on days that we need to work."
- Parent -
We are open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for 36 weeks in the year, including bank holidays, and fees are payable either monthly or termly in advance. Trial periods and sibling discounts are also available. We are a consent based setting and the first choice that children have is whether they want to attend. Little Forest won't be right for every child, but it might be right for your child if they enjoy learning indoors and outdoors in all weathers, if they are social learners and want to collaborate with respect for others and if they want to direct their learning in a democratic community.
The joining process is an exploratory phone call, an initial visit, then a trial period before deciding whether to commit to a contract.
Our fees pay for three expert facilitators (at least 1 for every 6 children), a nurturing and neuro-affirming environment, site management of the hornbeam circle, learning resources and adventure day expenses. Fees do not include lunch (your child needs to bring a packed lunch please) and occasional additional expenses.
Fees are payable termly in advance:
Mondays, 09:30 - 15:30: Adventure Days @ £65 per day (including £5 expenses for travel and entrance tickets)
Tuesdays, 10:00 - 15:00: Forest Circles @ £50 per day
Thursdays, 09:30 - 15:30: Play and Projects @ £60 per day
Wrap around care @ £10 per hour. Please note, the maximum number of hours per week is 17 in total.
Sibling discount: We offer a 10% discount for two or more siblings when booking termly, paid in advance.
We want a suitable education to be free at the point of delivery and accessible to every child, regardless of financial means. We know that school is not suitable for every child and yet home education and learning communities like ours are not funded by the Government meaning we need to charge fees in order to exist.
Help with fees is available if you are on a low income, eligible for Tax Free Childcare or claim Universal Credit.
We have initially created two places with reduced fees for families with a low household income and for whom the fees are a barrier to their child accessing Little Forest - if that is in the child's best interests. As a guide median income (after tax) in the UK for the poorest fifth of the population was £14,700 based on estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Household Finances Survey. Median household income for the whole population was £32,400. Median household income for the richest fifth of the population was £66,000. If you feel that our fees are a barrier to your child being able to access Little Forest, please talk to us.
Our low income fees are:
Learning community: £7 per hour (minimum booking 1 day per week)
Wrap around care: £7 per hour
Little Forest is registered as a Tax Free Childcare provider which will allow eligible families to claim 20% towards the cost of childcare. To check whether you are eligible for help with childcare costs, please see the Childcare Choices website. For help to set up Little Forest as a provider in your tax free childcare account, please email jen@littleforest.education.
If you claim Universal Credit, you may be able to claim up to 85% towards the cost of childcare. Please talk to us for further details.
Please email jen@littleforest.education to register your interest.
Our learning year runs from January to December. We have four learning seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) and 6 terms plus long winter and summer holidays. Many of our holiday dates are the same as local schools while some are different to allow families to holiday during quieter times. If you would like holiday provision, please talk to us. We may be able to offer holiday dates on an ad hoc basis.
Children can join our learning community at any time.
*Please note: We will be closed from 15th - 18th September for the Really Wild Home Ed Gathering at Wowo.
