Outdoor Nursery

About Treehoppers Forest School

Outdoor Nursery

Passionate About The Outdoors

Treehoppers have two Forest Kindergartens – one based in woodland in the grounds on East Grinstead Sports club whose ‘invisible doors’ opened in October 2018 and our second setting, based at Borde Hill Gardens in Haywards Heath which opened on the 4th May 2021. We are incredibly passionate about being outside and the benefits this has – we aim to give Treehoppers’ children the opportunity to learn & play in an ‘outdoor classroom’ and the chance to make fantastic memories. The space our children have to play in & explore in is wonderful and we look after the woods, the animals & wildlife who share our sites. Above all we encourage & nurture a love of nature & the great outdoors. Our Treehoppers learn never to be phased by the weather!

Click here to be taken to our Parent Information page where you can download our Parent Handbook, Kit list, Funding Guide and Fee information.

Upcoming Dates

Kindergartens

We are open 46 weeks of the year. Closures are on:

Bank holidays
17th August to 1st September
October Half term (following West Sussex CC term dates)
February Half term (following West Sussex CC term dates)

Plus 2 additional INSET days during the year.

Holiday Club

Our next clubs will run over the summer:

East Grinstead: 28th/29th & 30th July and 4th/5th & 6th August
Haywards Heath: 18th/19th & 20th August
For children aged 4 (and in their reception year at school) to 8 years. Run in conjunction with Nature Nurture Sussex.

For more information contact us at admin@treehoppersfk.com

Stay & Play Sessions

Regular free ‘stay & play’ sessions at each site for families with children due to join our Kindergartens.

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Exciting Activities

Den building, bug hunting, art & crafts, songs, stories, foraging, campfire cooking, woodwork, group games and nature trails are some of the things we do regularly.

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Holiday Club

Our holiday club runs during the Easter holidays at East Grinstead and for 2-3 weeks of the Summer Holiday at both sites.

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Forest School

Why choose us?

The majority of our staff are trained (or currently in training to be) Forest School Leaders. As a result woodwork & working with tools is important to us, we like to have campfires for cooking & keeping warm in the colder months & we embrace all the seasons! We have weekly visits from Tiny Tekkers who keep the children active & entertained with football skills. Over the last 2 years we have also formed a partnership with Dimensions, part of Outreach 3way charity in Crawley who support adults with learning disabilities & autism. We have a small group join us each week to help us with gardening & site maintenance on a Friday, and to come and play games with us on another day.

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Woodwork

Campfire cooking

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Gardening

Bug hunting

Outdoor music

Yoga

Sand & Mud Play

Messy play

Climbing & Balancing

Dimensions

Football

Testimonials

Hear from our parents

"A loves Treehoppers, has been supported to settle well despite finding it tricky to get used to being away from home for quite a while. The setting has been very child-centred in enabling him to spend time with the staff member he felt most confident with and the Treehoppers team have clearly worked together to gradually introduce others to working with him. He is becoming a confident and sociable child, and we are grateful he has such a lovely time every day he is there…A comes home happy, relaxed and also clearly stimulated from an interesting day, every single time. He often comes home using noticeably different vocabulary so it's definitely helping his development to spend time there, with such motivated staff. We love that he has the opportunity to experience the outdoors every day too."

"We enrolled our daughter because we liked the concept of her being outside and learning in nature but Treehoppers has surpassed all expectations. Suzanne has an incredible team of people - they all just have a bit of sparkle about them and do an amazing job with the kids. I feel they've really got to know F has an individual and support her interests. I feel proud that our daughter is a Treehopper!"

"Overall we as parents have an exceptionally high opinion of this childcare setting. We feel fully supported by the staff at all times and know XX has a fabulous day every time he goes. I’m so glad we reduced his hours at the other setting and got xxx embedded here. An enormously wholesome, holistic, educational and fun place for him to be. Thanks to the whole team."

"Treehoppers is without question the best pre-school experience we could have picked for our daughter. Particularly as she considers almost anyone of any age a peer, so the dynamic of Treehoppers works very much towards her development. The advances seen since she joined will never leave me, nor will the understanding and support provided by the staff. Though our daughter is leaving (for school) and I am sad to see this happen, I will continue without hesitation to recommend Treehoppers whenever and wherever possible."

"We want to thank you so much for the wonderful experience and care he has had over the two years, it has most definitely helped shape his character, determination and creativity and set him up for his next adventure at ‘big school’. We love Treehoppers and think you are all brilliant, thank you for the wonderful memories he/ we have made over the past 3 1/2 years with both of our boys it truly is a very special setting."

Forest School East Grinstead
& Haywards Heath

Explore our locations

East Grinstead

Treehoppers at East Grinstead opened in 2018 and is set within woodland at East Grinstead Sports Club, Saint Hill. With 33 acres to explore the children have both woodland and fields as their outdoor classroom and can watch the steam trains of the Bluebell Railway go past too.

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Haywards Heath

Treehoppers at Borde Hill Gardens, Haywards Heath opened on the 4th May 2021! It is an enormous, wonderful space, very centrally located and accessible to families living in Cuckfield, Haywards Heath, Lindfield, Burgess Hill and surrounding villages. We take the children on regular visits to the gardens too.

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