Welcome to Willow's Forest School.
As a privately owned Forest School established in 2013, we offer a range of outdoor classes for children aged 1-14 across various locations in, come rain or shine.
Our programs are run by experienced and qualified Forest School Leaders and Assistants. Children have the opportunity to engage in adventures with our mascot, Willow the fox.
Our main sites are located in Lyne near Ottershaw, Chertsey, and Sutton Green. Additionally, our mobile Forest School teams provide services to schools and nurseries in Surrey on a weekly basis.
Forest School promotes a child, inspirational learning process that fosters holistic growth through regular sessions. This long-term program encourages play, exploration, and supported risk-taking, thereby developing confidence and self-esteem through hands-on experiences in a natural setting. We do not offer ad-hoc term-time classes, as we are committed to the Forest School ethos and consistent progress our participants achieve.
Please find our current offerings, and click on the bold print to be directed to our booking page:
Term Time Classes for 1-4 years
Our term-time classes run Monday to Friday each week Our two-hour sessions are particularly popular, with many families choosing to book once a week, while some attend twice. We are currently accepting bookings for the Spring term. You may start as a Willow Cub (1-hour accompanied session) for an introduction, or proceed directly to a Willow Fox (2-hour accompanied session). If you would like to experience our program, please consider booking a taster class. We also offer discounted sibling tickets, and children under 1 can attend free of charge.
Term Time After School Clubs We will be back to run our After School Clubs in February 2026 at our private woodland in Lyne for children attending Lyne and Longcross Primary Schools.
Term Time Classes for School Groups and Nurseries
We can visit your location or host your group at one of our sites. Please get in touch!
We provide a variety of during school holidays, including popular "drop and go" camps for ages 4-11. You can choose to book one camp or multiple camps, but please note that we do not run camps every day during the holidays to allow our sites to rest. We also host family mini-workshops during the holidays. Be sure check to your emails for updates, particularly in case of adverse weather conditions.
After the October half term, we will be relocating to a beautiful private woodland in Pirbright.
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​For inquiries, please contact us via email at info@willowsforestschool.co.uk, as our phone reception in the woodlands can be inconsistent. Thank you for visiting our website
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Kindest regards
Willow's Forest School
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Our 10Th birthday celebrations in 2023
We are Ofsted registered. We accept Childcare Vouchers and Tax Free Vouchers. We offer payment plans and gift vouchers. Visit our payment tab.
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A POLITE MESSAGE TO PARENTS AND GUARDIANS​
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If we have high winds forecast across the UK, we will email you if we have to postpone our classes.
Please check your emails and spam before leaving. We also add updates to our social media pages.
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Regardless of the weather, our mud kitchen is always open and is very, very popular! We ask that you follow the compulsory list, so your child can explore and be warm and dry rather than worrying about their clothing getting wet and muddy.
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We are in the woods, so even on a hot day, we are in the shade, so please ensure your child has layers, that can be removed if need be.
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If it has been raining previously, our seating areas will be damp, so even on a dry day, to avoid damp bottoms, please refer to the Compulsory kit list.
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If you are bringing food to our classes, please ensure you do not bring in any nuts, as we have many customer's with allergies.
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Thank you
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What our customer's are saying about us - see reviews for more lovely words!
"The best Forest School we have been to! We have recently relocated to Surrey and we have been searching for a Forest School that caters for all my children - toddler twins and a pre-schooler. Yikes! Attending Willow's is the high light of our week, we are pleased we found you. The staff are amazing, they clearly love and care about what they do, the children always have different things to participate in, it's child led, educational, oodles of fun and we all love the toasted marshmallow at the campfire. We have made so many new friends and we cannot recommend Willow's enough." May 2022
"Willows Forest School has been a wonderful time of play and learning - I first started going with all 3 of my children (4yrs, 2yrs and newborn), and it was one of the few places I knew they would all be happy and safe! The staff are excellent at engaging the children and parents alike and it has a lovely family feel. Would highly recommend."
"I have two sons, who are five and three. I first went to Willow's in 2018 with my eldest and we both fell in love with it. I really like the concept of learning through play outside and my son loves playing with water! We continued to attend until my eldest went to school last September and I've been going with my youngest son since he was 18 months old and who also adores it. It was great when they had a whole school year of doing it together. Over the years I have been to classes at different locations and they are all lovely and each one thoughtfully laid out. The staff are knowledgeable and passionate about what they do and they are what makes Willow's Forest School different. I have loved watching my children grow in confidence each week and see the joy they get from being outdoors.”
March 2023
"Simply fantastic! My 4 (almost 5) year old did the 2 day holiday camp at the Woking site and absolutely loved it. It's a clever setting, hidden away in the woods but completely safe for the little ones. Can't rate it highly enough, will be going again!" 3rd April 2015
Willow's Forest School Classes
Welcome to Willow's Forest School,
We run classes for children from new born to 11 years old. If you would like to book with us but your preference is showing fully booked, please join our waiting list as it is possible we can accommodate you. We run Spring, Summer and Autumn terms and we follow the same dates as Surrey County Council schools. We do run classes for school groups and nurseries and we run some classes during the school holidays. Please get in touch if you would like us to run classes that are not mentioned below, please click on the logo to email us. Thanks very much.
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Forest School Classes - Spring Term 2023
Our Forest School classes run every morning, 1000-1200. If you are booking the full term you can pay in monthly instalments, starting in August. Please get in touch so we can set this up for you.
Please use this link to book https://bookwhen.com/willowsforestschool
There is something for every child to enjoy, whether it be den building, going on scavenger hunts, identifying bugs, using hand tools, playing in the mud kitchen or toasting marshmallows over a camp fire. Come rain or shine, the children are free to explore and learn about nature by making bug hotels and habitats for our wildlife including our resident fox "Willow". We start with a safety talk, we chat about the seasonal changes and activities we have planned and we have toasted marshmallows and a camp fire at the end. The bit in the middle is over to the children, where some gravitate to the mud kitchen, whilst others learn a skill. Some may prefer to have a tea party or play in dens, whilst others like to climb or explore with friends. Over time the children's experience at Willow's will change as they become more confident and independent. There is no pressure, the children make their own choices and overtime they will reach out and participate in skill based activities, as they see their peers sawing, drilling, whittling and managing risk. This is an accompanied class for children aged 1-4 years, however our Leaders will approach you if they feel your child is ready to attend unaccompanied, which is usually when aged 3 years old and can manage the toilet independently and has demonstrated managing risk. They will be asked to wear a tabard and and you will see this in our gallery below.
Willow's Forest School Timetable- Autumn Term Classes for children aged 1-4 years
1000-1200 Forest School Classes or 1000-1100 Stay and Play
Monday - Guildford, Chobham and Ottershaw
Tuesday - Guildford
Wednesday - Ottershaw
Thursday - Guildford and Chertsey
Friday - Guildford
Stay and Play Classes - Spring Term 2023
Once your little one is on the move, come along and join us at our Stay & Play Classes. These are for children aged 1-4 years and are accompanied. This is a a great introduction into Forest School and the children get to play and explore in a child led natural environment with their peers for an hour, every week, term time.
All year round, we offer 1 hour Stay and Play classes within our 2 hour Forest School Classes. You can upgrade anytime or you can bypass the Stay & Play and book straight onto our Forest School Classes.
Our Stay and Play classes run from 1000-1100 every morning, every term, at all locations all year round. Please book using this link - https://bookwhen.com/willowsforestschool .
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Taster Classes - suitable for 1-4 years
If you would like to find out more about us, you are welcome to book one taster class on any of our 2 hour Forest School Classes. Please only attend once with your child / children, so we have enough spaces to offer other families who would like to see what we do before possibly joining us - by clicking on this link - https://bookwhen.com/willowsforestschooltasterclasses - (multiple bookings will be cancelled)
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Willow's Forest Camps - 2023
Our Easter Holiday Camps and are available to book. Suitable for rising 5's to 11 years plus we are running a Stickman Christmas Special for children aged 1-6 years.
https://bookwhen.com/willowforestcamps
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Parent and Baby Coffee mornings.
This is the start of the Willow's journey. Come and join us at our campfire for a cuppa and cake and meet other mums with babies aged new born to 1 year old. This is a great opportunity to chill out in our lovely forest, connect with nature and meet our staff and Willow the fox (our very popular mascot!). https://bookwhen.com/willowsbabyclasses
Our forest is set for you to explore and there is baby sensory and baby mud play but if you have a sleeping baby, you are welcome to join us to toast a marshmallow at our campfire. We try to run them every term. We have decided our Chobham location is the most suitable, as we have an indoor space for privacy and a car park located very close to us. If you are part of an NCT group or you have a group of friends (minimum of 12) we can run a one off class for you and your friends and their babies. Please get in touch info@willowsforestschool.co.uk
