This is the only National Nature Reserve on the Isle of Wight. It is a beautiful retreat that has something to offer boat owners, walkers, wildlife enthusiasts and historians or just those in search of peace and tranquility.
Early Years (2-4)
Early Years (2-4)
In recent years there has been a cultural shift in our society that has reduced the access and use of outdoors for many young children.
A number of factors are blamed, including increased fear amongst adults in relation to children’s safety, anxieties about the threat of abduction, and technological advances leading to an overwhelming prominence of more sedentary indoor activities, such as television and computer games. However, the developmental needs of young children have remained constant and the outdoor environment continues to be essential to their health, development and well-being. Therefore, regular opportunities for sustained periods of play in a rich and stimulating outdoor environment offer a wide range of benefits to babies, toddlers and young children.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Curriculum, which covers children aged birth to the end of the Reception year, became statutory in September 2008 and places strong emphasis on the importance and value of daily outdoor experiences for children’s learning and development.
Learning outside the classroom supports the development of healthy and active lifestyles by offering children opportunities for physical activity, freedom and movement, and promoting a sense of well-being. It gives them contact with the natural world and offers them experiences that are unique to outdoors, such as direct contact with the weather and the seasons. Outdoor play also supports children’s problem-solving skills and nurtures their creativity, as well as providing rich opportunities for their developing imagination, inventiveness and resourcefulness.
And, of course, the outdoor environment offers more space than indoors and therefore is particularly important to those children who learn best through active movement. For many children, playing outdoors at their early years setting may be the only opportunity they have to play safely and freely while they learn to assess risk and develop the skills to manage new situations.
While many of these experiences will take place on-site, outdoor learning may also take place within the local community, for example a walk to the bakery, or past the building site on the way to the park. These off-site ‘expeditions’ offer both children and adults a catalyst for play and conversations. Ultimately, play and learning that flow seamlessly between indoors and outdoors make the most efficient use of resources and build on interests and enthusiasms. Forest Schools are growing in popularity across the UK and are increasingly offered as part of the early years curriculum in schools and settings.
Finally, parental involvement in children’s learning is particularly important in the early years as parents and carers are the child’s first educators. Early years settings, including children’s centres, are increasingly involving parents in developing and using their outdoor areas and in supporting other outdoor learning opportunities.
Suitable Venues
A quiet backwater with a busy Medieval past, now bursting with wildlife
A tranquil Elizabethan manor house set in beautiful 18th-century gardens
Built by the Drydens using the remains of a medieval priory, the house and gardens have survived largely unaltered since 1710 and are presented as they were during the time of Sir Henry Dryden, a Victorian antiquary, passionate about the past.
A small, mature, mixed broadleaf and conifer woodland oasis in the northern residential suburbs of Warwick, probably originally planted as a shooting wood in the 1920s. Tree species include sweet chestnut, oak, Scots pine and larch with some holly, ash, beech, silver birch and younger elm trees.
The gateway to the Surrey Hills
Open the gate and step into a colourful mosaic of purple, greens and gold. All is quiet apart from the sounds of nature. Visit and discover why Hindhead Commons and the Devil’s Punch Bowl is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Hidden woodlands, lush green meadows, tranquil ponds and an ancient common
The Harewoods estate was created over a number of years by the Victorian London stockbroker, Alfred Howard Lloyd, and forms a large part of the countryside in and around the picturesque village of Outwood - take a look at the Outwood village w
This award winning Museum takes you back through time to explore the story of the Lake District and its inhabitants. Isolated before the arrival of the railway and motorcar, this area developed its own unique customs and traditions.
Also known as Manor House Zoo, Anna's Welsh Zoo boasts Rhinos, gibbons, llama, Oryx, zebra, wallabies, meerkats and tapirs amongst many other animals.
At Manor House you can connect with animals and their environments, connect with natural surroundings, connect with the environment and the serious challenges and threats facing the survival of the planet.
Ancient royal hunting forest
Hatfield Forest is the best surviving example in Britain of an almost complete Royal Hunting Forest. It has seen many owners, from Kings to commonors. No other Forest on earth evokes the atmosphere of a medieval hunting Forest so completely.
A gardener’s world, a picnicker’s paradise
Explore the evolution of the English garden and take a stroll through three centuries of landscape design at Wrest Park.
From dazzling parterres and fragrant borders, to sweeping landscapes and woodland walks – Wrest Park is a real treat for the senses. Explore over 90 acres showcasing French, Dutch, Italian and English styles side by side.
William and Mary-style country house, garden and park
Built in 1701 by Thomas Vernon, a lawyer and whig MP for Worcester, Hanbury Hall is a beautiful country house.
Set in 33 acres of beautiful woodland with some stunning views of the surrounding countryside, Dartmoor Zoological Park is a unique family owned zoo with a fantastic collection of animals.
In this most southerly part of rural Derbyshire, Beehive Farm Woodland Lakes offers visitors lots of fun ways to enjoy a very special corner of the New National Forest. They have over 66 acres of emerging young woodland to explore with thriving wildlife, fishing lakes and a family-friendly animal farm.
Offering a weird and exciting mix of public aquarium plus thermal carp pool, creepy petrifying well, shiny gemstone and fossil display, vintage chinaware collection, regional history exhibition and one of the largest public displays of Holograms in Europe!
The Thermal Pool is fed by a warm spring and illuminated at night, containing plentiful common carp, mirror carp and koi.
The Wash is the largest estuary and the most important wetland site in the UK. The south east corner of the Wash forms the largest National Nature Reserve in England.
An intimate Arts and Crafts style family home and complementary gardens
Discover the cherished family home of Noel Goddard Terry, owner of the famous chocolate-making firm Terry’s of York. The house was designed by architect Walter Brierley in the Arts and Crafts style and is complemented by four acres of gardens, designed by George Dillistone. A hidden gem - only a stone's throw away from York City Centre.
Take a walk on the wild side and explore an ecological paradise
Discover the beautiful countryside and rugged scenery of Marsden Moor. With more than 5000 acres of moorland to explore, there is always something new to see.
Attenborough Nature Centre is an award-winning education centre and visitor attraction located at Attenborough Nature Reserve, a nationally important wildlife site close to Nottingham and Derby.
Discover more than just history
Leeds Castle welcomes school visits from all over the world, all year round. As part of our charitable mission we offer special subsidised rates to schools from Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex and London.
The new National Curriculum
The Reserve covers 369 acres of the Meon Valley, encompassing a mosaic of natural habitats. River, fen, pools, reedbed and meadow are carefully managed, giving protection to a range of special wildlife.
Educational Visits
Cistercian abbey, elegant Georgian water garden and medieval deer park
For centuries people have been drawn to this inspiring place.
From humble beginnings the magnificent abbey was established by devout monks seeking a simpler existence. The atmospheric ruins that remain are a window into a way of life which shaped the medieval world.
The exotic luxuriance of Mount Stewart's celebrated gardens, created in the 1920s by Edith, Lady Londonderry has helped make it one of Northern Ireland's most popular Trust's properties with all the family.
The Grand Union Canal at Stoke Bruerne is an idyllic picture of passing boats and local wildlife. It’s a relaxing and lovely place for a day out.
There are loads of different things to do – boat trips and walks, bird watching and fun for kids at Rookery farm.
Kellie Castle in Fife dates from as early as the 14th century and has magnificent plaster ceilings, painted panelling and fine furniture designed by Sir Robert Lorimer.
There are excellent facilities for school groups, including a fully equipped education room, adjacent to the walled garden.
A landscape abandoned by a generation of progress
A step into Lanlay Meadows is a step back in time, where sprawling, unkempt hedgerows meet gnarled, twisted old oak trees.
Farmed for centuries, this small fragment of land has lain unchanged for decades, avoiding the wrath of today's flail hedge trimmers and fertilisers and becoming a rare haven for a huge array of wildlife.
There's a natural surprise waiting around every corner
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