Faraway Tree Kindergarten

A year ago we would have given this 5 stars. Our daughter had a great time and loved the activities. Unfortunately the core staff members all left so this all changed around spring. There were lots of last minute closures and shortening of days which became difficult to juggle with work, (there were many days where we'd get a Whatsapp message between 9-10 to say pick up your child in a few hours' time).

In the end they closed late July. We were told this would be happening by message on their app on the morning they decided not to reopen again.

Sadly, until they have a decent number of full time staff I couldn't recommend it unless you have a backup for childcare.

Faraway Tree Kindergarten started as a small nice outdoor setting but unfortunately I would no longer recommend it. The children did some lovely activities in the forest and allotment, and also did yoga and crafts. However, we have experienced some issues.
Communication is lacking and poor. Changes to opening hours and closures are announced with little or, in many cases, no notice. We were not informed at all about staff leaving or new staff joining. There seems to be difficulty obtaining and retaining staff, with all three long standing staff members leaving in 2022 and only the owner remaining. Since spring 2022, the number of days closed and days with shortened hours were high, and since then the children were no longer offered the activities that were available before, mostly spending time inside the premises or on the playground.
The closures caused immense difficulty for parents who were left without childcare and often did not have time to make other arrangements. The closures have also been highly disruptive to the children's routines. Refunds are often not provided when closed, which is disappointing. We were left several hundred pounds out of pocket in respect of July 2022.
We tried to be understanding for several months but now would unfortunately no longer recommend this childcare setting.

This place was very magical until all the core staff left in one mass exodus around spring. Since then it’s been a sequence of last minute closures, more staff coming and going and sadly money being taken from us all with no service being provided.
It saddens me as it was an incredible place a couple of years ago. I can only hope it returns to that standard at some point.

Great concept but became unreliable and poor communication made the setting unusable for working parents.

I understand that there were difficulties over spring/ summer with staff and closures but since September the school has been operating as intended. My daughter is excited for each day she attends the school with outdoor activities, long walks in neighbouring fields &farms and time spent at the allotment. I would HIGHLY recommend Faraway Tree now-there is really nothing quite like it! The school is fully staffed and operating as normal.

We started our daughter back at Faraway Tree Kindergarten full time now from September 2022 with amazing new teachers. This is by far the best transformational nursery experience I have had the pleasure to see our daughter attend. Outdoor learning & play, immersive and interactive, making pizza outdoors in a camp fire to story books in the pavilion. Kristie and her new team have elevated this nursery to new heights, and I feel very lucky our daughter attends. James Merle

My son loves his time at forest school. He enjoys the broad range of outdoor activities and always comes back happy. The new team have taken their time to let him settle in and its paying dividends. Would recommend.