About us
Founded in May 2019 by Nicky our company director. Our provision was born in Reddish Vale Park as a baby & toddler club. We have grown and flourished and continue to do so! Our forest school offers a unique approach to learning, providing children with opportunities to take risks and explore their environment in a safe and guided way. Join us and watch your child grow in confidence and resilience!
We are proud to be an OFSTED registered childcare provider, offering a range of sessions across different sites in Stockport and Manchester. Our forest school programs are designed to encourage children to learn about our natural world, fostering a love of learning and a desire to explore.
Our experienced staff create a safe and supportive environment for children to build their confidence and learn important life skills. We believe that access to nature is essential for childhood development, and we strive to provide the best in outdoor education for children.
Welcome to kids go wild
Hey there! I'm Nicola Farrell, the creator of Kids Go Wild, which was born in May 2019. Let me take you on a quick trip through how our forest school came about:
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My journey began with a BA Hons in Early Childhood Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University and continued with a PGDE in Liverpool, where I became a certified teacher. Fast forward over 10 years, and here I am, with many years of experience working in Early Years settings and schools.
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Inspiration struck during a teacher training trip to Sweden. Imagine this: outdoor learning was a big deal, not just a quick play session. It was every day, all day, rain or shine. The education system there was so refreshing, with a flexible timetable and a curriculum that followed the kids' interests through play. And formal schooling didn't start until kids were 6! And guess what? Their results tables were (and still are) pretty impressive - even better than ours in the UK!
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After I returned, I signed up for a two-week placement at an outdoor Forest School in Croxteth, Liverpool, where kids were thriving without any indoor facilities. Streams, bridges, flora, fauna – you name it, they had it.
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I carried on with my teacher training and qualified in June 2015. After teaching at a traditional school for four years, dealing with some challenging situations, and adding a pregnancy (my eldest, Lyla) into the mix, I decided it was time to give Forest School a go.
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In 2018, I started my Forest School training with an inspirational tutor and began organising toddler stay and play sessions in Reddish Vale, eventually expanding to forest school holiday clubs and birthday parties. The demand quickly grew, with most of our sessions selling out. I knew from the first day of my course that this was the career for me.
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Fast forward to today, and Kids Go Wild has evolved into an OFSTED-registered, completely outdoor nursery, home-education group, holiday club and more. We are always learning & developing, we have a tight-knit team who are all passionate about outdoor education. Our parents, children and all our customers are so important to us and we strive to offer a superb service to all.
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We can't wait to keep nurturing more little adventurers in the great outdoors! 🌿✨
-Nicola
What is forest school?
Learner-inspired, hands-on experiences
Forest School is a child-centred inspirational learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk-taking. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner-inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting.
The journey
The process helps and facilitates more than knowledge-gathering, it helps learners develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually. It creates a safe, non-judgemental nurturing environment for learners to try new things, develop a "can do" attitude and take risks.
Forest School inspires a deep and meaningful connection to the world and an understanding of how a learner fits within it. Our approach to risk means that learners constantly expand on their abilities by solving real-world issues and building self-belief and resilience. We believe that risk is more than just potential for physical harm, but a more holistic thing, there are risks in everything we do, and we grow by overcoming them.
Forest School, therefore, helps participants to become, healthy, resilient, creative and independent learners. There is lots of research out there to support the outcomes of Forest School, but we know that it isn’t just the educational outcomes and research that matter, our learners and leaders love it too!
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(Taken from The Forest School Association)
the 6 forest school princples
Long term
Forest School is a long-term process of regular sessions, rather than one-off or infrequent visits. The cycle of planning, observation, adaptation and review links each session.
Holistic
Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.
Practioner-led
Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners, who continuously maintain and develop their professional practice.
The Environment
Forest School takes place in a natural or woodland environment to support the development of a lifelong relationship between the learner and the natural world.
Risk Benefit
Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
Learner-centred
Forest School uses a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for being, development and learning.
Meet the team
Our passionaite staff team bring a mix of qualifications, skills, backgrounds, and experiences and most of us are either already Level 3 forest school trained or enrolled in the training. We are dedicated to continuous professional development and our most recent training is in childhood developmental trauma.
Company Director & Setting Manager
Nicola Farrell
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BA Hons Early Childhood Studies
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Qualified Primary School Teacher
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Over 10 years of Early Years experience
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Level 3 Forest School Leader
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Safer Recruitment Lead
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Outdoor & Paediatric First Aid Trained
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Designated Safeguarding Leader
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SENCO
Deputy Manager
Emily Hall
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Level 3 Diploma in childcare and playwork
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Over 10 years of Early Years experience
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Level 3 Forest School Leader
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Outdoor & Paediatric First Aid Trained
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Deputy Safeguarding Leader
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Nursery Key Worker
Nursery Key Worker & Forest School Leader
Kate Hutchinson
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Level 3 Forest School Leader
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Qualified Primary School Teacher
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Outdoor & Paediatric First Aid Trained
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Nursery Key Worker
Home-Education Key Worker & Forest School Leader
Lindsay Isherwood
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​Level 3 Forest School Leader
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Safer Recruitment Team Member
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Qualified Primary School Teacher
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Developmental Trauma Professional
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Deputy Safeguarding Leader
Holiday Club Forest School Assistant
Fern McEwan
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​Fern works at our holiday clubs, she is a trainee primary school teacher with a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Holiday Club Forest School Leader
Allyson Smith
Allyson helps support our holiday clubs, she is an experienced ex primary school teacher with Level 3 Forest School leadership qualification. She is specifically talented and dedicated in working with our SEND children and often supports those who have 1:1 support with us.
Setting Manager
Helen Massey
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Qualified Primary Teacher
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Over 10 years of Primary School experience
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Outdoor & Paediatric First Aid Trained
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Nursery Key Worker
Deputy Manager
Mandy Marsden
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Level 3 Forest School Leader
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Mother Nurture Key Worker
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Outdoor & Paediatric First Aid Trained
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Brownie Leader
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Safer Recruitment Team Member
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Level 3 Diploma in childcare
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Developmental Trauma Professional
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Deputy Safeguarding Lead
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Nursery Key Worker
Nursery Key Worker
Jenna Tilt
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Qualified Primary School Teacher
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Outdoor & Paediatric First Aid Trained
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Nursery Key Worker
Home-Education Key Worker & Trainee Level 3 Forest School Leader
Naomi Shove
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Trainee Level 3 Forest School Leader
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Level 3 diploma in Teaching Assistant
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Developmental Trauma Professional
Holiday Club Forest School Assistant
Ruben Smith
Ruben came to us as a childcare student on placement, he was so brilliant with the children he now joins us for holiday club work, he is a fantastic asset to our team.
