Explore Glebe Farm
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The climbing area
The climbing area
"The best classroom and the richest cupboard is roofed only by the sky." Margaret McMillan
A rich and varied outdoor environment supports children's holistic learning and development. It gives them the confidence to explore and learn in safe and secure, yet challenging spaces.
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The play tent
The play tent
The children use tents and home made shelters as improvised classrooms, where their imagination is given room to grow.
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The woods and fire-pit
The woods and fire-pit
Our fire pit amongst our small wood provides the children with the opportunity to forage and cook food in the wild. Children learn to assess danger and manage risk, they contribute to all risk assessments developing real life skills.
The children learn about the natural world and to have an appreciation of all it’s wonders. They explore beyond the nursery in a safe environment and learn to take responsibility for their actions.
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The vegetable patch
The vegetable patch
The main vegetable patch provides us with fruit and vegetables throughout the year. We enjoy making vegetable soup with our produce.
This is where we grow a wide variety of produce and a space where the children truly embrace the sense of freedom to work and play.
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The castle
The castle
Our castle in the sky with real tower and drawbridge!
As part of our ‘great outdoors’ we have real places of interest to explore. Many battles have been won and lost in this wonderful space.
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The outdoor classroom
The outdoor classroom
A room with a window on the World.
Our outdoor classroom provides a real alternative to the traditional classroom. Children have access to a wide range of natural resources and handle tools in a safe and practical way.
To fully appreciate the diversity of nature, we need to explore it at first hand using all our senses, in as many different ways as we can. Natural objects have high play affordance, producing real opportunities to count, sort, notice differences and describe.
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The climbing area and discovery zone
The climbing area and discovery zone
Our climbing area and discovery zone provide a blank canvas for exploration.
A building site becomes a stage and the introduction of different resources stimulates and fires the imagination. Children have the freedom to construct their own ‘play features’.
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The playhouse and willow tunnel
The playhouse and willow tunnel
The natural world is a place for exploration, learning about risk, building confidence and escaping into our imagination.
Young children have a real affinity with the natural world, an insatiable curiosity and a sense of wonder. Our role is to create real places of interest to nurture this love of the great outdoors.
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The vegetable garden
The vegetable garden
The children experience the wonder of growth and the excitement of a tiny shoot poking through the earth. They enjoy nothing more than eating the fruits of their labour!
We have many areas where children are free to dig and plant. Whatever the season, the colours of nature are there to explore.
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The main nursery
The main nursery
A nurturing environment is an essential ingredient in encouraging children to explore, learn, and play – in short, to thrive.
We do not believe that children should be isolated in one room, where their opportunities for exploration are limited and therefore have designed an environment that is exciting and accessible to all children. All groups have their own ‘classroom’ and are also invited to use the wonderful spaces in all areas of the building.