Well-being

Building self-worth is at the core of everything we do. Children learn about and reflect on their needs, emotions, bodies, brains, interests and relationships in a safe, nurturing environment. We’ve designed our school to put the children’s and teachers’ well-being at its heart. Children can’t learn well if they feel unhappy, worried or angry. And teachers can’t support children to learn if they feel stressed, overworked and uninspired. We offer our staff a wellness benefit to use for therapy or counselling, as well as other wellness activities to support them to feel well. We also believe that working outdoors, with a supportive team, and in a creative way that is nourishing for children, is also nourishing for the adult soul too.

Our ethos also reflects how we have reframed our understanding of behaviour. What is commonly referred to as ‘challenging’ or ‘difficult’ behaviour, we see as stressed behaviour that comes from an unmet need. Our approach is to deeply understand each child, through close relationships afforded by our high staff ratio, so that we can try to address any unmet needs that might be affecting their behaviour, well-being or learning (see our Behaviour Policy). Everything we do is informed by an understanding of unmet needs and trauma. Our staff are trained in various methods that support the nervous system and all interactions with children are trauma-informed. Based on concrete research and evidence (see Alfie Kohn), we’ve moved away from all forms of punishment and rewards. Instead, class meetings and restorative justice practices are used to resolve conflicts and establish mutual agreements that meet everybody’s needs.

All of this means that Wildwood children enjoy coming to school and see it as a place of excitement, friendship and discovery, rather than stress or pressure.

Community

We place a great emphasis on forging caring, compassionate relationships and creating an environment in which children feel seen, known and connected – to each other, to their teachers and to the wider local community. Our children's families are integral to school life and are as much a part of Wildwood as the children and teachers.

Parents often describe Wildwood as feeling like a big family. Children of all ages play together, eat lunch together every day and experience the benefits of a mixed-age environment – just as humans spent millennia living and learning in community. Younger children are inspired by seeing their older peers read, climb trees and make things, while the older children gain confidence, maturity and empathy by helping the younger ones. Because of the way we work, every child is known well by every teacher, rather than just their class teacher.

We're a school where families are intimately involved in their children's learning and know their children's teachers well. Family members are regularly invited to join their children and see how they're learning, as well as share their own skills, knowledge and interests with the school. Check out some of the ways parents are involved at Wildwood here.

We also believe schools should support families, not just children. When hard times occur, as they so often do, we want Wildwood to be a source of help, relief, care or whatever else is needed – not just for the child, but for the whole family.

We also know how important it is for children to belong to something beyond their family and school. We want to embed the school in the local area and help children know, care about and contribute to local life. Through regular visits to the local library, daily walks around the neighbourhood and participation in community events, we hope that the children of Wildwood Nature School become a valued part of the community around them.

Everybody

Wildwood Nature School is for everybody, irrespective of background, starting point or learning needs. Our ethos is all about understanding and nurturing each individual in our community and we believe that this approach should be accessible to all. We’re a small school but, as much as possible, we want our Wildwood community to reflect the wider community across London. 

We promote respect for diversity and create a context within which young people’s experiences can be understood, appreciated and connected to the curriculum.  Our teachers actively work to unpick bias and stereotypes and explicitly address issues of bias, racism and cultural difference, always seeking to connect young people’s knowledge of their communities to the way we teach and learn.

Equity is another key feature of how we’re trying to make Wildwood Nature School accessible to all who want to come. Most independent schools are only affordable for certain portions of society. That’s why as well as having 20% of our places fee free, we also offer another 30% of our places at reduced fees. We believe that this model allows a truly diverse spectrum of families to access Wildwood. 

Play 

Children spend hours creating imaginary worlds, inventing games, negotiating rules, solving problems and working together. To adults it may look like just play. To children it is some of the most important learning they'll ever do.

At Wildwood, play is one of our highest priorities. We dedicate a portion of every day to uninterrupted play; the older children get just as much time to play as the younger children. There is so much to say about play, so please read more about play here.

Empowerment

We know how important it is for children’s well-being to feel power over their own lives. At Wildwood, children have a say in what they learn and we involve children in making the important decisions about how our school operates. Children and teachers can bring any issues up with the whole group, and work collaboratively to find solutions that meet everybody’s needs.

We teach children how to be able to communicate effectively using the concepts of Needs Understanding and Nonviolent Communication – which we call Giraffe language – so that true democracy can occur. Giving the children the opportunity to determine how they learn, what they learn and how they build their community means our children will have a sense of agency over their lives.

Nature

And nature. It’s in the name of our school. It’s the ground from which everything else springs. Children are designed to be outdoors in nature. They are nature. And to remove them from it is unnatural. Being outdoors for most of the school day among the trees, the soil, the fresh air, the birds and the worms feels good because it actually helps the nervous system to regulate. By being in nature, children’s well-being improves, as does their curiosity and ability to learn. It also cultivates a deep connection between our children and nature; one in which nature itself becomes the teacher. As this interconnectedness with nature becomes a part of who they are, our children will easily fulfil their roles as the future custodians of our planet.

They know where the newts live.

They notice the first bluebells.

They climb their favourite tree for years.

They come home muddy, tired and happy.

We believe that all of our values as outlined above, as well as how we educate, will support our children to be grounded, confident and happy and to truly love learning for the sake of it.