Take a Look Inside
Please note that this video was recorded in 2018. Although it provides valuable insight into our ethos, our nursery and forest school have since evolved. We encourage you to book a visit.
Our Heart & Vision
Nature-Based
Learning through nature
Built on Love
Caring, nurturing environment
Family-Run
Personal, hands-on leadership
Welcome to SPLAT, a remarkable Private, Independent Day Nursery and Forest School for children aged 0–5 years. Rooted in nature, built on love, and run with heart, SPLAT offers more than childcare: we provide a home-from-home where childhood is honoured, curiosity is championed, and every child is given the space to thrive 51 weeks a year. (Please note, we do not offer term-time only places.)
Proudly family-run, with over 23 years of experience, SPLAT is led by a Director who is actively involved in both the daily rhythm of nursery life and the long-term vision for our setting. This hands-on leadership ensures excellence across the board, for our children, our families, and our exceptional graduate-led team. At SPLAT, we deliver the highest quality every single day… your child will come home, full of stories, ready for a bath, a cuddle, and a good night’s sleep, before the fun begins again!
What Makes Us Different?
As the only Forest School nursery in Central Bedfordshire, SPLAT offers a truly unique education. Here, children learn to assess and manage appropriate risks, developing resilience, problem-solving, and decision-making skills that will serve them well beyond their early years. Every day brings new adventures, climbing trees, building dens, exploring wildlife, cooking on fires, creating memories and lessons that nurture the whole child: emotionally, socially, physically, and cognitively.
At SPLAT, our Forest School ethos is not an add-on, it is woven into everything we do. We blend the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) with the transformative power of outdoor learning, creating an environment where children build confidence, independence, and a deep, lifelong connection with nature.
Child-led learning sits at the very heart of our approach. By following children’s interests and natural curiosity, we allow them to explore, investigate, and discover at their own pace. Our woodland and outdoor spaces provide endless opportunities for real, hands-on learning experiences that simply cannot be replicated indoors. Here at SPLAT the childen are our leaders.
Key Differentiators
Forest School
Unique outdoor learning environment fostering independence and environmental awareness.
Child-Led Learning
Following children’s natural curiosity and interests for meaningful discoveries & bespoke learning opportunities.
Holistic Development
Nurturing emotional, social, physical, and cognitive growth through nature-based play & learning.
Risk-Aware Environment
Building resilience and decision-making skills through appropriate risk assessment to access optimal benifits.
A Community with Purpose
At SPLAT, we believe education is most powerful when built on strong partnerships, with families, schools, and our wider community. From the very beginning, we work closely with parents to ensure each child transitions into nursery life with confidence and ease, feeling secure in their new environment. As children grow, we continue this journey by maintaining excellent relationships with both local and independent primary schools. This ensures their next big transition, from nursery to school, is equally smooth and successful, with teachers already knowing and valuing your child before they even start.
Our connections reach beyond schools. We collaborate with conservation groups, local organisations, and environmental initiatives, enriching children’s experiences with real-world learning. Regular community visits, shared projects, and partnerships give children a true sense of belonging, helping them to understand their place in the wider world while building social responsibility and environmental awareness. These experiences, combined with our Forest School ethos, prepare children not just for their next step in education, but for life, as confident, compassionate, and resilient individuals.
Local connections
- Local State & Independent school partnerships
- Community groups at Little Flora's
- Local Children's Centres
- Environmental conservation projects
- Local Autority Inclusion Officer
- Speech & Language Therapists
- Health Visitors
School Readiness
Our strong partnerships with both local state and independent schools ensure that transitions are smooth and positive. By working closely with teachers, we align our curriculum to support school readiness and prepare children for the next stage of their learning journey. Children leave SPLAT confident, resilient, and ready for school, often exceeding national expectations in their early development and learning outcomes.
Care that Nurtures
Nurturing Care
Every child receives individual attention in our warm, family-like environment where they feel safe, valued, and loved.
Famly Hub Connection
Stay connected with real-time updates, photos, and insights into your child's daily adventures and learning milestones.
Safe Environment
Rigorous safety standards combined with age-appropriate risk-taking opportunities to build confidence and resilience.
Bespoke Hours
Supporting commuter families with extended hours and flexible arrangements to fit your family’s unique needs.
What Parents Say
Don’t just take our word for it – hear from the families who have experienced the SPLAT difference firsthand.
"Splat nursery has a wonderful family feel and supports children being children with all the mess and rough and tumble that goes with it. It’s a wonderful setting for active children and my son thoroughly enjoyed his time there."
""Was well looked after from the age of 6 months, and this is down to how hard all the staff work and clearly care for the children. Also Gemma’s food is outstanding and has helped our son branch out to new foods"
"We are so impressed with the confidence and consideration that has been instilled in our son. The constant development and improvement is always guided by the childrens’ needs first and foremost. Key worker assignments feel very carefully chosen.."
We cannot recommend SPLAT highly enough and only wish our son could have stayed another year. The staff have more than prepared him for school, though we feel it’s a shame schools don’t offer the same play-based, outdoor learning opportunities. With its incredible range of activities, forest school, Spanish, sign language, yoga, woodwork, nature walks, and more, SPLAT has given him the best start to his academic, social, and physical development, and he has truly thrived in their care. We are so grateful to the whole team.
"Hygiene standards must be very high as my daughter has had hardly any time off for sickness."
"Food quality is exceptional. The children are offered a fantastic variety of food throughout each day."
"Staff attentiveness to children’s feelings is incredible. Our daughter has secure bond with the staff. She has always happy and content."
"The best thing is that forest school means forest school. Not just a walk in the park."
" The team in the toddler room have energy and passion. They clearly understand this age despite it being so broad. From potty training to supporting my son in playing with his peers we couldn't be more grateful. Our sons speech and understand is amazing and he eats so well at nursery making life that little bit easier for us in the evenings."
"My son absolutely adores the team at SPLAT! He cant wait to get in each morning and when its not nursery days hes asking to go. My son actively uses BSL and is confidently reeling off Spanish at bed times. Whilst we pay a premium at SPLAT every single penny is justified and worth it. My children's start in life couldn't have been better structured. Thank you to everyone of you even in the back ground."
"Despite some staff changes we feel we have been well informed throughout. The price increase have been a lot to take in, but on reflection and inline with the cost of living and standard of care our child receives it is justified. Thank you for loving our little one and offering us such great advise and support."
"We have been really happy with the care and attention our children have received whilst at SPLAT. They seem so comfortable going in, and always have good things to say about their days. They have had the opportunity to get muddy, sandy, dirty, wet, covered in paint and glitter, and love it!"
"The forest school is amazing"
"We feel extremely lucky we were able to get a place at SPLAT and feel it has helped tremendously in her formative years"
"Our daughter had absolutely thrived during her time at SPLAT, and watching her develop her confidence and personal skills has been amazing. The practitioners have been beyond wonderful, the relationships that she has formed with them makes me very emotional! To see how much they really care about her has been incredible, we really can’t thank them enough."
"Fantastic outdoor play particularly the free flow between the rooms"
"My two boys have had the most amazing time at Splat nursery and have developed so much in confidence, independence and kindness. They really value the huge variety of open spaces they get to explore and learn from including the gardens, forest, surrounding lakes and parks. The staff are incredibly warm, loving and supportive and they work hard to help create an environment that the children thrive in. My sons have made some really strong bonds with other children and also the staff, and have come away with some incredible memories!"
"The experiences, care, approach to development and outdoor activities were exactly what my child needed and I am so happy that he attended SPLAT"
"The best thing about SPLAT is the staff, who knew our children so well, genuinely cared for them, and felt like part of our team in supporting their development. They were always well-trained and focused on positive behaviour and learning through play. Both of our children loved the forest sessions, with our eldest thriving in outdoor climbing and our youngest gaining confidence through safe risk-taking. We are so grateful for the wonderful experience SPLAT gave us during their nursery years.
"Our child has thrived from baby room to preschool – He absolutely loved the setting (forest school and Splat garden) and the team has just been fantastic during all these years!"
"Awesome!"
"I have not had a bad experience at SPLAT. I know that I can drop my son off and he is well cared for and happy for the entire day he is there. The whole team know his name (which makes a huge difference) and would be able to tell me tales of how well he is doing. The outside and particularly the forest is his favourite place to be, where he can climb and explore nature to his hearts content."
"We have always felt extremely supported by key workers within the SPLAT team"
My son started at SPLAT at age two, where his additional needs were quickly recognised and supported with regular reviews, individualised plans, and involvement from the Early Years SEND team. Over the past two years, SPLAT has worked alongside us and educational psychologists, OTs, and paediatricians, helping us through endless appointments and paperwork until he received his ASD diagnosis and an EHCP for 1:1 support at mainstream school. We are deeply grateful for your proactive approach and exceptional care.
"Keep doing what you do now I think its an amazing nursery and our son is really thriving with going there so I am happy with what you guys are doing!"
Ready to join our happy families?