Coastal And Forest Nurseries - Outdoor Learning

Where Little Minds Grow, Explore & Thrive

Our Locations

We have three nurseries in the south-east Kent area which you can find below by clicking onto the images

Pegwell Bay Nursery

Click image to take you to Pegwell Bay Nursery page.

Deal Nursery and Forest School

Click image to take you to Deal Nursery page.

Walmer Nursery

Click image to take you to Walmer Nursery page.

Directions

At Forest & Coastal Nurseries, we believe childhood should be filled with wonder, exploration, happiness, and a strong sense of belonging.

Across our three unique settings Pegwell Bay Nursery, Deal Nursery & Forest School, and Walmer Nursery we create nurturing environments where children feel safe, valued, inspired, and deeply connected to the world around them.

Each of our settings has its own special character, thoughtfully designed to reflect the beauty of nature while providing warm and welcoming spaces where children can learn, grow, and thrive. Whether exploring the coastline, discovering the magic of forest learning, or engaging in meaningful indoor play experiences, every child’s journey is supported with care, creativity, and affection.

Our nurseries are calm and nurturing havens inspired by the natural world. Soft earthy tones, natural materials, wooden furnishings, greenery, and open-ended resources create peaceful, home-like environments that encourage curiosity, imagination, and emotional wellbeing. We believe children flourish best in spaces that feel secure, comforting, and joyful.

Above all, relationships are at the heart of everything we do. Our caring and dedicated team provide children with warmth, reassurance, encouragement, and genuine connection each and every day. Every child is celebrated as a unique individual, and we are passionate about helping them grow into confident, happy, respectful, and inspired young learners.

Our Ethos

At Forest & Coastal Nurseries, our ethos is rooted in love, respect, curiosity, and connection. We place children at the centre of everything we do, recognising that every child deserves to feel heard, valued, and empowered. We believe childhood is precious and should be nurtured through meaningful experiences, imaginative play, outdoor exploration, and rich learning opportunities that spark curiosity and wonder. By creating environments filled with warmth, calm, and creativity, we encourage children to become confident, resilient, and independent learners. Our approach combines a carefully planned and robust curriculum with child-led exploration, allowing children to learn through discovery, play, and real-life experiences. We value emotional wellbeing just as highly as academic development and strive to support every child socially, emotionally, physically, and intellectually. Nature plays a significant role in our practice. Through outdoor learning, forest school experiences, and connections with the coastal environment, children develop confidence, resilience, respect for the environment, and a lifelong love of learning.

Our Vision

Our vision is to create exceptional early years environments where children, families, and practitioners flourish together. We aspire to inspire a generation of curious, compassionate, and confident children who feel secure in themselves and excited about the world around them. We aim to provide magical childhood experiences that create lasting memories whilst laying strong foundations for lifelong learning and wellbeing.

We are committed to:

• Creating calm, inspiring, and nurturing learning environments

• Encouraging curiosity, creativity, and independence

• Supporting every child to achieve their full potential

• Building strong partnerships with families and the local community

• Promoting kindness, empathy, and respect

• Fostering a deep connection with nature and the outdoors

• Ensuring every child feels safe, valued, and celebrated

Our Values

Child-Centred Care

Children are at the heart of every decision we make. We listen, nurture, encourage, and celebrate each child as a unique individual, supporting them to grow with confidence and happiness.

Love & Kindness

We create environments built on warmth, compassion, patience, and genuine care, where children and families feel welcomed, valued, safe, and supported.

Curiosity & Creativity

We inspire children to explore, imagine, question, and discover through meaningful play, hands-on experiences, and engaging learning opportunities that spark a lifelong love of learning.

Respect & Inclusion

We celebrate diversity, individuality, and the unique strengths every child, family, and team member brings to our nursery community, creating a culture of respect, belonging, and inclusion.

Nature & Wellbeing

We believe in the power of nature to calm, inspire, and teach. Outdoor learning, forest school experiences, and natural environments are central to our philosophy and support children’s overall wellbeing.

Excellence & Growth

We are committed to delivering the highest quality care and education through reflective practice, continuous professional development, and a passionate dedication to helping every child thrive.

Meet Our Leadership Team

Behind Forest and Coastal Nurseries is a dedicated leadership team with a shared passion for creating exceptional early years experiences. From supporting our children and families to developing our teams and environments, we work together to ensure our nurseries remain welcoming, nurturing and inspiring places to be.

Our Owners

Our owners are at the heart of Forest and Coastal Nurseries and have a genuine passion for creating environments where children are given the very best start in their early years.

Their vision goes beyond providing childcare. They believe childhood should be filled with opportunities to explore, discover, build meaningful relationships and make memories. This vision has helped shape the nature-inspired approach that runs throughout Forest and Coastal Nurseries.

As the nurseries continue to grow and develop, our owners remain closely involved, continually investing in our settings, our teams and the opportunities available to our children.

Our Area Manager

Our Area Manager works across Forest and Coastal Nurseries, supporting our nursery managers and their teams while helping to maintain the high standards we expect across all of our settings.

Providing guidance, encouragement and leadership, our Area Manager helps ensure there is consistency across the nurseries while celebrating the individual personality and character of each setting.

Working closely with our owners and management teams, they play an important role in staff development, quality improvement and ensuring that our children and families remain at the centre of the decisions we make.

Our Office Manager

Our Office Manager is an important link between our families, nursery teams and leadership team, helping to keep everything running smoothly behind the scenes across Forest and Coastal Nurseries.

From helping families navigate funding, invoices and childcare arrangements to supporting admissions, enquiries and the day-to-day administration of our settings, our Office Manager is often one of the first points of contact for our families.

Working across the nurseries also means keeping everyone connected – supporting our managers and staff, coordinating information and helping ensure families receive clear and consistent communication throughout their time with us.

Nicola – Office Manager

Hello, I'm Nicola, Office Manager for Forest and Coastal Nurseries. I have over 20 years of administration experience, including 6 years within early years settings, and hold a Level 5 qualification in Office Management and Administration.

I work closely with our owners, managers, nursery teams and families, supporting everything from funding and admissions to communications and day-to-day administration across our settings.

I pride myself on being a friendly and approachable point of contact for our families, helping to make nursery life and the sometimes complicated world of childcare funding as straightforward as possible.

I love being part of Forest and Coastal Nurseries and helping to create a welcoming and supportive experience where our children, families and teams feel valued.

Katrina - Owner

I am the Director and Co-Owner of Forest and Coastal Nurseries, working alongside Rachel King. Together, we have grown all three of our nurseries from strength to strength and remain committed to continually developing

and enhancing each setting to provide the very best experiences for our children and families. We are passionate about creating enriched learning opportunities that inspire curiosity, confidence, and a lifelong love of learning. Our focus is on providing exciting, nurturing environments where every child can thrive, explore, and reach their full potential. As a mum and grandmother, I understand the importance of providing children with a safe, caring, and stimulating environment. I am deeply passionate about my work and the ethos that underpins our nurseries. I take great pride in creating extensive and engaging learning spaces that support children's development, wellbeing, and individual interests, while fostering strong partnerships with families and the wider community. My commitment is to ensure that every child receives the highest quality care, learning opportunities, and memorable experiences during their early years journey.

Rachel – Owner

I am the Director and Co-Owner of Forest and Coastal Nurseries, working alongside Katrina Brown. I have worked in childcare for over 20 years and feel incredibly privileged to play a part in shaping young children’s early experiences.

I am passionate about giving every child the best possible start in life, providing a nurturing environment filled with love, care, fun, and the freedom to simply be a child.I believe that children learn best when they feel safe, happy, and valued,

and I am committed to creating a setting where every child can grow in confidence and develop at their own pace.

I am equally passionate about supporting my team, ensuring they feel appreciated, motivated, and given every opportunity to develop their skills and progress in their careers. By fostering a positive and supportive environment for both children and staff, we create a nursery that feels like a true community.

Anita - Area Manager

I am the Area Manager across our three settings and have worked in childcare for over 12 years. During this time, I have worked in a variety of roles and progressed throughout my career, gaining valuable experience along the way.

I am passionate about supporting all children, with extensive experience in SEN, and enjoy helping children reach their full potential. I also enjoy supporting our staff teams and management to provide the best possible experiences for children and families.

I love working across all three settings, as each offers something unique while sharing the same values and ethos.

One Team, One Vision

Our Owners, Area Manager and Office Manager work closely with the fantastic management teams and practitioners across Forest and Coastal Nurseries.

While everyone has a different role to play, we share the same purpose: to create nurseries where children are happy, families feel welcome and supported, and our teams have everything they need to provide wonderful early years experiences.