About Us

Little Explorers Forest School is a unique 54-place nursery, set in the 450 acre picturesque grounds of the historic Broomfield Hall, on Derby College's land based campus in Morley.

We provide high-quality care for children aged from three months to five years. Ofsted rate us as ‘Outstanding’ in all aspects of our work. Strengths included visionary leadership and a vibrant learning environment. Download the full report (PDF).

Little Explorers believe that all children have the right to quality care and education in a safe, well-organised and attractive environment. This is reflected through the diverse range of indoor and outdoor experiences offered to our Little Explorers, supported by a team of qualified, experienced and highly motivated staff.

Little Explorers ethos focuses on the daily exploration and investigation of the fantastic outdoor surroundings and promotes learning in a variety of styles that maximise each child's personal, social, emotional, and behavioural development. The daily Forest School sessions support children's physical development and wellbeing, they learn to take manageable risks, know their own capabilities and as they pass through the nursery understand about respecting themselves, tolerance of others and respecting their natural and local environment. Little Explorers has well established environmentally friendly practices for the children, including an organic vegetable garden and a poly tunnel green house. The children plant, tend to, harvest their own crop where possible and enjoy collecting the eggs from the on-site farm.

The indoor environment reflects the overall offer at Little Explorers and has been carefully created to facilitate children's curiosity, learning and development. The use of natural materials, colour, quality resources and rich open-ended play encourages children's problem solving, creativity and cognitive development.