Ethelred Nursery is an inner city school, and many of our children have very limited access to green spaces and nature. To help our children connect with the natural world, we have a full programme of environmental education supported by the Lambeth Natural Thinkers initiative. We teach our children about the natural world through a wide range of activities both on and off the nursery school grounds.
We have very close links with Roots and Shoots, which is an award winning environmental education charity with a ecologically significant wildlife garden, and which (together with our own garden) enables us to continually develop the Natural Thinkers part of the curriculum. The children make regular visits during spring and summer, when our children learn about 'mini-beasts' (including pond life), frogs, beekeeping, food chains, habitats, the parts of plants and plant growth, the seasons, and we support these experiences through imaginative play sessions, stories, artwork and other activities back at the nursery.
The nursery school has a garden where the children are able to learn about gardening, plant bulbs and flowers, sow seeds, dig, play in the mud kitchen and look for mini-beasts.