Forest Preparatory School

Moss Lane, Timperley, Altrincham WA15 6LJ
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9.9 49 Reviews
  • Forest Preparatory School, Altrincham
Situated in the attractive suburb of Timperley, south of Manchester, Forest Preparatory School is a co-educational, independent day school for children aged two to eleven.

At Forest, staff believe that they have found a perfect balance in pursuing academic excellence whilst maintaining strong pastoral care standards.

Staff strongly believe that if a child is happy they will learn, and if they have a sound and efficient framework within which to work, they will thrive.

Every child is made to feel important and valued by every member of staff and through this atmosphere of collaboration, success is achieved.

The school is very proud of its academic results, with pupils obtaining places at notable Independent and Grammar Schools.

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Care Provided by Forest Preparatory School

  • Type of Service
  • Day Nursery – Privately Owned
  • Open all year
  • Full Day Care
  • Sessional Day Care

Good to Know

  • Person in charge
  • Graeme Booth (Headmaster)
  • Number of Childcare Staff
  • 35
  • Total Places for Children
  • 48
  • Age Range
    • from 2 years 0 months
    • to 4 years 0 months
  • Opening Times
  • Monday 07:30-18:00
    Tuesday 07:30-18:00
    Wednesday 07:30-18:00
    Thursday 07:30-18:00
    Friday 07:30-18:00
  • When Closed
  • 4 weeks per academic year

Funding & Fees Guide for Forest Preparatory School

  • School Fees (Term Time) for academic year 2024/2025 are as follows:


    Nursery and Kindergarten - £51.00 per day
    Nursery and Kindergarten - Mornings + lunch - £42.00 per morning
    Nursery and Kindergarten - Morning Only - £35.00 per morning

    Non Term Time Nursery Provision Fees 2024/2025:
    Half Day (between 7:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m) - £29.50
    Full Day (between 7:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) -   £49.50

  • Our school day runs from 8:40am - 3:10pm. We do offer wrap around care which incurs the following costs:


    Breakfast club 7:30am to 8:40am including breakfast - £6:25 per session.
    Late stay (runs from 3:10pm to 6:00pm) including afternoon tea - £12:50 per session.


    Our non term time provision which runs in the school holidays, is flexible and is booked on a pay-as-you-go system.

Forest Preparatory School Reviews (49)

Total of 49, showing 1-20
9.9

Forest Preparatory School has a Review Score of 9.9 (9.945) out of 10, based on 20 reviews in the last 2 years. Over all time Forest Preparatory School has 49 reviews.

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Review from Steph H (Mother of Child) published on 24 February 2025
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We have had both of our children at Forest Preparatory School and they have loved every minute. The daily structure and integration with the rest of the children in the school are amazing. The whole school is like one big family. The staff are also very welcoming.

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Review from M G (Mother of Child) published on 11 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son has been going to Forest nursery first and to Kindergarten now and he's having best time and best care. He loves his friends there and the atmosphere and facilities. The range of activities proposed is varied and perfect for each age.
Never a dull day at Forest!

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Review from Emil C (Mother of Child) published on 11 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We are extremely happy with the nursery and the care provided. Our child loves attending and always looks forward to the engaging activities. The staff are amazing-caring, professional, and attentive-and they organise a wonderful variety of activities that support both learning and fun. We have seen
significant development in our child. highly recommended!

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Review from A M (Father of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Forest Nursery is an engaging supportive learning environment for my son. The staff are kind, helpful and welcoming. My son especially enjoys and benefits from the interaction and support of the older children, the school feels like a family where the pupils know and are happy to see each other.

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Review from P C (Father of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Very welcoming when attending and my child always seems happy when returning home.

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Review from James A (Father of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We couldn't be happier with our decision to move our daughter to Forest for her kindergarten year. After feeling that her previous nursery wasn't providing the stimulation and engagement she needed, we found a perfect fit at this warm and welcoming school. The transition was seamless, and we've seen
a positive transformation in her confidence and development.


What we love most about Forest is how the kindergarten is integrated into the wider school. The children aren't isolated in a separate nursery space but are welcomed as part of the school, which has been fantastic for building our daughter's sense of belonging. She's been encouraged to be more independent, and the structured environment has really helped her thrive.


The staff at Forest Prep are absolutely amazing-caring, nurturing, and incredibly dedicated. Our daughter has not only flourished academically but has also made some lovely, lasting friendships. All in all, we feel incredibly fortunate to have found Forest Prep!


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Review from S Y (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My son loves going into Nursery, he settled into Forest quicker than I had imagined. The staff are always welcoming and the days are always packed with interesting activities. We get updates on a private social media, so it's lovely to get an insight of their day at school. I highly recommend Forest
Prep Nursery!

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Review from Katie S (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

The Forest Nursery and Kindergarten have been a great experience for our family so far. The staff have been wonderful and we appreciate the consistency in knowing that it's the same adults working in the classroom with the children each day, throughout the year (as opposed to keyworkers changing regularly
in previous nurseries). They are experienced professionals who are invested in both the wellbeing and education of the children.


I have also been very impressed with the broad range of activities that the children do each day. The activities are imaginative, fun and look well organised. It's great to know that the children are constantly working on important skills that will serve them as they grow, but with what appears to be a soft, child-friendly, play-centred approach. There is also a sense of community that comes from the fact that the children in our son's class will be the same children he goes through school with. We are really excited for our son's future here at Forest.


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Review from John S (Father of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

In this area there is no better preschool around, the staff are outstanding, really caring, and help each of the children learn in there own ways, they are really patient and teach the core values of the school from the start, our daughter loves going here, which is down to how the staff welcome her
and nurture her everyday. The classrooms are great, loads of space and not over crowded, the outdoor space is all weather friendly with part pavement, part astro turf and real grass field.
The price is great compared to other day nurseries, and gives some flexibility, there the core day of 8:40-15:10 then there's breakfast club, drop off from 07:30 and after school club which is till 18:00 and you can book these extras week to week, and often as long as they have 24hrs notice you can get them in. The food options are great, giving a lot of variety and caters for all and has really helped our fussy little eater try much more food. I would 100% recommend this school to everyone.

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Review from J B (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Excellent caring nursery, staff are fabulous and my daughter loves going to big school with her big brother and sister. This is our third child to start in the nursery, We have seen it evolve and move with the times, keeping up to date. The children do varied activities including forest school, music
lessons and PE. I also love how the older children interact with the nursery so they feel like part of the school.

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Review from J W (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Lovely warm environment for the children, our son has loved school so far and has grown in confidence. The interaction for parents is brilliant too, with the daily updates on social media, parent platforms and school emails.

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Review from Daniel G (Father of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Both of our children went through the nursery and pre school. A couple of things where I feel the nursery differs to other nurseries, is that the children are encouraged to be outside - come rain or shine, including the use of the huge field for nature and discovery purposes. There is also massive interaction
with the older members of the school, who will come in regularly and read to the nursery pupils and interact with them. The children also have dinner in the main hall with other classes and will also attend some assemblies. It's a nursery that has a school attached and has a wonderful family feel. The nursery manager is also brilliant and the variety of things done allows children to grow and develop.

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Review from C V (Mother of Child) published on 6 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We moved our daughter to Forest's Kindergarten in September. She settled quickly and clearly enjoys going each day; the staff are great, the facilities and grounds are lovely, everyone is very welcoming, and my daughter says the food is good! There are so many opportunities for children here, both in
and outside the classroom, with extracurricular clubs and some amazing class trips. We are also happy with the communication and updates we receive. Our son will be joining Forest's Nursery in September and I certainly recommend it.

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Review from Ren H (Mother of Child) published on 4 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

A warm and welcoming atmosphere, regular updates about the child, a strong school culture that builds connections with individuals. You can see that the nursery teachers are passionate about their work and genuinely care about what they do.

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Review from H D (Mother of Child) published on 4 February 2025
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 4.0 out of 5

Our daughter loves going to nursery and settled in almost immediately. Fantastic range of learning including languages, music and an academic focus. Lovely, approachable teachers.

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Review from J G (Mother of Child) published on 3 February 2025
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

We are delighted that we started our son at Forest Prep Nursery in September 2024. We were concerned at first as he had just turned 2 in the August, so would be the youngest in the year. However, the teaching staff have been nurturing, very supportive and treated him as an individual and because of
this he has grown in confidence. The relationships he has with his teachers are clearly evident and recently at pick up watching him engage with the older school children, shows bonds that have been formed. I believe he is part of the school community despite being in nursery, which in time will help him transition into school.


I love the posts on the unique app you receive about what he's been up to during the day. The pets they take care of, the opportunities and experiences they are given are excellent and plentiful. It's a really friendly, caring nursery where children feel safe, enjoy themselves and therefore learn. We are over the moon and feel lucky to be part of a very special place.


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Review from N K (Mother of Child) published on 9 December 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

A wonderful nursery. My daughter absolutely enjoys her time going to nursery and even though she is only 2 and doesn't talk many sentences she is able to express herself. The teachers are wonderful too and have kept us updated on a daily basis as well as through private social media of all the activities
they do! My little girl has totally blossomed! Lovely safe environment.

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Review from C B (Mother of Child) published on 20 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

I can’t recommend Forest Nursery and Kindergarten enough. The children are welcomed into the whole school as soon as they start at 2 years old by the staff and older children. Their personalities are each celebrated and they are recognised as individuals, which builds a happy confidence in the children.
My child is encouraged to grow at their own pace and develop their interests and is always happy to go into the forest each day.

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Review from Ly T (Mother of Child) published on 10 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

My daughter enjoyed Forest School Nursery very much. She loves her friends and her teachers. I’m amazed of how well she’s behaving. Thank you Forest School for doing their best to educate our children.

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Review from A H (Mother of Child) published on 7 May 2024
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience  Overall Experience 5.0 out of 5

Our experience of Forest Nursey has been fantastic. It was a great choice and we were very pleased with both the love and care our child received as well as the educational/academic push our child needed to excel.

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Current Review Score: 9.9 (9.945)

Overview of Review Score

The Review Score of 9.9 (9.945) out of 10 for Forest Preparatory School is based on a) the Average Rating and b) the number of positive Reviews.

  • a) The Average Rating is 4.9 out of 5 from 20 Reviews in the last 24 months.

  • b) The score for the number of positive Reviews is 5.0 out of 5 from 20 positive Reviews in the last 24 months.

Detailed Breakdown of Review Score

The maximum Review Score for a Day Nursery is 10, which is made up from the Average Rating of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) and the Number of Reviews (maximum of 5 points) in the last 24 months:

  • a) 5 Points are available for the Average Rating from all Reviews in the last 24 months.

    The Average Rating of 4.945 for Forest Preparatory School is calculated as follows: ( (224 Excellents x 5) + (13 Goods x 4) ) ÷ 237 Ratings = 4.945

  • b) 5 Points are available for the number of Positive Reviews in the last 24 months. A Positive Review is defined as any Review with an 'Overall Experience' of '4' or '5' (out of a max rating '5').

    The 5 Points relating to the number of positive Reviews for Forest Preparatory School is based on 20 positive Reviews in the last 24 months and is calculated as per below:

    The 5 points available are broken down as follows:

    • i) 4 points are available for the first 10 Positive Reviews in the last 24 months; 3 points for the first Positive Review, and then 0.125 Points for each of the next four Positive Reviews and then 0.1 Points for the next five Positive Reviews. (1st = 3.000, 2nd = 0.125, 3rd = 0.125, 4th = 0.125, 5th = 0.125, 6th = 0.100, 7th = 0.100, 8th = 0.100, 9th = 0.100, 10th = 0.100) 3 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.125 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 + 0.1 = 4

    • ii) 1 point is available for the number of Positive Reviews reaching 20% of the number of registered child places in the last 24 months. If this number is partially reached, then that proportion of 1 point is given. eg a Day Nursery registered for a maximum of 50 child places has to reach 10 Positive Reviews to receive 1 point, if it has 7 reviews it will receive 0.7 points. 20% of the 48 number of registered child places is 9.6, which has been reached with 20 Positive reviews. Points = 1

  • When a Review is submitted by someone who has previously submitted a Review, only the latest Review will count towards the Review Score.

  • If a Day Nursery does not have a review in the last 24 months, then it will not have a Review Score.

Child Vacancies

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Awards / Recognitions (3)

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Meet the Team (8)

Graeme

Graeme Booth

Job Title: Headmaster

Joined: 2002

At Forest, we believe that we have found a perfect balance in pursuing academic excellence whilst at the same time maintaining strong pastoral care standards.


We strongly believe that if a child is happy they will learn and if they have a sound and efficient framework within which to work they will thrive.


Every child is made to feel important and valued by all concerned and through this atmosphere of collaboration, success is achieved.


Beverley

Beverley Budd

Job Title: Kindergarten Teacher and Deputy Head (Academic and Early Years).

Joined: 2017

Mrs Budd is the Kindergarten teacher supported by Mrs Singer and Miss Naylor.


They aim to give our youngest children the best possible start to school life, so that they feel happy, safe and secure, whilst learning in a rich, varied and challenging environment.


The whole of the curriculum is delivered in our vibrant and well-resourced indoor and outdoor areas, which are carefully planned to cover each area of development.


Hayley

Hayley Bardsley

Job Title: Nursery Manager

Joined: 2022

Miss Bardsley is our Nursery Manager. She is responsible for the daily running of Forest's Nursery. She has a strong passion for Early Years, especially outdoor learning.


Ana

Ana Saez

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner

Joined: 2018

Miss Saez is our Nursery Practitioner, working with the 2-3-year-old age group at Forest Prep. Miss Saez is a native Spanish speaker and teaches Spanish to the children in Nursery. Miss Saez also teaches the extra-curricular Spanish club.


Christine

Christine Singer

Job Title: Kindergarten Teaching Assistant

Joined: 2023

Christine is our Kindergarten Teaching Assistant and works with our 3 - 4-year-old preschool children. Christine has worked with preschool children for over 16 years which included managing a nursery for 5 years,


Christine is also a pediatric first aider.


Katie

Katie Naylor

Job Title: Kindergarten Teaching Assistant

Joined: 2024

Miss Naylor is our Kindergarten Teaching Assistant and teaches our 3-4-year-old preschool children.


Zena

Zena Smith

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner

Joined: 2020

Mrs Smith works in the nursery with our 2 and 3-year-olds.


Lydia

Lydia Hamilton

Job Title: Nursery Practitioner

Joined: 2024

Miss Hamilton works full time in the nursery with our 2 - 3 year olds.


Miss Hamilton is a former Forester, so fully understands and embraces the Forest values.


Frequently Asked Questions about Forest Preparatory School

What is the Age Range of Children that Forest Preparatory School accepts?

Forest Preparatory School accepts Children aged from 2 years 0 months to 4 years 0 months.

What Days & Hours is Forest Preparatory School Open?

Forest Preparatory School is open: Monday 07:30-18:00, Tuesday 07:30-18:00, Wednesday 07:30-18:00, Thursday 07:30-18:00, Friday 07:30-18:00.

How many Children does Forest Preparatory School have capacity for?

Forest Preparatory School has capacity for a total of 48 Children.

How far is Forest Preparatory School to the centre of Altrincham?

1.2 mile(s) as the crow flies, distance by road may be significantly further.

Information on this page is displayed without responsibility for its accuracy on the part of daynurseries.co.uk. Please contact Forest Preparatory School to verify any information. View our terms and conditions. Forest Preparatory School has an Enhanced Service – more info.