About Us
Welcome to Little Sticks Forest School! We are a fully outdoors Forest School based over 2 sites. We opened our first site in April 2021 on the grounds of Aspull RFC in Wigan. Our 2nd site opened in May 2024 and is located on the grounds of Greenslate Community Farm in Billinge
We fully embrace the Forest School ethos which to us means that play is at the heart of our practice and we believe that children should be allowed to and encouraged to lead their own learning. Our children are free to play and explore the woodland environment, they are not required to complete activities as we believe that children are capable of learning whilst interacting with the natural environment, experienced staff, woodland structures, books etc.
Our day flows naturally, we make time for snacks around our fire circle and reflection on the days learning. The children have the opportunity to use real tools, cook over a camp fire and help to manage our woodland. The children lead their own learning and are actively encouraged by our extremely experienced staff who are there to facilitate learning by playing, modelling, talking and questioning.
Meet The Team
Aspull
Karen
Aspull Manager
Level 3 Forest School Leader
Desginated Safeguard Lead
Health & Safety Officer
Sarah
Deputy Manager
Level 3 Forest School Leader
Deputy Desginated Safeguard Lead
Rob
Level 3 Forest School Leader
Health & Safety Officer
Climate Action Lead
Kelly
Level 2 Forest School Leader
Special Educational Needs Coordinator
(SENCO)
Debra
Level 3 Forest School Leader
Behaviour Lead
Greenslate Farm
Emma
Manager
BA Hons Primary Education (with early years QTS)
Level 3 Forest School Leader
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Behaviour Lead
Liza
Deputy Manager
Early Years Teacher Status
Level 3 Forest School Leader
Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead
Special Educational Needs Coordinator
Climate Action Lead
Karen
QTS Primary School Teacher
Level 3 Forest School Leader
Health & Safety Officer
Sharon
QTS Primary School Teacher
Forest School Leader
Health & Safety Officer
Amy
Level 3 Early Years Practitioner
Forest School Leader
Alice
Level 2 Early Years Practitioner
Forest School Leader
Fees
(Please note we reassess our fees every September and session prices may increase)
Sessions:
We offer full day sessions (8.00am to 5.00pm) and half day sessions (morning 8.00am to 12.30pm, afternoon 12.30pm to 5.00pm) 5 days a week Monday to Friday.
Our session costs from September 2026 are as follows:
Full Day Session = £65 (The £65 includes the additional forest school session charge of £6.50 see below)
Half Day Session = £32.50 (The £32.50 includes the additional forest school session charge of £3.25 see below)
*All sessions are charged at £6.50 per hour with a Forest School session fee of £3.25 for half days and £6.50 for full days (The Forest School session fee is included in the overall session costs shown above).
The Forest School session fee is an extra charge for providing Forest School as an additional service to the standard EYFS curriculum. The cost is used to cover low staff to children ratios (specifically for Forest School activities), the additional cost to ensure all staff are qualified to deliver forest school sessions, snacks and drinks, insurance costs for outdoor/adventurous activities and additional consumables and clothing/clothing equipment held onsite for Forest School activities.
For children receiving 2 year old funded hours, as the funding we receive is sufficient to cover both the hourly rate and the Forest School session fee we do not charge the Forest School session fee as an extra charge.
For children receiving 3/4 year old funded hours the rate set and paid by the Government and local council is significantly lower than 2-year-old funding and is primarily for the provision of the EYFS curriculum. For this reason, we charge the Forest School session fee as an extra charge.
The Forest School session fee for the 3/4 year old funded hours is a voluntary charge and you can opt out of paying this but parents/carers would need to provide their own drinks/snacks/consumables and it may mean that some activities specifically related to the provision of Forest School may not be provided for your child.
If you access 3/4 year old funding but don't feel you can afford the Forest School session fee or do not wish to pay for the additional Forest School activities, please contact us to discuss your options.
All fees are invoiced monthly in advance of the sessions and we annualise the session costs so you will be given a set monthly amount to cover the sessions from September through to August.
Funding
We offer all types of funded places including 2, 3 and 4 year old funding (15 and 30 hours),Tax Free Childcare and Childcare Vouchers. You can also split the funding if your child is attending another setting.
We are only registered to take children from 2 years old and we can access funding from the day a child turns 2. However you must have a funding code that is valid from before the start date of the term in which your child is 2.
To check what funding may be available to you please use the "Best Start In Life" website.
Dates
We are open for 50 weeks of the year and only close for 2 weeks at Christmas and Bank Holidays:
Summer Term 2026
Summer Term Begins: Monday 13th April 2026
May Day: Monday 4th May 2026 (Closed)
Late May Bank Holiday: Monday 25th May 2026 (Closed)
Summer Term Ends: Friday 28th August 2026
August Bank Holiday: Monday 31st August 2026 (Closed)
Autumn Term 2026
Autumn Term Begins: Tuesday 1st September 2026
Autumn Term Ends: Friday 18th December 2026
Spring Term 2027
Spring Term Begins: Monday 4th January 2027
Good Friday: Friday 26th March 2027 (Closed)
Easter Monday: Monday 29th March 2027 (Closed)
Spring Term Ends: Friday 9th April 2027
Summer Term 2027
Summer Term Begins: Monday 12th April 2027
May Day: Monday 3rd May 2027 (Closed)
Late May Bank Holiday: Monday 31st May 2027 (Closed)
Summer Term Ends: Friday 27th August 2027
August Bank Holiday: Monday 30th August 2027 (Closed)
