Unlock Your Child's Potential with Dandelion Education
Welcome to Dandelion Education, our experienced team provides a stimulating, safe environment for all our families, with services to suit everyone from our award-winning nursery, to our specialist provision, the Patch, as well as our Stay & Play Groups, Holiday Club and much more.
The Nursery
For ages 2-5
Wymondham & Eaton
At Dandelion we focus on the holistic development of your child. Our highly qualified staff use our rich, out of doors environment , emotional literacy skills, knowledge of executive functioning skills, open questioning and a deeply held respect for children, as individuals, to support individual learning and personal growth.​
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Sensitive to the needs of each individual child, we will tailor the support needed to help your unique child blossom and grow.
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Our purpose
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To provide high-quality childcare in an educationally rich, out of doors environment​
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To create a safe, nurturing and enriched environment where a child’s emotional well-being and physical needs are a priority​
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To support and facilitate children’s development through play, enquiry and the environment​
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To encourage independence and confidence; concern and care for themselves, others and the environment​
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To develop executive functioning skills (supporting children to meet their full potential) ​
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To develop resourcefulness, self-efficacy, tolerance and respect​
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To nurture the development of creative and critical thinking and problem-solving​
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To support the development of high levels of vocabulary and emotional literacy​
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To facilitate the development of concept rich dialogues
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Ratios
At Dandelion we know that children deserve and need high-quality interactions, we thus provide excellent adult to child ratios.
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For children aged 2 we offer a ratio of 1 adult to 2 children (Government suggested ratios are 1 adult to 5 children!).
For children aged 3+ we offer a ratio of 1 adult to 6 children (Government ratios for qualified teachers, such as those at Dandelion is 1 adult to 13 and 1 adult to 8 children for level 3 practitioners).
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Dandelion’s staffing team consists of over 50% qualified teachers!
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Opening times
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Monday - Friday (term time)
8am - 4.30pm
The Patch
For children who need a little more room to grow, aged 4-8
Wymondham & Aylsham
The Patch at Dandelion supports young children from the age of 4 through to the end of KS1. Dandelion’s secure environment and approach is particularly suitable for children whose needs include those associated with: trauma; anxiety, emotional social and behavioural development, mental health issues, speech and language issues, low self-esteem and low levels of confidence.
Children who attend Dandelion’s Patch often struggle in conventional settings and environments; they may be school refusers, or in need of small group high quality nurture and support.
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We accept referrals from schools, the local authority, Social Services, agencies, organisations and families/carers. Referrals are assessed on an individual basis in collaboration with the referee.
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Programme Overview:
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Through the environment and with the support of skilled teachers, children engage in purposeful , meaningful activities in a beautiful, woodland environment.
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Themes selected by the group enables each individual to plan alongside knowledgeable adults as they co-create their own curriculum via Dandelion’s Patch Passport. These specific child-led programmes engage minds, inspire play, build confidence and nurture a love of learning for its own sake.
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Children learn vital social and life skills as they collaborate and communicate with peers while managing their own environment, and completing their own passport (Patchport). They develop: tool skills; cook around the fire, undertake and lead risk assessments, learn through their environment, develop emotional literacy, and self-awareness, through collaboration and philosophy sessions and learn to self-regulate through co-regulation alongside adults.
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Dandelion’s Patch Passport (or Patchport) consists of up to 9 key areas.
Children are free to select as many or as few areas as they wish to focus on. The child chooses when to begin an area of the Dandelion curriculum and when to complete it. Dandelion’s aim is to develop confidence and self-esteem, and to empower children to become independent and self-aware.
The Den
For home and flexi-educated children, aged 5-8
Aylsham & Wymondham
To compliment our home-educating & flexi-educating approach we offer our Dandelion Den at both Aylsham and Wymondham:
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The sessions are managed by qualified teachers who create exciting days in the wilderness of our Aylsham 4.5 acre wood and within the grounds of Wymondham site. Children are free to choose from a range of planned activities, or to engage in child-led/self-directed activities.
In the Dandelion Den we focus on:​
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Emotional literacy
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Developing risk awareness
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Physical development
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Executive functioning skills
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Promoting emotional well being ​
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Sessions:
The sessions run during term time, you can register to attend one, or both sessions.
Fees are paid monthly.
As the sessions are not within a fence it is important that children have a degree of self regulation. ​
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Staffing:
Staff are DBS checked and thoroughly Dandelion trained. They are experienced in working with a vast age range of children.
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Activities include:​
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Philosophy sessions
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Creative and critical thinking / problem solving
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Crafts
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Den building
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Fire making
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Tool use
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Cooking​
Reception Year
Defer/delay at Dandelion
In England, all children can enter school the September following their fourth birthday.
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Although most children start school in the September after turning four, they are not obliged to be in a mainstream school until they are of Compulsory School Age (CSA, which is a set point in the year following their fifth birthday.
Currently, you can request that your child's school starting date be delayed by a year if they were born between 1 April and 31 August (SUMMER BORN) , and you do not think they're ready.
There are many reasons for delaying/deferring, this may be for: personal values; for further play based learning; for the best interests of the child; for the higher adult to child ratios in Early Years, or for neurodiversity needs.
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If you make a request to delay your child's school entry and your child is NOT , the school has the right to accept or reject this..
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If you wish to delay your child's starting date, and your child is NOT summer born, you'll need to apply for a school place for them to start at the ‘normal’ time (i.e. the September after their fourth birthday), but should submit your request for deferred entry at the same time. The school should tell you how to make your request.
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The decision must be made in the child's best interests.
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If your request is granted, you will need to withdraw your application and reapply the following year. Your application will be treated as a new application, and you'll be subject to the same admissions criteria as every other child applying for a Reception place.
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If your request is declined, you have the choice to carry on with your child's application and accept a place in their normal age group, or refuse the place they've been offered, skip the Reception year and make an application for them to start in Year 1 the following year.
There is no right of appeal, but you can make a complaint to the admissions authority, which they have to process in line with their complaints procedure.
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Reception year at Dandelion
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Time spent at Dandelion during a child’s Reception year will be:
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Fun
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Engaging
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Academically productive
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Reflective of the child’s own interests
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A partnership between the child, family and Dandelion
The Reception year at Dandelion will:
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Develop emotional literacy
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Develop management of risk
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Develop self efficacy
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Develop creative and critical thinking
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Develop resilience
Reception aged children at Dandelion will be ready to enter school at the beginning of year one at the same place (or in advance) educationally of their peers who have spent their Reception year at school.
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Reception at Dandelion is offered in the Main nursery and within the Den.
Holiday Club
For ages 3-8
Rain or shine, fun is to be had at Dandelion’s holiday club!
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Children aged 3-8 years can choose to take part in tool work, woodland art and craft, den building, mud slinging, fire building, cooking on an open fire and much more!
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Brunch is cooked and shared on an open fire, and fruit snacks are provided.
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Holiday club runs every school holiday at Eaton Dandelion.
Stay & Play
For families and children aged 0-100
Dandelion’s Stay & Play offers exciting opportunities for families to take part in adventurous and muddy activities, without the worry of having to clean up your own house!
Sessions are offered within our Dandelion settings. Check our bookings page for more information.
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Staff plan a stimulating theme that will engage both you and your child.
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Sing around the fire, share a warm brunch cooked on an open fire, make new friends, or hook-up with old ones!
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Take part in sticky craft activities, roll in mud, climb a tree, or read in a tranquil nook…
Take home a work of art, or nothing but memories, the choice is yours!
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All sessions are led by teachers with sacks of experience and truck loads of energy!
Fully funded places for 2-5 year olds
Our brand new funding offer is available at Dandelion nursery
NO HIDDEN FEES: Come to Dandelion for only £7.50 per day (consumables fee)
Consumable fee covers: Brunch, rolling snack, afternoon tea, mud kitchen resources, art and craft supplies, STEM resources, hygiene supplies, books and a variety of other resources.
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Email us with any questions or queries or to book a tour of any site.
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