Wildlings

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Wildlings Offering children an environment rich in awe and wonder, and the opportunities for each child to become a strong, capable and resilient learner.

Wildlings offers children an environment rich in awe and wonder, and the opportunities for each child to become a strong, capable and resilient learner for children from the age of 2 to the time they go to school.

💚Come and be part of something a little different...Wildlings isn’t your typical preschool. We are a knowledgeable and e...
01/10/2026

💚Come and be part of something a little different...

Wildlings isn’t your typical preschool. We are a knowledgeable and experienced team providing children aged 2–5 with a unique early years experience across our welcoming hall and beautiful woodland setting.

We are looking for an inspiring, enthusiastic Early Years Educator to join us. This is ideally full-time, although part-time may be considered.

🌿What makes Wildlings different?
We keep our numbers low so our educators can build strong relationships and provide high-quality interactions. We give children the freedom to explore, solve problems, take appropriate risks and have a go, with the right support and encouragement.

Our practice is influenced by Forest School, Reggio Emilia and Montessori, alongside our own experience and understanding.

🌿 About you
We are looking for someone who:
🌱 Follows children’s interests, spots teachable moments during play and knows when to step in and when to step back.
🌱 Builds warm, nurturing relationships and responds to children’s individual needs.
🌱 Supports children’s independence, confidence and development through high-quality interactions.
🌱 Is creative, adaptable and able to think on their feet.
🌱 Is a reflective team player who communicates well and enjoys developing their practice.
🌱 Has love and respect for the natural world and doesn’t mind getting muddy!

🌿What we can offer
🌱£13.46 per hour base rate, with more for experience/ qualifications/ responsibility.
🌱Term time only: 39 weeks, with 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday, pro rata.
🌱Dedicated time for planning and paperwork.
🌱Support for professional development and further training.
🌱A supportive team where your ideas and strengths are valued.
🌱Leadership opportunities for the right person.

🌿 The Practical Bit
You must hold Level 3 or a full and relevant Early Years qualification or QTS. We work outdoors whatever the weather, so you will need to be fit enough for an active role. Our woodland site is not accessible by public transport.

🌳Could you be a Wildling?🌳

Start date: 4th January 2027
Applications close: 2nd November 2026

🌻 Please check out our website or contact us to request an application form.

We dream of a community where every child has the opportunity to spend time in wild spaces — playing, exploring, discove...
20/08/2026

We dream of a community where every child has the opportunity to spend time in wild spaces — playing, exploring, discovering and learning.

A childhood where children can thrive, develop curiosity, nurture a lifelong love of learning, and build a deep connection with the world around them. 🌱

Through these experiences, we hope our children will grow into resilient, independent and compassionate adults, passionate about caring for and protecting our natural world for generations to come. 🌍💚

Because when children are given the freedom to explore nature, they don't just learn about the world — they learn to love it, value it and care for it. 🌳✨

16/08/2026

🔥 A big favour from our local woodland community🌳

The woodland is exceptionally dry at the moment, and a complete ban on fires and BBQs has been in place for the last couple of weeks. Despite the Government warning we all received last week, we’ve had another weekend of people lighting fires in Shining Cliff Woods.

So we’re asking our lovely local community to help us keep an eye out.

If you see anyone lighting a fire, using a fire pit or BBQ, or having a fire anywhere in the woods, please let us know. You can message us here and we’ll deal with it, or let the Grith Pioneers/ relevant landowner know.

We know approaching strangers may feel awkward — please don’t feel that you need to confront anyone yourself you can simply let us know what you’ve seen.

This isn’t about getting anyone into trouble. It’s about preventing what could be a devastating woodland fire. With the ground, vegetation and leaf litter so dry, even a small fire or ember could spread incredibly quickly.

Shining Cliff is precious to all of us, and protecting it is something we can all help with. 💚🌳

Thank you for keeping an eye out and helping us look after this beautiful woodland. 🙏

Our Annual Well Dressing 🌸💐What a lovely week celebrating one of our favourite local traditions! 💛It’s so special to int...
04/07/2026

Our Annual Well Dressing 🌸💐

What a lovely week celebrating one of our favourite local traditions! 💛

It’s so special to introduce the Wildlings to the history and community spirit behind Well Dressing, helping them learn about a tradition that has been treasured for generations.

There were lots of smiles (and a little bit of mess! 😊) as we explored the clay, puddled it, splatted it into the frame, and then carefully poked in colourful petals and flowers to create our beautiful picture. It was such a calming, creative activity, and the children took so much pride in watching their artwork come to life.

We love creating opportunities like these to help our children connect with the world around them while having fun together. 🌼💐

OutdoorLearning

06/06/2026

If you've been to stay at Shining Cliff hostel, or use the Beech Hut, or booked to attend a session in the woodland, then you've most likely used the private track to access our car parking area.
It's been an goal for a LONG time to improve the drainage on the track and to have it resurfaced in stone to make it a pleasant experience to drive along, rather than one where you worry about getting grounded in the ruts!
Today the track repairs started, but it's a very expensive project and we would love your support. We've set up a Crowdfunder to help cover the cost of the repairs, if you are able to donate or share the Crowdfunder link we would be hugely grateful!
Shining Cliff hostel is a not-for-profit organisation and ploughs back income from hostel bookings into caring for the hostel, so any donations help us to keep on going!
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/woodland-track-repairs

📣 Our waiting lists are now open for 2026, 2027 & 2028At Wildlings, we offer a warm, nurturing, child-centred environmen...
30/04/2026

📣 Our waiting lists are now open for 2026, 2027 & 2028

At Wildlings, we offer a warm, nurturing, child-centred environment where children are free to explore, discover and grow at their own pace 🌿💛

✨ Small group sizes
🌿 Inspiring outdoor & indoor learning
✨ Highly qualified, caring staff
🌿 For children aged 2 years to compulsory school age

Spaces are limited and filling quickly, so it’s never too early to join our waiting list 🌱

📧 [email protected]
🌐 wildlingsderbyshire.org

We look forward to hearing from you!

📣 OUR WAITING LISTS ARE NOW OPEN FOR 2026, 2027 & 2028 🥳Looking for a warm, nurturing space where your child can explore...
30/04/2026

📣 OUR WAITING LISTS ARE NOW OPEN FOR 2026, 2027 & 2028 🥳

Looking for a warm, nurturing space where your child can explore, discover, and truly flourish? We’d love to welcome you 💛

🌳 Why choose Wildlings?
🌿 A unique, child-centred early years environment
✨ Small group sizes so every child has the time and space to thrive
🌿 Highly qualified, caring and nurturing staff
✨ Inspiring indoor and outdoor learning experiences
🌿 Main intake each September, with limited spaces available throughout the year
✨ For children aged 2 years to compulsory school age

Places are in high demand and filling quickly — it’s never too early to secure your child’s place at Wildlings 🌱

📧 [email protected]
🌐 wildlingsderbyshire.org

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year 💚Thank you for being part of our wonderful community. We’re looking forward...
01/01/2026

Wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year 💚

Thank you for being part of our wonderful community. We’re looking forward to another year of exploring, discovering, learning and growing together 🌳🌻🐛🐝🌿✨

This is the view that greeted me as I arrived at the woods at 7.30am this morning! We are so lucky to call this place ou...
23/11/2025

This is the view that greeted me as I arrived at the woods at 7.30am this morning! We are so lucky to call this place our home three days a week 💚

Last autumn, thanks to the incredible generosity and support of our community, the Grith Pioneers—the charity that owns ...
09/11/2025

Last autumn, thanks to the incredible generosity and support of our community, the Grith Pioneers—the charity that owns Shining Cliff Woods—were able to purchase two adjoining fields at auction.

Since then, a dedicated team of volunteers (including Cate from Wildlings) has been working hard behind the scenes: developing a management plan, carrying out detailed surveys of vegetation, insects, fungi, and birds to establish a baseline of species, and exploring funding opportunities to rewild the land and help local groups like Wildlings access and enjoy it.

Yesterday, some of the team and their families, along with Wildlings families past and present, joined the Grith Pioneers at the new meadow to spend a beautiful afternoon clearing grass and planting 300 native trees. They may be small now but in the years ahead we look forward to watching them grow and flourish into a thriving wildlife haven beside the meadow 🐝🪲🐞🦋🐍🐌🕷

Address

The Church School Rooms, Devonshire Street
Belper
DE562GJ

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

07474762190

Website

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