At Rachel Keeling we recognise our position as a very experienced and dynamic team who employ some forward thinking methods to teach young children. As a result we are often asked to share our knowledge and expertise with professionals not just in the UK but around the world.
Sadly Covid has limited travel and prevented us from hosting visitors on site but we have continued to share the way we work and impact the learning community at home and abroad. We have been busy writing articles, speaking at conferences and engaging in research. 
At the moment we are involved in a project with Nursery World Magazine in producing an detailed A-Z guide of wonderful provision and experiences. 
You will find the full and most up to date  articles on the tab above >Outreach and >Articles, Research and Conferences.
Please do read and enjoy.

At Rachel Keeling we are lucky enough to have a wonderful garden with many natural features. Around the edge of our sand pit we have a fallen oak tree which acts as a barrier to stop the sand sliding out and looks in keeping with our outdoor space.
Last week something happened and we learnt so much more about the flora and fauna in our garden.
A child was climbing in to the sand pit and part of the oak tree (which is decomposing) gave way under her foot. What we found underneath was quite a surprise!
Much of the underside of the oak had crumbled and inside was a magical home to at least one stag beetle and multiple larvae (there was also a frog in there!)
Luckily our green-fingered teacher Urszula was on hand to advise and guide us.
Stag Beetles are endangered species - that means they are at risk of dying out altogether.
Normally you should not move larvae or beetles but they were in danger from predators (cats, foxes, birds and children's feet) so we needed to move them to safety.
The children helped Urszula to gather as much of the rotting wood and create a log pile nearby in a quieter area.
The larvae and beetle were moved to their new home. It was quite exciting.
Did you know?
Stag Beetles can fly.
They can live up to 7 years but need suitable places to survive,
The larvae can live for 3-4 years under ground.
They like to live in dead wood so please don't move logs and leaves.
Please visit People's Trust for Endangered Species at
www.ptes.org

This September, more than any in living memory, the team are so excited to be back at school and starting our new routines.
Our first group of new children have made a great start: they are secure, separating from their families and beginning to build relationships with their teachers and friends in school.
They are positively bursting with enthusiasm to explore, communicate and engage!
These children were due to start in April but couldn't because of risk minimization.
Maybe it's because they are a few months older than the usual starting points.
Maybe it's because they have lived through unprecedented times.
Maybe, like so many, they appreciate the freedom running in our garden, laughing with friends and cycling down the hill almost without a care in the world.
Families have approached the new school term with a positive attitude, love and gratitude.
At Rachel Keeling Nursery School we appreciate that greatly.
We will try to remember this term as it gets busier and times may be challenging to be grateful.