Clowns Nursery School Outdoor Classroom
Project Overview
Client - Clowns Nursery, Butterley Park, Ripley
Product - Large building outdoor classroom
Budget - £40,000
Build Time - 5 days
Services Provided
Design
Management
Foundations
Build
Electrics
Flooring & Internal Decoration
Clowns Nurseries were established in 1990, a family run business; they have 4 nurseries across Derbyshire; Butterly Park-Ripley, Ironville, North Wingfield and Clay Cross. Their fifth nursery is currently being renovated and is scheduled for opening early 2024.
The Butterley Park Nursery was purpose built in 2000, catering for children from birth to 5.
The site has extensive secure grounds, including a large lawned play area, sensory and growing garden, and enclosed woods, which the children love to explore and where they attend Forest School sessions.
Outdoor Nature Classroom Requirements
The nursery wanted a full turnkey service to deliver more space; another room for activities and play. They wanted the room to reflect their ethos of the importance of nature, the outdoors, fresh air and fun.
Lots of glass providing views of the nursery garden and nature areas.
Doors opening up to the nature area and to a newly created covered outdoor play space.
Panoramic glass view corners so children could observe the garden all year round.
Well insulated to create a warm space in the winter.
The Final Classroom Design
The building is 7m x 4m with durable boothbay blue Hardie board cladding.
Concrete foundation.
Fully insulated.
Safety/secure boarded walls.
One floor to ceiling corner window.
One floor to ceiling corner window with sliding door.
Central double sliding door on the front of the building.
Windows and doors are double glazed Anthracite UVPC with safety glass.
Overhang on two sides with remote sensor downlights.
The Completed Outdoor Nature Classroom
We caught up with Carly and the team recently to see how they are getting on since having their Cosy Garden Room outdoor building fitted.
Why did you choose an outdoor building?
There were several reasons; nature and the outdoors are a large part of nursery life and we wanted something spacious, unique and in keeping with our love of the outdoors. Another plus was that the building didn’t need planning permission so it was more cost effective and faster than a brick build/extension.Do the children and staff like the room?
They love it, it feels special to go there. They feel like they are outside when they are actually inside. The staff love it too, I love it, it is actually my favourite room in the nursery. It's given us the space we needed, and is an attractive focal point in our garden. The room has a lovely feel to it, it’s peaceful and calm. The children feel this too, they are calmer, more relaxed and concentrate better in the natural environment. It’s made such a positive impact on nursery life.Why did you choose Cosy Garden Rooms?
They were able to do everything. There were lots of options and the building was totally customisable so it could be designed to match our requirements exactly. They offer a price and quality guarantee too which gave us peace of mind.How was your experience with Cosy Garden rooms?
I can’t fault it. From the initial enquiry to the building of the garden room, it was really easy. Mark was always available, he answered all our questions and kept us informed every step of the way. The installation team were lovely, really friendly, very tidy and worked quickly and efficiently. The building was built within a week. We had a couple of snags with the building and they were sorted quickly.Would you recommend Cosy Garden Rooms?
100% we would recommend Cosy Garden Rooms. The building has made such a positive impact that another one has already been built at our fifth site that is due to open next year and we plan to add them at two more of our other nurseries.