Meet Our Outdoor Nursery Team
Katriona Arnold - Nursery Co-Founder
Hidden Valley was founded by Kat, on the back of her first venture ‘creating kinder kids’, using her skills to make emotional regulation for little ones fun and engaging through workshops and holiday camps.
Kat brings over 15 years of experience in drama and musical theatre, having taught children of all ages in both educational and recreational settings. Her degree from Dramas school and background in performance means she has a natural gift for capturing children's attention and bringing learning to life through storytelling, role play, and imagination.
With a strong track record of working in outdoor settings, Kat blends creativity with nature-based learning in a way that sparks curiosity and wonder. She has a unique ability to connect with children on their level, building trust and confidence through joyful, engaging sessions.
Whether she’s leading a woodland drama game or guiding a quiet moment of reflection under the trees, Kat brings energy, empathy, and enthusiasm to everything she does. She is passionate about emotional well-being, creativity, and helping every child feel seen, valued, and inspired.
Matt Arnold - Nursery Co-founder
Matt is the co-founder and Nursery Director of Hidden Valley. What began as a patch of bare woodland has grown into the Hidden Valley Outdoor Nursery, a place where children can spend their days exploring, playing and learning in nature. Alongside Kat, he is passionate about creating an unhurried childhood filled with adventure, independence and a genuine connection to the outdoors.
You’ll often find Matt at the Hidden Valley site, although more often than not he’ll be somewhere in the background, squirrelling away on his laptop! As Nursery Director, much of his role happens behind the scenes, making sure everything runs smoothly and taking care of the many moving parts that go into running a nursery. From administration, compliance and funding to parent communication, enquiries, planning and everything in between, there is rarely a quiet moment. While the team are busy creating wonderful experiences for the children, Matt is often the one behind the scenes making sure they have everything they need to do so.
Matt’s approach to leading Hidden Valley is rooted in a unique and demanding professional background. For over a decade, he worked in the yachting industry, sailing around the world and progressing from deckhand to Chief Officer. This career developed invaluable experience in leadership, disciplined teamwork, decision-making and managing risk in challenging environments. These skills now underpin the way Hidden Valley operates, allowing children the freedom to explore and take appropriate risks while maintaining a safe, thoughtful and well-structured environment.
When he’s not at the nursery, Matt is happiest outdoors himself. He has a deep passion for adventure and wild places, with a particular love of backcountry ski touring, climbing mountains and wild camping. He is always looking for the next adventure, most recently completing a five-day, self-supported trek across Iceland.
Matt also serves the local community as an on-call firefighter at Grayshott Fire Station. The role reflects many of the values he brings to Hidden Valley: teamwork, resilience, calm decision-making and a willingness to help others. Whether leading a team in the woods, responding to an emergency or heading off on an adventure, Matt is happiest when he is outdoors, working with others and doing something that feels worthwhile.
Kaila Hamilton - Nursery Manager (currently on maternity leave!)
Kaila has ten years of experience working with children across a variety of settings, as a nanny and at children’s parties. She is passionate about supporting children as they grow, helping them to believe in themselves and to reach their full potential. It brings her joy to empower them to ask questions, make decisions and to take on a leading role in their learning journey.
One of the things she loves most about working in a forest school is seeing how the natural World sparks children’s curiosity, imagination and resilience. Whether it’s making mud pies, building dens, or spotting bugs, the outdoors offers endless opportunities for play, learning and adventure. She feels incredibly lucky to be able to share her love for nature with the children and help them build a strong connection to the World around them
Kaila feels she has truly found her dream role – one where she can inspire children while also experiencing the calm, tranquility and sense of safety that the forest brings. It’s a place where everyone can slow down and savour each magical moment. In the forest, there’s no rush; each day unfolds at its own pace, offering something new and exciting. This environment allows Kaila to shine, planning in the moment and making the most of every opportunity that arises from the discoveries and curiosity of her little explorers.
Charlotte Black - Nursery Manager
Charlotte brings over 10 years of experience in early years, including extensive experience in nursery and Forest School settings. She has progressed from practitioner roles through to senior leadership and management, giving her a broad understanding of what makes a setting work well for children, families and staff. Charlotte holds a BA (Hons) in Early Childhood Studies and is a qualified Early Years Educator, SENCO and Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Charlotte is passionate about outdoor education, child-led learning and creating an unhurried childhood where children have the time and freedom to explore, play and follow their own interests. She has a particular interest in truly listening to children and understanding them as individuals - believing that curiosity, independence, resilience and appropriate challenge all play an important role in early childhood.
At Hidden Valley, Charlotte is excited to bring together her experience of leadership, inclusion and Forest School practice with her love of the outdoors. She believes in giving children meaningful opportunities to explore, discover and develop a lifelong connection with nature, while ensuring every child feels listened to, supported and able to thrive.
Outside of Hidden Valley, Charlotte enjoys reading, hiking and seeking out good coffee spots - so when she isn't exploring the woods with the children, she is often exploring somewhere new herself!
Alice St Aubyn - Nursery Manager & Forest School Leader
With over 15 years of experience working in primary schools, Alice has always been passionate about outdoor learning and has used it as a powerful tool to engage pupils. During this time, she held roles such as PSHE Coordinator and Wellbeing Coordinator, where she focused on supporting children’s holistic development, meeting them where they are, and finding creative ways to inspire a love of learning.
For the past 5 years, Alice has worked in nurseries as both a Manager and Deputy Manager, taking on the role of SENCO in her last two settings. Inclusive education is something she feels deeply committed to, and she strives to ensure every child is supported to reach their full potential.
Two years ago, she qualified as a Level 3 Forest School Leader, which has allowed her to combine her love of nature with her teaching practice. She particularly enjoys encouraging children to take safe risks, explore their imaginations through the natural world, and develop confidence through hands-on experiences.
Alongside her love of the outdoors, Alice brings music and creativity into her practice—she sings, plays the ukulele, and makes up silly songs to engage children in learning and help them remember routines in a fun, memorable way.
Outside of work, she enjoys hiking and mountain biking with her husband and their 6-year-old, and Alice looks forward to sharing those adventures with their newest addition to the family too.
Joanna Barbey - Nursery Practitioner
Joanna has over 15 years of childcare experience. Her interest in working with young children began early, when she helped her older sister care for her children. Supporting them felt natural to her, and childcare became the clear path for Joanna once she left school.
Throughout her career, she has gained extensive experience across a wide range of childcare roles. She has worked as a sole-charge nanny, babysitter, nursery nurse in nursery settings, and has provided support for children with additional needs. Her passion for early years development led her to progress into a leadership role, becoming Deputy Manager in a private school nursery. During this time, she completed both her DSL and SENCo training.
In 2020, Joanna stepped back from work to have her daughter. Due to the COVID lockdown and being pregnant, she was unable to continue in her professional role. This unexpected time at home allowed her to reconnect deeply with the outdoors, spending many hours walking in the beautiful surroundings of Grayshott where alongside her daughter found themselves grounded by nature and its benefits.
Watching Arabella’s curiosity, exploration, and pure joy outdoors was transformative for Joanna. She felt incredibly fortunate to have that unhurried time with her - exploring, getting muddy, and simply being present. It awakened memories of her own childhood and reminded her how important free, outdoor play truly is.
This experience strengthened Joanna’s belief that all children need opportunities to be outside, to explore freely, and to engage with the world through their senses. It is now a core part of her philosophy as an early years practitioner.
Nicky Copeland - Nursery Practitioner
Nicky is a highly experienced childcare professional with over 25 years of hands-on expertise supporting families, young children, and those with additional needs. Her career spans private nannying, nursery education, and specialist learning support, with a particular gift for nurturing babies and toddlers through their earliest milestones.
Known for her calm presence, intuitive care, and unwavering reliability, Nicky has worked with families across the UK and New Zealand — often becoming a lifelong part of the children’s lives she’s helped shape. Her roles have included sole-charge nannying for newborns, twins, and children with complex needs, as well as supporting autistic pupils in SEN settings.
Nicky brings empathy, structure, and joy to every environment she enters. Teamed with a love of the outdoors and a childhood spent walking, fishing and swimming in the wilds of the west of Ireland, working with young children in an outdoor learning environment is the perfect combination of all her skills and passions
Becca Plumb - Nursery Practitioner
Becca has worked in childcare for over 15 years. She started babysitting as a teenager and realised how much she enjoyed working with children so began studying childcare to a level 3 standard while continuing to do adhoc childcare on evenings and weekends.
Upon completing her course she began working in a Montessori nursery and loved the approach of children learning to do things for themselves at a safe and confidence building level. She worked there gaining valuable knowledge for 3 years before leaving to privately nanny for 2 part time roles, one with young twins and one with two school aged children. She loved the freedom of being a nanny and being able to take the children off on adventures and grow extra special bonds with them. Although the children are teenagers themselves now Becca is still in contact with the families, something she considers a true blessing.
Beccas greatest joy in life is spending time with her daughter, whether at home around the arts and crafts table or out and about building memories together, it is truly an honour to watch her discover the world. They are often on dog walks with their 3 dogs exploring beautiful places and stopping for picnics to take it all in.
Beccas love for the outdoors comes from her grandparents who were both scout leaders, she was inspired by her nan who made a stand for women and girls and to be allowed in scouts because she had absolutely no interest in getting badges for tea making and sewing from brownies. She wanted to be den building and tree climbing, a passion Becca and her daughter now share.
Becca truly believes being outdoors with those you love is the best way to spend a day and is excited to be part of the hidden valley journey. She hopes she can bring a high level of care and nurturing to the children so they can gain the trust and confidence to explore the forest and create some beautiful early childhood memories.
Ceri Napier - Nursery Practitioner
Ceri brings warmth, creativity and a deep love of the outdoors to her work with young children. After a midlife career change in 2024, she has since worked as a forest nursery educator with 18 month to 5 year olds, supporting them to explore, play and build confidence in a natural setting whilst also working towards her Level 3 Childcare Apprenticeship.
Before moving into early years education, Ceri worked in senior management in the international development sector. She led public health and disability rights projects across a range of countries for organisations including Save the Children and Plan International. Her time working on complex projects overseas taught her to be adaptable, collaborative and deeply respectful of different cultures and perspectives - values she now brings into her work with children.
As a parent of two young boys, Ceri has seen first-hand the powerful impact of outdoor learning. She is passionate about giving children the freedom to explore, take safe risks, and develop curiosity and resilience through nature-based play.
With a love of hiking, mountain biking, splitboarding and camping, alongside interests in music, maths, poetry and storytelling, Ceri brings energy, playfulness, imagination and a nurturing presence to every session. She creates a space where children feel safe, supported and inspired to thrive - whatever the weather.
Christie Gear - Nursery Practitioner
Christie’s heart lies in working with young children. She spent 15 years teaching early years and education to adults at Sussex colleges, gaining broad experience across education and supporting new professionals entering the sector. Despite her long career teaching adults, her true joy has always been found in working directly with little ones.
Christie has experience in early years and education, where she has taught children of many different ages and backgrounds using an inclusive approach.
Alongside her early years work, Christie teaches art to both adults and children. She is known for being creative, energetic, and full of ideas, with a strong imagination and enthusiasm for creativity in teaching.
Christie is also recognised for staying calm when things get tough and being a reliable person in emergencies. She remains composed under pressure and is someone others can depend on when quick thinking is needed.
Pheobe Groes - Nursery Practitioner
Pheobe comes from a large, close-knit family and has always loved spending time caring for her nieces and nephews. After several years running craft activities for children at Stay Wild Festival, she discovered a passion for working with young children and was inspired by the energy and enthusiasm they bring.
Phoebe went on to train as a private nanny and, after caring for Freddie for a few months, was invited by Matt and Kat to join the nursery team. This role allows her to combine her love of the outdoors with her passion for supporting children’s development.
Pheobe is delighted to be part of the team and is excited to see what this new chapter brings..
Joe Butler - Forest School Leader
Joe has been a qualified teacher for over 10 years, teaching classes in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Over his career he has taught in many different schools and locations but one classroom always beats the rest: The Outdoors.
After completing his Level 3 Forest School Leader qualification in 2024, Joe has been honing his bush craft skills and getting out into the woods whenever possible. He worked at the Hidden Valley Holiday and Half-Term clubs which introduced him to this incredible setting and gave him a sense of the magic that children can experience here.
Joe has a background in residential youth work and overseas volunteering, as well as a Psychology degree focusing on childhood development. Both his experiences and studies have convinced him of the importance of allowing young children to explore nature, conduct their own investigations and learn independence through risk and play. Joe enables this by having a close, watchful eye on their safety and always being ready to attend to their needs.
When he’s not working, Joe loves to take his 2 year old son out for adventures and they regularly both come home covered in mud with smiles on their faces. Joe is a keen sportsman and loves inventing new games and challenges in the forest, whether that's a new twist on hide and seek or constructing a giant marble run. Joe believes that with the right support and encouragement, all children can find their spark of joy in the woods.
