Through a child’s eyes: A tour of Elmwood

Welcome to Elmwood: the fictional neighbourhood at the heart of our stories. It’s a place where your child can grow up alongside a cast of companion characters, each navigating her own path through friendship, play, and growing independence.

This guide introduces the physical world of Elmwood - the real and imagined spaces that shape your child’s daily life. These are the streets, playgrounds, and tucked-away corners that give meaning to our stories and context to your child’s development.

Why does this matter? Because the environment shapes what your child can become. Elmwood offers your child the chance to experience the full richness of childhood. With a brook to dam, a climbing frame to conquer, a library to explore, and a hollow oak to hide inside, she is free to move, think, create, and connect.

In Elmwood, no one grows up lopsided. Your child isn’t reduced to her scores or her talents. She becomes well-rounded, happy, and secure - not because she’s been pushed to do it all, but because the world around her has offered her the freedom to try everything, amongst friends, with joy.

The Green

At the centre of Elmwood is The Green - a large open space where everything seems to happen. The children learn through movement, negotiation, and imaginative play in an environment that invites them to take the lead. There’s:

• A playground. Designed for different ages and abilities, encouraging risk-taking, collaboration, and physical confidence.
• A bridge over the brook. A favourite spot for Poohsticks and early scientific reasoning - testing flow, speed, and cause and effect.
• Willow trees. A shady spot for picnics and small-group play, where stories unfold beneath the branches.
• The Hideout. A stand of trees at the far end, where older children disappear into secret worlds, learning how to self-organise and build shared narratives.
• The stocks. A relic of Elmwood’s past that now sparks curiosity and humour - and a favourite target for sponge-throwing at the annual school fair.

On Saturday mornings, parents gather at the picnic benches with flasks of tea while the children explore. At other times, The Green is a backdrop for chance meetings, quiet discoveries, and grand adventures.

Walker Brook

Skirting the edge of The Green is Walker Brook, a shallow stream that meanders through a line of trees. Children splash in the shallows, dam the flow, or collect natural treasures. They learn to ask questions, notice patterns, and experiment with materials in a way that feels like play but lays the foundations for scientific thinking.

You might spot:

• Yuki. Lining up sticks and naming each one.
• Sam. Testing the strength of his latest dam.
• Ben. Watching the ripples in absolute stillness.

Walker Brook is a place of both noise and quiet - sometimes a flurry of activity, sometimes a sanctuary.

Witch’s Oak

Elmwood has its legends too. On the edge of the cricket ground stands Witch’s Oak — a vast, hollow tree that seems purpose-built for hiding and storytelling.

Children dare each other to go inside. "She only comes out after dark," they say. "But if you say her name three times..." No one ever has. Probably.

It’s a place for myth-making, risk assessment, and building a shared culture through whispered stories.

The Victory Tree

At the far end of The Green stands another oak, The Victory Tree - wide at the base and split into two trunks, just wide enough for your child to stand between.

Every race ends here. Every invasion game. First one there wins. Touch the trunk and you're safe. Even the youngest child knows the rule. It’s as much a ritual as it is a destination - helping your child understand rules, fairness, and shared traditions.

The neighbourhood: where the children live

Elmwood is made up of distinct little pockets, each with its own character. Most of the children live in The Lakes or Ten Acres, two adjoining areas on either side of The Green.

The Lakes is a grid of Edwardian streets named after lakes in the Lake District.

• Coniston Lane. Ben lives here in an upstairs flat.
• Windermere Road. Home to Yuki and her multigenerational household.
• Derwent Avenue. Where Raj’s flat backs onto a shared garden and treehouse headquarters.

The Lakes is close-knit and lively, with alleyways between gardens and a constant hum of activity. Children here learn independence in safe spaces - slipping between houses, negotiating shared resources, and navigating small-scale freedom.

Ten Acres, by contrast, sits on a steep hill. Built in the 1930s, it’s made up of pebble-dashed semis with hedges, garages, and steep driveways.

• Waterfall Gardens. This is where Alice and Sam live - partway up the hill, with the school at the top and the park at the bottom.

Ten Acres is where scooters gather speed, where sledges fly in winter, and where your child learns to climb without stopping. The hill itself becomes a lesson in persistence.

Local characters

Children don’t just learn in school. All around Elmwood, ordinary adults contribute quietly to their education. The corner shop becomes a place to practise counting coins and working out change. The lollipop man’s sign means ‘Stop’ - a symbol childern recognise long before they can read. In the allotments, on the bus, and in the café, they learn how the world works, one small interaction at a time.

Educational settings

Elmwood offers a rich tapestry of educational experiences, reflecting the choices many real families make.

Diana Preschool serves children aged 2 - 5 with a creative, project-based approach. Named after the famous Diana School in Reggio Emilia, Italy, it combines expressive, child-led learning with the structure of a mainstream setting. Inside, you’ll find documentation panels celebrating your child’s ideas and walls lined with open-ended materials. Director Jenny and teachers Miguel and Sarah create an atmosphere of gentle guidance, where curiosity leads the way.

The Children’s House offers a contrasting experience. Named after Montessori’s original Casa dei Bambini, it’s a calm, ordered space with mixed-age groups working independently with beautiful materials. Guides Mr. Thomas and Ms. Imani respect your child’s pace and protect long stretches of focused work. Several Elmwood children attend here, and we often follow them as they move between environments.

Waterfall School, the local primary, sits at the top of Ten Acres. It balances academic expectations with a belief in childhood wonder. Headteacher Mrs Bennett believes that rigour and creativity belong together - and it shows in everything from the forest school sessions to the annual Eisteddfod, a festival of music, poetry, and performance that spans generations.

Why this world matters

Elmwood isn’t just a setting. It’s how we bring developmental theory to life.

Every story begins with a moment that feels familiar - a child lining up her toys, refusing to put on her coat, asking the same question for the fifteenth time. But it doesn’t stop there. You’ll learn the theory behind the moment.

It’s not enough to watch Yuki squeal with delight when her Poohstick appears on the other side of the bridge, we look at what this means for her understanding of trajectory and object permanence and where it all leads.

When Alice finally climbs the rope ladder she avoided all term, we unpack what that tells us about her confidence, her vestibular system, and her growing sense of mastery.

You don’t have to guess. With StoryChild, you’ll understand your child’s what drives your child’s interests and how to support them.

Elmwood may not appear on any map, but you’ll know it when you see it - because it’s the neighbourhood you’ve always hoped for, where childhood unfolds and where you, as a parent, gain the understanding to walk alongside it.