Forest School
We aim to give children and practitioners a shared understanding of the ethos of a Forest School experience. This powerful approach enables young children to build on their innate motivation and positive attitude to learning, offering them the opportunities to take risks, make choices and initiate learning for themselves.
The Forest school learning environment provides opportunities for children to develop self-esteem, self-confidence, to form positive relationships with others, to develop a growing awareness of their emotional needs and the needs of others, to learn to cooperate and work with their peers and adults and to develop strategies in order to take risks within the boundaries of safety.
Forest School is about exploring and experiencing the natural world through practical activities. The children go out in all weathers, all year round, exploring and learning from the seasons and environment changes. The children’s interests along with the varied natural resources in our woodland are used to stimulate creative thinking, problem solving and skill development, all in the guise of play.
“This is the best kind of classroom,
It’s a journey through time and space, From the smallest seed to the largest tree, This is a Forest and a learning place. This is the best kind of classroom, Where the seasons don’t happen in books. Where the learning is watching and thinking and talking And everyone notices, everyone looks.”
From ‘The Best Kind of Classroom’ by Ian MacMillan
Environmental Considerations and Conservation
One of the principles of Forest School is to promote environmental awareness and encourage sustainability. The children are taught about respect and responsibility for the world around them. Both the children and adults are encouraged to respect their environment and to be aware of conservation issues of the woodland around them. The aim is to promote respect for wildlife, which will be achieved through detailed session plans, evaluation and careful reference to our woodland management plan and ecological impact assessment. If appropriate, reclaimed, recycled and sustainable resources will be used to maintain and develop our forest school site.