Forest Schools is not a place, not an individual lesson, it’s a philosophy.

Our Forest School involves activities within the school grounds as well as engaging with the local wildlife and countryside. Forest School is essential for our children’s spiritual and social development. Our weekly sessions give children the time and opportunity to connect with nature, themselves, with others and with God in our natural world. Forest schools is different from outdoor education because it is a long-term, sustainable approach to learning which builds children’s self-esteem, confidence, independence and well-being through the exploration of, and experiences in the natural world. It is not just a one-off outdoor activity with specific objectives in mind, it is a set of regular visits to a particular outdoor area where children can develop personal, social and other skills which have been proven to enhance their learning.

Our children begin each Forest School (Green Zone) session with a prayer and end with a reflective session.

What happens at Forest Schools?

Every session starts with a prayer and ends with spiritual reflective time – being thankful to God for all that he has provided. Each week the groups will change into their appropriate Forest School clothing and venture out to one of our Forest School sites. Games are played and small achievable tasks are set, such as collecting natural materials and building shelters from sticks, rope and other materials. Under careful supervision, the children will also be introduced to a range of tools such as sheaf knives, billhooks, bow saws and loppers (which the PTA kindly provided funding for). These tools present the opportunity to make objects such as mallets, tent pegs, picture frames and more. Children will also learn about fire and outdoor cooking. Group tasks and team-building activities will be regularly undertaken to encourage social interaction and communication, and the levels of challenge will be adapted according to abilities. Although there is no prescribed list of activities at Forest School, many National Curriculum targets will be met through the Forest School programme, particularly RE, PSHE, Science, PE, Maths, Literacy and Geography. Themes of study can be brought into sessions and developed back at school.