At Forest School we have a respect for our children and their natural ability and desire to investigate, explore and understand their world around them. Therefore every session is different as it is guided by the interests and needs of each individual in the group.
At Forest School we believe that children have a right to play, a right to access the outdoors – particularly a woodland environment, the right to access and manage risk in the vibrant natural world around them, the right to experience a range of healthy emotions through social interaction building resilience and relationships as well as the right to a range of learning opportunities to reach their full potential. Children are encouraged to direct their own learning, developing a sense of self and promoting self esteem.
The Forest School Leader facilitates learning by stimulating ideas, involving themselves in sessions and not just directing, scaffolding learning and gaining an holistic understanding of individuals to inform further development at forest School and within classroom learning.
Forest School focuses on the process of learning- how children learn, not just what they learn. Children are not confined to a learning outcome but are given the reins to lead their own learning. This provides our children with an understanding of how they learn best, confidence in their abilities and ability to think for themselves. These skills become embedded over time and are taken back with them to the classroom.
Each Forest School session consists of –
- Meet and greet
- Getting ‘kitted up’ in appropriate clothing and footwear
- Taking responsibility over equipment checks and transporting it to the site
- Safety briefing and hazard awareness
- Group game to encourage safety awareness and social skills
- Activity offered
- Snack around the fire (community time)
- Free exploration time
- Community time to reflect and plan for the future
So how can Forest School benefit children?
- It creates a desire to explore, question and learn which is transferred back into the classroom.
- Children will learn to think for themselves, take responsibility for their actions, learn to calculate risk and show improved self confidence.
- Children will be encouraged to become more active and healthy.
- Children show increased emotional awareness of themselves and others through social interaction.
- Increases self awareness
- Increases communication skills
- Allows children to understand others and work as part of a team
- Increases social skills
- Encourages independence
- Forest School is all encompassing and allows for a greater understanding of each individual.
