Intent

Inspire, Nurture, Achieve

We aim to inspire our children to develop a lifelong nature connectedness. Children are nurtured to practice respect for themselves, each other, and the world around them through meaningful outdoor learning experiences. Our Forest School underpins the child’s right to play; the right to access the outdoors while initiating, investigating, and maintaining curiosity through regular forest school sessions. Positive well-being and raised self-esteem are achieved through supported self-led learning.

Implementation

Children start every session with a focus on ‘staying safe within the woodland walk.’. This learning becomes embedded, and safety is discussed with the introduction of every new skill and activity that is introduced. Children build session on session, year on year, their knowledge and ‘how to’ skills with a focus on exploration and discovery, den building, working with tools, and building and lighting fires.

Through first-hand experience, children can develop their understanding of values and connection to nature. By working on projects individually or cooperatively, their resilience, kindness, confidence, well-being, and respect grow, both for themselves as well as the environment.

Opportunities to take care of the woodland walk, value, and develop the environment and its inhabitants teach the children to become global citizens and care for things beyond themselves.

By its very nature, Forest School is inclusive and of benefit to learners of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Forest School is holistic and child led. Teachers at Forest School facilitate the children’s own interests and help them to achieve their desired outcome of learning.

Children are offered opportunities to support their own learning with access to relevant reading material that supports their outdoor learning experience. This includes books on birds, minibeasts, trees, and animals.

Impact

Through connection with nature, the impact will be that children develop a lifelong respect and care for themselves, each other and the natural world. Forest School makes a difference in the following ways:

• Confidence: children had the freedom, time, and space to learn and demonstrate independence.
• Social skills: children gained increased awareness of the consequences of their actions on peers through team activities such as sharing tools and participating in play.
• Communication: language development was prompted by the children’s sensory experiences.
• Motivation: the woodland tended to fascinate the children, and they developed a keenness to participate and the ability to concentrate over longer periods of time.
• Physical skills: these improvements were characterised by the development of physical stamina and gross and fine motor skills.
• Knowledge and understanding: the children developed an interest in the natural surroundings and respect for the environment.