What is Forest School?
Forest School is an inspirational process, that offers ALL learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a natural environment - taken from the Forest School Association website.
Forest School is run by a Level 3 qualified Forest School Leader and works with small groups of children with a high adult to child ratio. It is ideally run on a long term basis (weekly) for a minimum of 6 weeks. Forest School is a child led programme where children get to learn about and manage risk, allowing adults to make observations in order for them to scaffold their learning carefully.
Forest School can be planned to link in with topics being taught back at school, offering more independent activities and free space to think, play and develop. Forest School allows children to be children and to be able to play in order to develop their self esteem! Forest School involves an understanding of how children learn and supports them to build confidence, resilience, independence and creativity.
Forest Schools originated in Europe in the early 20th century as a way of teaching about the natural world. By the 1980s it became part of the Danish early years programme. It is a long-term child-led, educational process that promotes, observes and explicitly supports the social, emotional and physical development of children, young people and adults in an outdoor, preferably woodland, environment - taken from the Forest Education Initiative website.
Forest School at Alburgh with Denton:
At our school we are very lucky to have Level 3 trained Forest School Leader - Kelly Francis. She has completed the training, practical assessments and observations to be qualified to run Forest School sessions. She has also undertaken an Outdoor First Aid qualification alongside this.
We were very fortunate to have a wonderful piece of woodland offered to us to use just a short walking distance from the school, which has proved perfect. It is Miss Francis' responsibility, alongside Mrs Sonnex (Head Teacher) to ensure the site is safe to use and that all safety procedures and risk assessments are undertaken regularly and adhered to.
We are now in our 5th year of offering Forest School sessions to every child throughout the school.
Please see the School uniform page to read about clothing needed for Forest School.
Comments from Parents and Children:
"E has built dens with people in his class that he doesn’t naturally play with. They have had to co-operate with others and discuss things rather than argue on the football pitch! It allows the older children to learn through play like they do lower down the school."
"I think Forest School is very good for the kids, getting them to mix in different groups of friends and the mix of boys and girls. Kids need to be able to to be free to climb trees etc without all the health and safety that stops them doing things like that nowadays."
"I have found that my child wants to spend more time outside now."
"H has loved Forest School, it is the most I ever hear about school! Having been to a forest school session I can see that it is a fantastic ‘fun’ learning opportunity. They are solving problems, working in teams, learning to discuss things and role-playing without realising it."
"It is fun learning. It has helped me do better knots. Miss Francis helped us. It makes me feel happy. It is nice because everyone gets on well and it should carry on."
"As a parent helping out at Forest School I have seen how the children enjoy being outside and having the freedom to play and work together."
"A is much more keen to be outside now at home. He has enjoyed making dens and for a child who would spend his whole time on the computer or in front of a telly it seems to have opened his eyes to the natural environment around him. A fantastic experience!"
"Every Monday morning S is excited about going and when I pick her up from school she is always 'full' about what she has done. I've definitely seen a more confident S when in groups since Forest School."
"A has really grown up in the last couple of weeks, his attitude and mannerisms have changed. He's a lot more confident and talks about Forest School and what he's done, as normally we struggle to get him talking about class work."