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Forest School

In 2018 we launched our Forest Schools programme.  


The Forest Schools approach enables children to explore, investigate, seek challenges, collaborate and manage risks in an environment that fosters resilience, communication and team work.

What skills are developed in Forest School?

Confidence. Children build up their emotional resilience and self-esteem through tackling small achievable tasks, and working as part of a team to achieve wider goals.

Social Skills
Children communicate, collaborate, devise and share ideas in an environment away from technology and distractions.

Risk Taking
Taking and managing developmentally appropriate risks is part of the learning process in Forest Schools, and is something very few children experience in everyday life.  

Concentration and motivation
The sessions are led by the children and their interests. This approach sustains their concentration and provides motivation to succeed and achieve. These outcomes have had proven benefits back in the classroom.

Physical skills
Children build a wide range of core muscles through climbing, building and carrying, but also improve dexterity through knot tying, threading and manipulating tools. Children gain an understanding of healthier and more active lifestyles, and take on physical challenges which many may not experience in day to day life.

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Practical skills
Tools are introduced as and when children are deemed competent and responsible and key skills are developed, linked and built upon throughout each session.

Team work
Collaboration plays a key role in Forest School sessions and activities. Children need to work with others to meet common goals and therefore essential skills such as compromise, empathy, listening and communication are being constantly developed.

A sense of wonder 
Children develop a respect and appreciation for the natural world around us, through the activities experienced and the ethos promoted.

We find that Forest School sessions builds and develops the children’s self-esteem and creates more resilient, independent and motivated learners back in the classroom.

Each session is tailored to meet the needs of the individual children taking part, ensuring that there is progression and development as each child grows in confidence, skill and understanding.

Every Forest School session is different, dependent on the children and also the season or weather, and the activities differ accordingly.

Forest School activities include:
• Den building
• Natural collages
• Sculptures
• Creating animal habitats
• Flora identification
• Knot tying
• Tree climbing

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