Forest School

Forest School Lead: Mrs Lucy Smith supported by Mrs E Bailey

The aims of the Forest School

Forest school is an inspirational approach to develop personal, social and technical skills for children in an outdoor environment. It develops confidence and self-esteem through child inspired, hands-on practical experiences in a natural setting

to support emotional regulation
to offer opportunities to develop problem solving and technical skills (e.g. woodwork).
to promote creativity
encourage risk-taking and develop resilience through experiences in a natural outdoor environment
build confidence and self-esteem through teamwork as well as leadership opportunities.

The Forest School will recognise, acknowledge and celebrate the children’s various starting points and concurrently provide opportunities to broaden and enrich their horizons.

All class visit at different points through the half term. This can include campfires and hot chocolate or a team building challenge.
Some children who find aspects of classroom learning challenging visit Forest School weekly or daily. For these children we collaborate with parents to create bespoke timetables which are reviewed regularly.

The structure of the Forest School is informed by both professional research and the context, needs and interests of the children.

Uniting the Thrive approach, Steps behavioural approach and combining with our personalised Forest School approach we have a clear approach to support individual children.