Forest School

We love running our forest schools and love watching the people we work with thrive outdoors. We are passionate about meeting the needs of individuals, listening to them, treating them with respect, getting to know them and helping them to grow and develop.

Our sessions are run by fully qualified Forest School Leaders with PVGs, Outdoor First Aid, years of experience working with young people and usually a special skill or two up their sleeves. Sessions are child-led, meaning learners have a say in what they want to do and have freedom to choose what they want to engage with. Our team talk to children with respect and tune in to their individual needs. We plan all our sessions based on these needs and are directed by their interests.

As well as being directed by our learners we also make sure we offer opportunities to try new things and provide learners with opportunities to hone their skills and knowledge. We have leaders available to teach things like soil science, woodland craft, stop motion animation, spinning, whittling, knots, den building, campfire cooking, foraging, plant and animal id and more.

Free play is a big part of our sessions and is a key element in social and emotional development. Studies have shown that opportunities for free play are reducing for children in our society. Our forest sessions are an opportunity for children to play freely and develop their emotional and social skills with their peers. We will help children to navigate conflicts if they struggle with this sort of thing and will explain why we have boundaries and some safety rules. We have the time to explain things and work through conflict with our 1-6 adult child ratio.

We look forward to welcoming you into our little community and please get in touch if you would like to know more.

To get a deeper understanding of the ethos and evidence base of Forest School please visit the Forest Association Website where there is plenty of information about why this is so good for our kids.