Forest School
All our children take part in Forest School during the school year. Our Nursery, Reception and Year 1 children take part in Forest School every week. A change of clothes is essential! Year 2 - 6 take part in Forest School and outdoor learning throughout the school year. This develops further with our Year 5 children taking part in their Camp Out Experience and our Year 6 children take part in their Residential.
We work with the Forest School Education team from Kent High Weald, who provide their trainers to work with our staff and children to provide the Forest School curriculum.
Principles of Forest School
- FS is a long-term process of regular sessions, rather than a one-off or infrequent visits; the cycle of planning, observation, adaptation and review links each session.
- FS takes place in a woodland or natural environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world.
- FS uses a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for being, development and learning.
- FS aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.
- FS offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
- FS is run by qualified Forest School practitioners who continuously maintain and develop their professional practice.
At Forest School all participants are viewed as:
- equal, unique and valuable
- competent to explore & discover
- entitled to experience appropriate risk and challenge
- entitled to choose, and to initiate and drive their own learning and development
- entitled to experience regular success
- entitled to develop positive relationships with themselves and other people
- entitled to develop a strong, positive relationship with their natural world.
6 Principles of Forest School