Forest Schools


Our Aim 

 As with the physical education sessions across our federation, we aim to ensure a high-quality forest school experience is offered to our UKS2 children in order to inspire all our pupils to succeed in physically-demanding activities.  

Our lunchtime forest school sessions provide opportunities for our children to become physically confident in a way which supports their health and fitness. Children are offered the chance to use tools, work individually or in groups to cook, build shelters or take part in many other seasonal activities, and given space to explore our amazing forest school areas, all of which are key to building a child’s character and help to embed values such as fairness and respect in our children. 

In order to provide our children with a rich, broad and balanced physical education experience and to fulfil the requirements of the outdoor adventurous activity curriculum, our children are offered daily forest schools sessions with a trained member of staff, Mr. R. Stokes. 

The national curriculum for physical education and progression in outdoor and adventurous activities aims to ensure that all pupils:  

  • develop competence to excel in a broad range of physical activities  
  • are physically active for sustained periods of time  
  • engage in competitive sports and activities  
  • lead healthy, active lives.  

Our quality forest school sessions are delivered following the six key principles that shape and govern the forest school ethos. Forest school is unique in its reach, delivery and effect, and varies from traditional adventurous training in its approach. 

Agreed by the UK Forest School community in 2011, these six principles are: 

  1. Forest School is a long-term process of regular sessions, rather than one-off or infrequent visits; the cycle of planning, observation, adaptation and review links each session. 
  2. Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural environment to support the development of a lifelong relationship between the learner and the natural world. 
  3. Forest School uses a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for being, development and learning. 
  4. Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners. 
  5. Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves. 
  6. Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners, who continuously maintain and develop their professional practice. 

Whatever the weather, our children can use one of our well equipped on-site forest school areas to work on their skills, confidence and self-worth. Whenever possible we walk to local forested areas to improve our outdoor experience, where the children use the skills they have learned in their sessions to grow in both their individual ability and within friendship groups. 

Working and playing in these fantastic areas helps to improve our children’s knowledge of their wider environment, and of their role in its protection and upkeep for future generations.