Forest Schools
Our Forest School Leader
is Mrs Hyett
We run a Forest Schools programme for children in Years 1-6 run by our Forest Schools Leader. Reception children have a weekly ‘welly walk’ throughout the year as an introduction to the Forest Schools programme.
Forest School provides holistic (whole child) learning opportunities which are focused on children’s interests in a woodland environment.
These outdoor learning opportunities help children to:
- Improve confidence, resilience and creativity –
- Improve physical wellbeing and motor development –
- Improve empathy, social skills and build a sense of community –
- Give an insight into the natural world and help children build connection with it –
- Take risks in a supported way –
Learning opportunities are learner led, giving them opportunities to pursue their interests and develop a range of practical skills e.g. using tools for crafts.
Sessions are based on long-term observation & guidance from leaders
Children are encouraged to develop a sense of personal responsibility for their choices, actions and for the world around them.
As it takes place in all but the most extreme weather, children develop resilience and stamina!
Living & Fulfilling our Christian Vision in Forest Schools
Rooted in Faith; Enriching Young Minds
‘Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop- a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’
(Matthew 13 Verse 8)
Our parents and carers entrust us with the most precious of gifts in their lives- their children. It is our responsibility to take this most precious of seed and provide them with the best opportunity to grow as individuals and to learn how to contribute to the wider communities they belong to.
We believe that a broad and balanced curriculum, and the daily life and work of our school, provides the deep and fertile soil. This is needed by our pupils, the seeds, to enable them to put down roots for stability, warmth for support and nutrients (knowledge and skills) to flourish.
As the early shoots of growth begin to appear, the individuals in our care not only need a fertile soil but also need the right additional conditions to truly reach their full potential and to prepare them to fulfill their life in the wider world to which they belong. This enrichment is provided through a curriculum where first-hand and real life experiences and opportunities are at its heart. This enrichment enables our children to learn, develop, retain and apply their newly learned knowledge and skills from, and to, the world around them.
By the end of their journey with us, if we have been successful, our seeds will have grown in to strong, flourishing and caring individuals ready for their next stage of learning and will increasingly use their strength, knowledge, skills and love to support and benefit others to flourish- If achieved, this will in time produces a crop greater than that which was originally sown.
Christian Vision in Forest Schools