Forest Schools provides children with hands on experiences in the natural environment. The aims are:

• To provide children with experiences that encourage an appreciation, awareness and knowledge of the natural environment.
• To learn to respect and care for their own local environment.
• To abide by rules and set standards of behaviour, to work cooperatively in groups and to respect each other.
• Develop children’s self-esteem and self-confidence through the setting of small, achievable tasks.
• Environmental Considerations and Conservation.
• One of the principles of Forest School is to promote environmental awareness and encourage sustainability.
• The children are taught about respect and responsibility for the world around them. Both the children and adults are encouraged to respect their environment and to be aware of conservation issues of the wild area around them.
• Encouraging children to care for the environment is an essential part of Forest Schools. In order to encourage the children to look after the site, we will always leave it tidy and never damage anything growing in it. We will only collect things that are on the ground and will leave the area as we found it when we leave.

Meghan Upton, Forest Schools Leader

Mrs Upton will lead a range of activities which include building shelters, sawing, fire building and mini-beast hunts. All activities are carefully planned for and risk assessed.

Throughout the school year, all classes will receive a sequence of lessons on a rota. They will need to wear appropriate clothing for the time of year and weather.

Forest Schools Policy