We pride ourselves on our enhanced provision in our early years, offering children regular opportunities to visit our very own Forest School.
Forest school is the ideal location for our children to go out and explore, have fun and learn. Forest School is an inspirational concept providing learning opportunities through practical activities in an outdoor environment.
Children enjoy the freedom to explore and experience the natural world in all seasons and in all weathers, developing an understanding of how we can care for nature.
Forest School enables our children to develop their independence and self care, as they learn to put on their own forest school suits and develop an understanding of managing risk in the outdoor environment. It allows children to develop, and extend, their vocabulary, enhanced experiences and love for the natural environment around us.
We reflect on our experiences and knowledge when finishing our sessions with a cozy hot chocolate!
We follow key principles in forest school to support our EYFS curriculum and where relevant other aspects of the KS1 and KS2 curriculum.
Forest School Principles:
Principle 1: Forest School is a long-term process of frequent and regular sessions
Principle 2: Forest School aims to foster a relationship with nature through regular personal experiences
Principle 3: Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners
Principle 4: Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
Principle 6: A learner-centred pedagogical approach is employed by Forest School that is responsive to the needs and interests of learners
Forest school is delivered weekly in EYFS and is mapped into medium term plans to ensure the key principles are fulfilled. Our children love learning outdoors and demonstrate our school values of respect, resilience, responsibility and engagement in all of their forest school sessions.