Brockswood Primary and Nursery School

Forest School

At Brockswood we are continuously developing our Forest School on site to give children the unique opportunity of experiencing first hand, play and learning in an outdoor environment.

Forest School aims to provide children with experiential opportunities, allowing them to respond positively to different opportunities, challenges and responsibilities, to manage risk and to cope with change and challenge. The sessions are led by child interest, with hooks such as den building materials, creative materials, bug and wildlife resources, mud kitchen, digging area and opportunities to have a fire and experience cooking and tool use.

Our forest school is run by Mr Albon, who is a qualified Level 3 Forest School practitioner. Our sessions take place at the bottom of our site making use of the large wooded area and mature trees. Here the children have the opportunity to whittle wood, climb trees, build dens, cook, explore the nature around them, learn how to make a fire safely all whilst socialising with other children. 

The impact of such activities leads to increased confidence both socially and in the classroom in areas such as motor skills, problem solving and team-working and the children make memories that last a lifetime.

Principles of Forest School

  1. Forest School is a long-term process of frequent and regular sessions in a woodland or natural environment, rather than a one-off visit. Planning, adaptation, observations and reviewing are integral elements of Forest School.
  2. Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural wooded environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world.
  3. Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.
  4. Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
  5. Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners who continuously maintain and develop their professional practise.
  6. Forest School uses a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for development and learning.

Forest School therefore offers positive outdoor experiences that inspire individuals of any age and allows them to be reflective learners.

 

Forest School

Having started our forest school provision in January the children have spent their first session outdoors exploring the space, playing with friends, building dens, making use of the digging area and making their own bird feeders. Some of the classes have had their second session which focused on safe tool use.