Forest School at Horncastle
What is Forest School?
Forest Schools have developed from the Scandinavian education system and is about children experiencing the natural world and learning outdoors. Children learn from first hand experiences and will develop skills like perseverance, independence and responsibility which will help to build self-esteem. These skills will also help children to achieve more when they are back in the classroom.
Benefits of Forest School
Forest School supports the holistic development of the child:
Health and fitness – being active in an outdoor, natural environment
Emotional wellbeing – being outdoors and among nature has been shown to have a positive effect on our wellbeing
Social skills – communicating, sharing, negotiating, problem solving, increased confidence
Skills development – developing fine and gross motor skills and coordination for a real purpose
Knowledge and understanding – multi-sensory, real life learning, caring for green spaces and wildlife
Personalised learning – careful observations enable adults to tailor learning around interests and stage of development
Curriculum links – Forest School supports learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and National Curriculum
And we aim to do this whilst having lots of FUN!
What does a Forest School Session look like?
A Forest School session lasts around 2 hours. During this time the children will usually have time to play some games, sit together around the fire circle and discuss what they are going to do. They will then be introduced to the activities for the session. Skills taught include; knot tying skills, tool safety and tool use, cooking on an open fire, den building, environmental art etc.
The Forest School Leader will give any safety talks and the children will choose their activity and carry out their independent learning. The session will end with another discussion altogether about what they have enjoyed and what they would like to do in their next session.
What does a Forest School Session look like?
Mrs Craigs and Mrs Wasley are fully qualified Level 3 Forest School Practitioners and will be leading the Forest School sessions. They will be helped by a variety of adults according to the activities chosen and the risk assessment and required adult to child ratio. Each Year group will take part in Forest School for a 6 week block each academic year. The session will last at least 1.5 hours each week.
