Forest Schools
Forest School provides children with an environment and a set of skills centered in bushcraft, tool use and knowledge of the natural world which allows them to develop holistically. The purpose is entirely about building the whole child: self-esteem, confidence, emotional resilience, fine and gross motor skills, communication skills, social skills, spirituality, self-respect, respect for nature, self-awareness, spatial awareness, risk awareness, creativity – the list goes on. Research shows repeatedly that children who attend forest school on a regular basis not only develop in this holistic manner, but their academic performance also improves.
Through teaching the children a range of bushcraft skills, along with small tool use and knowledge of trees and plants, they then continually inform the planning of sessions with the main focus on play and imagination – the freedom to be a child.
Key Curriculum Documents