The aim of St Clare’s Forest School is for all pupils to experience working in nature and developing their knowledge and skills in an outdoor setting.
They will have the opportunity to
• Work in the natural world
• Explore life and growth
• Have opportunities to be imaginative and creative
• Develop their social, emotional, physical and language skills.
Forest School is a holistic approach. The open-ended nature of Forest School sessions enables the children to learn at their own pace and become independent learners. It is a perfect example of child-initiated learning.
They will have the opportunities to be creative learners in many different ways and use the skills they gain and their own ideas during the sessions.
The children will not only get to work in our environment, but they will also get to learn from it and learn how to care for it.
Sessions will take place throughout the year; parents will be informed in advance when it is time for their child to take part in Forest School sessions and permission for them to join in will be sought. Information about Forest Schools will be on the school website for parents.
The children will take part in a series of session over a number of weeks. Each session will be carefully planned by the Forest School leader. The sessions may start with some games in groups or teams, following that there will be an activity the children can take part in. There will be an opportunity to have some time around the fire and have a snack. During each session the children will some ‘free time’ where they can play in and explore safely the Forest School site. There will be opportunities during the sessions to work in groups, as a class, individually. They can develop their team building skills to complete challenges and show their creative and imaginative sides. One of the most important skills children need to build is resilience. By challenging the children complete problem-solving tasks, working together to find solutions to challenges they will build that necessary resilience. All children regardless of their ability will be able to join in with the sessions. Depending on the age of the children will depend on the challenges and activities they will encounter.
During the sessions the children will be learning how to take on challenges and manage risk, all whilst supported by the adults working with them. As the children become more familiar with the Forest School sessions, they will begin to learn what they are capable of and trust their instincts. They will learn from each other.
During the Forest School sessions the children will learn about the sustainability of the Forest School site, how we can look after it and how we can make sure the site will be available for future use.