Chipping Hill Primary School

A Forest School develops by individuals in a setting becoming qualified Forest School Practitioners. Initially projects run from a school’s own grounds allowing the children to become comfortable with an outdoor approach to education and play whilst in familiar surroundings. Allowing relationships based around trust and self-exploration to develop with the Forest School Leaders who start to facilitate a more child led outdoor curriculum when the group are ready they familiarise themselves with the route to the forest area. The group will then have their introductory sessions, exploring the site establishing physical and behavioral boundaries.

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Once a group are established in the woodland and routines are set up the project develops through a child led approach with opportunities for projects being taken back to the indoor setting to be continued.

 

Each Forest School site is unique; designed to meet the needs of the group and to fit the environment the children will be working in.
The site will be constructed in a clearing or cleared area of the woodland, this way will keep the children as safe as possible whilst giving opportunities to explore and discover other areas of more dense ground flora, such as brambles and overhead hazards. Children will grow stronger physically, become more balanced and coordinated.

 

The site will range in complexity from no fixed features to a fully constructed, specially designed areas for hygiene, creative art, tool use, fast games, throwing games, water collection, flora monitoring amongst other ideas.