Forest School
Forest School is an inspirational process that offers ALL learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees.
Forest School is a specialised learning approach that sits within and compliments the wider context of outdoor and woodland education.
This ethos is shared by thousands of trained practitioners across the UK and beyond. Its roots reach back to early years pioneers in outdoor learning and across the sea to Scandinavia.
This learner centred approach interweaves with the ever-changing moods and marvels, potential and challenges of the natural world through the seasons, to fill every Forest School session and programme with discovery and difference. Yet each programme does also share a common set of principles, aimed at ensuring that all learners experience the cumulative and lasting benefits that quality Forest School offers.
How Forest School Works At Ash Hill Primary School
We are very fortunate to have a large area of woodland behind our school – in Gomm's Wood. The Chiltern Rangers have developed a designated area for Forest School lessons to take place which has been fully risk assessed.
In order to deliver a high quality Forest School experience we work in partnership with Chiltern Forest School: http://chilternforestschool.co.uk/
This means that we have an allocated Forest School Leader from Chiltern Forest School who leads sessions for Years 1-3, alongside the support staff that usually work with the children in their classroom setting.
At Ash Hill the annual programme for Forest School is as follows:
Year 3 – Autumn Term
Year 2 – Spring Term
Year 1 – Summer Term
For Forest School sessions the children work in a smaller group of 15 and are out in the woods from 12:30 until 3pm.
Parents are informed by letter detailing when their children will have Forest School and will also be given a kit list for their child. The children are asked to come to school with their Forest School clothing in a named carrier bag on their allocated day.