Watch: What is Forest School?
A video from The Forest School Association
Forest School embraces the outdoors as an inspirational learning environment.
It is focused on the child’s learning needs rather than specific outcomes.
Children are able to explore & experience the natural world on a regular & sustained basis.
- Forest School provides a unique way of building
confidence and self-esteem, learning new life skills and promoting
independence through hands-on learning experiences
- Forest School
programmes are child-led – areas of interest are generated by the
children or young people participating. This is achieved through
observation and reviewing, which helps practitioners prepare for their
following sessions
- Forest School sessions take
place regularly, ideally once a week, throughout the year, in all
seasons and all weathers – unless it is dangerous for the session to
take place, such as in extreme weather (high winds or lightning)
- Many Forest School
projects successfully integrate the school curriculum whilst following
the interests of the group or individuals. This is achieved by
considering the curriculum in an enabling outdoor context, using
learning and teaching strategies which raise confidence and develop
communication skills
- Where Forest Schools excel is in supporting the individual. The Forest School
ethos acknowledges individual learning processes and supports
participants at their own pace, and responds to their requirements and
areas of interest. It encourages individuals to build up to a point
where they feel they can push their own limits both physically and
emotionally. Forest Schools provide a safe yet challenging and stimulating environment full of sensory diversity
- At Forest School
the participants are actively involved with how the programmes develop.
This makes experiences relevant to them and has a direct effect on
motivation, causing the learning experience to be more
emotionally-involved and the learning then rooted more deeply .
Forest School principles