Forest School at Phoenix may look a little different to what you would typically expect. Within our urban environment, we desperately sought to provide our children with an experience of nature and develop a love for our natural world. 

The area in which we have developed offers a variety of experiences to our children, more of a Biome area than a woodland, yet still offering similar experiences to those offered in Forest School. 

What is Forest School?

Forest school is essentially outdoor, nature-based learning that focuses on the holistic development of the child.  It is a regular, long-term process, rather than a one-off lesson. In forest school, activities are provided, but rather than being adult-led, each child chooses and tailors the activity to suit them, while we observe their preferences and development. 

Children learn to assess, appreciate and take risks, making sensible, informed decisions about how to tackle the activities and experiences they encounter. They  learn to be self-sufficient and take care of themselves, which boosts their confidence and self-esteem. Through trial and error they learn to deal with failure and develop the resilience to keep trying: a vital skill in the classroom as well as outside.

Forest school ties in with many areas of the National Curriculum. For example, being outdoors year-round helps children learn about weather and the seasons, which are part of the programme of study in geography, studying mini beasts and plant life relates to the science curriculum, and working on tasks like den building and woodwork links with design and technology

Children also benefit from the simple act of being outdoors. Research has shown that it improves mental and spiritual health, communication skills and social relationships, among other things.

At Phoenix, we are continuing to develop our own woodland setting so that the children may benefit from all that Forest School has to offer. Your child will have a Forest School session every two weeks. They will be working outside in small groups. All years will take part in the Forest School from EYFS upwards. We will go outside in all weather except extreme storms, following the mantra “there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing”!

What should my child wear?

As Forest School is very muddy and wet (even when it isn’t raining) please make sure your child comes suitably prepared. It is important to have waterproof outer layers also. We are able to provide some waterproof clothing if your child does not have their own.

It is important that your child has wellies (with their name in) as well as a dry pair of shoes to change back into at the end of the session. Muddy boots are messy to wear inside so children will change into their dry shoes after their session for their comfort and the cleanliness of the school. We have a selection of spare wellies in school but we encourage all children to keep their own pair of wellies in their class cloakroom at all times for easy access. 

It is likely that the coats and shoes that children go out to forest school in will become wet and muddy. For this reason, we advise against wearing very expensive clothing on forest school days.