Forest School

What is Forest School?

Forest School is more than simply taking lessons outside. It is an approach to learning in which pupils regularly access an outdoor environment and develop their skills through practical experiences over time.

Pupils are encouraged to become increasingly independent, assess appropriate risks, solve problems and learn through exploration.

Activities may include:

• Exploring woodland environments

• Building shelters and dens

• Fire lighting

• Outdoor cooking

• Safe use of tools

• Natural arts and crafts

• Identifying plants, trees and wildlife

• Environmental and conservation activities

• Team challenges and games

• Developing knots and practical woodland skills

Activities are carefully adapted to meet the individual needs and abilities of pupils.

Developing the Whole Child

An important aim of Forest School is to support pupils’ wider personal and social development.

Forest School provides opportunities for pupils to develop:

• Self-confidence and self-esteem

• Independence

• Communication and social interaction

• Teamwork

• Resilience and perseverance

• Emotional regulation

• Problem-solving

• Creativity and curiosity

• Responsibility

• Awareness of risk and personal safety

Pupils are encouraged to try new experiences and recognise that making mistakes can be an important part of learning.

Learning Through Practical Experience

Forest School learning is practical and purposeful. Rather than completing every task in the same way, pupils are given opportunities to make decisions, find solutions and learn from their experiences.

For example, when building a shelter pupils may need to decide which materials to use, communicate with other members of their group, solve problems when their original idea does not work and evaluate how their shelter could be improved.

This approach provides natural opportunities to develop communication, literacy, numeracy and wider life skills.

Understanding Risk

Learning how to recognise and manage risk is an important part of Forest School.

Activities such as using tools or lighting fires are introduced gradually and taught with clear safety procedures and appropriate adult supervision. Pupils learn that risk is something that can be understood and managed rather than something that must always be avoided.

This helps pupils develop greater responsibility, judgement and confidence in their own abilities.

The Natural Environment

Forest School encourages pupils to develop an understanding of and respect for the natural world.

Through regular experiences outdoors, pupils learn about local plants, trees, wildlife, habitats and seasonal change. They are encouraged to care for the environments they use and consider how their actions can affect other people, animals and the natural world.

Where appropriate, pupils also take part in environmental and conservation activities.

Forest School and Outdoor Education

Forest School and Outdoor Education complement each other at Crosby High but have different purposes.

Forest School focuses particularly on regular, learner-centred experiences in the natural environment and the development of confidence, independence, resilience and social skills.

Outdoor Education builds on many of these skills while providing a broader range of practical outdoor experiences and, at Key Stage 4, opportunities to work towards external accreditation.

Together, they form an important part of Crosby High School’s commitment to Learning Outside the Classroom and to developing pupils academically, socially and personally.