Pear Tree School

Forest School

Pear Tree School

Nantwich

Cheshire

HYPERLINK "http://www.forestschools.com"www.forestschools.com

HYPERLINK "http://www.foresteducation.org"www.foresteducation.org

HYPERLINK "http://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk"www.woodlandtrust.org.uk

HYPERLINK "http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk"www.naturedetectives.org.uk

HYPERLINK "http://www.lotc.org.uk"www.lotc.org.uk

HYPERLINK "http://www.secretgardenoutdoor-nursery.co.uk/"http://www.secretgardenoutdoor-nursery.co.uk/

Useful Websites

Forest Schools

Forest School is about playing and exploring in a forest environment. It utilises the natural resources found there to enhance learning, developing a deep appreciation and empathy for nature. Forest School practitioners are highly trained to deliver quality safe learning opportunities for adults and children. The emphasis for learning is child centred and activities promote social and emotional development and well being. Practitioners skillfully identify individuals needs and preferred learning styles, planning activities that provide opportunities to enhance and develop their learning. Forest School takes place over a long period of time ensuring that the practitioner and participants have built a strong and meaningful relationship with each other and the forest.

Forest School

Pear tree school

Forest School Ethos

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Benefits of Forest School

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A Day at Forest School

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What We Do At Pear Tree

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How Forest School Enhances The Curriculum

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How safe is it?

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contents

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Forest School Ethos

Practitioners often see strengths outside that are not evident inside. Children are able to explore and develop their learning in a different environment.

Children demonstrate increased motivation and concentration as a result of spending time outside, which impacts on their learning and attainment inside.

Through Forest School children are able to develop their self-esteem by experiencing success through self-directed exploration.

Self Esteem

Children gain first hand experience of weather and the seasons as they spend time outside all year round. Their knowledge of flora and fauna widens.

Children are given vast opportunities to develop their physical strength. Navigating uneven ground and using tools all help to improve gross and fine motor skills.

Children are able to develop more complex verbal and written language as a consequence of their experiences in the forest. Their experiences inspire them to converse with adults and peers.

Children develop increased self-confidence and self-belief that comes from children having the freedom, time and space to learn, grow and demonstrate their independence.

New Perspectives

Knowledge and Understanding

Physical Skills

Motivation and Concentration

Language and Communication

Confidence

Benefits of Forest School

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Fire is another important part of Forest School. Children are taught how to light a fire safely and also how to cook on a fire. This always happens in small groups with the appropriately trained staff and relevant risk assessments in place.

Fire Lighting

Children can be taught a variety of knots to help with den, tarp and other constructions.

Learning about Knots

Each Forest School session starts with a review of previous learning this can take many forms and is linked to different learning styles. There is a reflection time at the end of each session encouraging the group to think about their learning. A true Forest School would run for a long time possibly as long as a year. The practitioner spends the first six weeks getting to know the children, making observations and identifying how the participants choose to learn. The children are given time to explore and develop their own interests. This time ensures that trust between the group is established and effective social and communication skills are developed. Other more challenging tasks may then be introduced.

A Day at Forest School

Children are given the chance to use practical skills and use tools to make objects. These objects are often taken home making a connection with the forest and home. It promotes communication skills giving the child something concrete to share with others.

Making Things

The use of tools is an important part of Forest School. But they are only used with experienced well-trained staff with a high adult to child ratio. It is vital that the practitioner has spent time getting to know the group before tools are introduced and relevant risk assessments have been carried out.

The Use of Tools

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We have been developing our use of Forest School at Pear Tree. We have created an outdoor learning curriculum that includes many of the features of Forest School. We hope to implement tool and fire lighting skills over the next year, across the school. Reception and key stage one classes take part in regular visits to the school grounds developing their curiosity in familiar and safe surroundings. Most classes take part in residential visits where they experience a campfire. Key stage two classes also make use of the school grounds and make trips to near by Milldale to experience a different environment. We strongly believe in the benefits of Forest School and learning outside.

What we do at Pear Tree

On Site Adventures

Off Site Adventures

We offer the children many opportunities to discover and experience different environments. We have access to a local Scout wood, Milldale. The whole school has made trips to this destination exploring, making dens and putting up tarps.

We have developed our school grounds to include a fire circle; wooded area, pond, orchard and we have two fabulous growing willow structures.

We regularly use the school grounds and hope to develop how we use them in the future as we grow more of our own natural resources.

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We have developed a curriculum map, which outlines how each class will experience the outdoors, and what kind of Forest School skills they will learn. We hope that from being outside children will have a context for their learning and will benefit from first hand experiences. Research shows that if children have access to a rich outdoor environment full of irresistible stimuli, contexts for play, exploration and talk, and plenty of real experiences they will perform better in other areas of the curriculum, develop better concentration, resilience and independence.

Year 1 and 2 use the school grounds on a regularly basis building on their learning in Reception.

Key Stage 2 also spends time outside using the local site of Milldale to enhance their learning. Teachers plan learning in a cross-curricula way and link outdoor experiences to other areas of the curriculum.

Key Stage 1 & 2

Red Class spends one morning a week outside, in all weathers. There is a strong emphasis on learning outside in Reception. The curriculum states that children should be given equal opportunities to learn inside as well as out. Activities are often child led but they are also exploratory and experiential.

Early Years

How Forest School Enhances The Curriculum

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Using tools and fire can cause injury if not used appropriately. Forest School has a very clear message about tools and fire. The leader demonstrates appropriate use of tools by delivering a tool talk. Tools and fire activities only happen when the leader knows the children well and there is a high adult to child ratio. Children in Norway earn a license to use a tool, which is revoked if the tool is used inappropriately.

We believe that it is important for children to take risks and learn how to manage risk. Government documentation also backs this up. Every Child Matters highlights the importance of risk taking in the development of children as life long learners. Children need challenge and risk within a framework of security and safety. The outdoor environment lends itself to offering challenge, helping children learn how to be safe and to be aware of others.

Tools & Fire

Relevant risk assessments are always carried out to assess the risk of particular activities. As part of the Forest School training it is necessary to produce a variety of risk assessments from potential risks from the site it self to tools being used.

Risk Assessments

How safe is it?

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