Forest School

What is Forest School?

“A Forest School is an innovative educational approach to outdoor play and learning.
The philosophy of Forest Schools is to encourage and inspire individuals of any age through positive outdoor experiences.” (www.forestschools.com)

All children at Ashperton participate in Forest school sessions during the year.They visit a local woodland site with one of our level 3 trained Forest School leaders. Here they have the opportunity to learn about the natural environment, how to handle risks and most importantly to use their own initiative to solve problems and co-operate with others.
We visit the forest in all weathers (except high winds) and the children use tools, play, learn boundaries of behaviour; both physical and social, establish and grow in confidence, self-esteem and become self motivated.

Forest school aims to develop:
• Self Awareness
• Self Regulation
• Intrinsic motivation
• Empathy
• Good social communication skills
• Independence
• A positive mental attitude, self-esteem and confidence

Children need time to thoroughly explore their thoughts, feelings and relationships.

This time and reflective practice develops understanding of the world, the environment and everything within it through the use of emotions, imagination and senses.

The skills and knowledge developed at Forest School are then transferred back into the classroom and applied to different areas of learning.