Forest School

Black Country Living, West Midlands

Children from Rowley View Nursery School participating in the Moorcroft Environmental Centre Forest School, Moorcroft Wood, Moxley, Walsall, West Midlands, July 2011 - Paul Harris/2020VISION

Forest School

What is Forest School?

Forest School is an inspirational form of environmental education that offers children regular opportunities to learn and develop new skills through structured activities and free play in a woodland environment.

Several children who previously found it difficult to integrate with others are now more able and willing to do so. Quieter children have now found their voice in class and ask more questions and are more confident.
Steve McQuade
Mablin's Lane Primary School

Forest Schools engage with children on a regular basis in a woodland setting with the main aim being to ensure the participants benefit from their outdoor experiences, in terms of their self-esteem, behaviour, social skills and overall wellbeing. Forest School provides a different approach to learning with the key characteristics listed below:

  • Sessions are often child-led
  • Sessions happen regularly over time
  • Takes place outdoors in the natural environment, usually within a woodland
  • Takes place in all weathers
  • Led by trained forest school practitioners
  • Opportunity for risk taking

Read more about the concept of forest school and academic research

Forest school activities can include:

Making a Bogart (tree spirit) out of clay and natural materials

Shelter making and animal homes

Learning about different woodland plants and animals

Practicing lighting fires with fire steel and trying some outdoor cooking

Making a wooden name badge with tools

Natural art on the forest floor

Woodland games

We run Forest Schools at:

If your school grounds are suitable then we can come to your school to run sessions or we can work on a Wildlife Trust site near to the school.

In this programme we like students to come for a minimum of six half-day sessions. We are happy to offer more than six sessions if this is deemed to be beneficial to the children concerned.

Alternatively, we can offer one off taster days to give your children a valuable natural experience in the great outdoors.

Forest School

Contact

If you would like more information or to make a booking please contact  us on 01948 820 728 or email schools@cheshirewt.org.uk

In these challenging times our work will still continue to defend local wildlife

We can’t do this without your support so please donate what you can.
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