We are well into our second year running timetabled Forest School lessons for years 6-9 and seeing our site develop and change over the different seasons. Come rain, snow, frost or shine we are outside participating in different activities to support pupils social, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, creativity and independence skills. Pupils particularly feel the benefit of being outside with regard to their mental well-being and emotional regulation as it offers an area of calm and opportunity to connect with nature. We are fortunate enough to have a large site with a variety of trees, grassland, vegetation and birds which we can explore and use for different activities.
Some highlights from this academic year so far include; mud painting, creating leaf mandalas, using magnifying glasses to look at the ice crystals on a frosty day, getting crafty with natural materials, themed scavenger hunts with additional challenges, a STEM egg drop challenge, making frames and Remembrance poppies by learning some knots, monitoring our Forest School bird camera, shelter building challenges, making bug hotels in teams (Yr 9) and themed cooking over the campfire.
Our future goals are to make sensory beds to attract more pollinators and build a wildlife pond to create a habitat which could be studied in our sessions.
Such is the success of our Forest School that we will be offering a Level 1 qualification to pupils going into Key Stage 4 which will also incorporate D&T skills and a further appreciation of nature and the benefits of being outdoors.
Celebrating Earth Day in our Forest School
Our Forest School is bursting into life with blossom, fresh leaves and beautiful spring colours which gave us the perfect setting for a throwback to our Earth Day learning on the 22nd of April.
Students loved being out and about, working in pairs to search our site for 16 carefully hidden statements containing small actions we can all take to help our planet. They then sorted them into themes:
🌬️ Clean air
🦋 Looking after wildlife
⚡ Saving energy
♻️ Reducing waste
🌬️ Clean air
🦋 Looking after wildlife
⚡ Saving energy
♻️ Reducing waste
We shared thoughtful discussions as a group and finished by creating some lovely acrostic poems celebrating Earth and how we can care for it.
A huge thank you to Mrs Nottage, our wonderful Forest School leader for creating such inspiring, meaningful experiences that bring learning to life outdoors.
It has been a busy half term in our new Forest School with year groups focusing on different things and enjoying activities and time outside!
Year 5/6 have been working with natural materials to create Autumn wreaths and birds. They have also made birdfeeders to help look after the birds in our lovely site.
Pupils in year 9 enjoyed looking at nature closely and finding some interesting wintery things, while year 8’s listened to the birds during some mindfulness.
All pupils started to learn about using saws safely so they can make items such as bird boxes and hanging feeders for the wildlife in our Forest School area.
The year 7’s were also very excited to be joined by our friendly Robin who came for some food from our feeders and a nose at what we were doing!
Spring has sprung at our Forest School and it is looking beautiful! Pupils have spotted bluebells, blossom and the growth of leaves and plants.
Before Easter pupils took part in an egg hunt but to make it more challenging each egg had a different activity and pupils evidenced this by using the school phones to take photos. Activities included ‘find a stick as long as your arm’, ‘create a picture of your favourite animal with natural materials’ or ‘look at the clouds – what animal can you see?’
To celebrate Earth Day we have been doing lots of activities to help look after our Forest School site such as collecting materials to make a bug hotel (yrs 5/6), litter picking, making a log pile for insects, making raised beds to plant sunflowers and bird feeders. Well done everyone!
We have had a very successful first year of Forest School and pupils are benefitting from the different ways in which it can support their social, emotional and communication skills as well as their appreciation of the outdoors and nature. In a recent survey completed by pupils in years 5 – 9, the most frequent words they wrote to describe their experience of Forest School were that it is ‘fun’ and it makes them feel ‘happy and calm’.
All years finished the year with our first ‘Forest School games’ – a mixture of individual, team and group events to develop team building, communication skills and fine and gross motor skills, and cooking baked apples and marshmallows over campfires. During Activities Week years 8 – 10 even had a go at making calzone from scratch, cooking it over the fire and eating it with their friends…it was a big hit!
