What is Forest School?

Forest Schools originated in Scandinavia in the 1950s as a way of teaching about the natural world. By the 1980s it became an integral part of the Danish early years programme. It became clear that these woodland based activities helped develop children's confidence, self esteem and teamwork skills. Ideally children go on weekly or fortnightly expeditions to woodland areas and engage in activities like building dens, making camp fires and exploring.

In 2002 a seminar was held to assess the national interest in Forest Schools in the UK. As a result of this, a Forest School network was created. This is growing fast in both England and Wales. Already two Local Education Authorities use local Forest Schools regularly as part of their childcare provision. There are now over a thousand trained leaders using hundreds of sites across the country.

A study in 2005 concluded " .. the benefits for all the children who took part were significant - they all saw great improvements in their abilities to listen and communicate. I don't know what it is about an outdoor environment, but away from the classroom they become lot more relaxed. They are taking risks and this gives them confidence."

As Forest Schools grow around the country, so here too things are progressing. Since Spring 2005, we’ve worked with children from schools and youth organisations, ranging in age from five to fifteen. Time spent has varied from a one off day to ten days spread over a term.

The range of activities has included shelter building, fire lighting, cooking over the fire, boiling water with a storm kettle, making items from green wood with a shave horse and pole lathe, problem solving, trails, hunts and plenty of games! The base camp has been easily identifiable by our wonderful parachute.

We now have a small team able to meet the growing demand for Forest School locally.