Forest School

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Welcome to the Warren Hills Forest School page. 

 â€œThis is the best kind of classroom, It’s a journey through time and space, From the smallest seed to the largest tree, This is a Forest and a learning place. This is the best kind of classroom, Where the seasons don’t happen in books. Where the learning is watching and thinking and talking And everyone notices, everyone looks."

From ‘The best Kind of Classroom’ by Ian MacMillan

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Remember, if your child is taking part in Forest School, they will need suitable old clothing, waterproofs and wellies in school at all times. Thank you

Here at Warren Hills, we love Forest School. We see it as a way to get outside and be with nature.

Forest Schools have been in Europe since the 1950's and in the UK since around 1995 when a group of lecturers and students from Bridgewater in Somerset visited a Danish Forest School and brought the principles back with them. Through experiencing this holistic approach to learning in a natural setting, children were seen to grow enormously in self-esteem and independence through playing, exploring and ‘having a go’ at all sorts of activities.

Forest School is a long term programme delivered by trained practitioners within a natural environment (not necessarily a Forest!). Our programme is tailored to meet the needs of the children as they grow in confidence, skills and understanding. The ethos of Forest School allows learners the time and space to develop skills, interests and understanding through practical, hands-on experiences. It also allows practitioners to step back and observe the children in order to then encourage and inspire individuals to achieve through careful scaffolding and facilitating.

We have 2 trained practitioners at Warren Hills; Mr Burrows and Mrs Macdonald. Between the 2 practitioners, , all children in Key stage 2 and Rainbows have accessed Forest Schools. There are plans for all children, including Nursery to have access in the future.

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What do we do at Forest school? We play, climb trees, dig in the mud, jump in puddles and learn new skills such as knot tying, fire lighting, and tool use. All activities are risk assessed prior to the children taking part, and our 2 Forest School practitioners hold Outdoor First Aid Qualifications. The children get a great deal of satisfaction mastering new skills and appreciate the trust we invest in them to use tools and fire safely. A lot of the skills we teach can be classed as life skills and require focus, determination and resilience in order to master them. The children can then apply the principles learnt outside to situations inside.

Important information for parents. Please ask if you are unsure of anything.

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Staff Inset day 23/4/19

We held an Inset day for staff at school. They learnt about the philosophy behind Forest Schools, how to light a fire, and how to link outdoor learning to the work they do in class. They also created a village for the fairies who live in our Forest School area. It was a great day, with lots of laughter and team-building!