Forest School

Here you will find information regarding the curriculum for Forest School. For more general information, including our Forest School principles, please click on 'School information' and click on the 'Outdoor Learning and Forest School' tab. 

Wychwood Primary School – Forest School Vision Statement

Intent

Forest school at Wychwood’s provides leaners with the opportunity to explore different surroundings outside of the classroom, promoting experiential learning in a stimulating, inspiring and enriching outdoor environment. Forest school promotes safe risk taking, independence and self-awareness for all leaners as well as developing communication skills, resilience and team building skills. Forest school underpins our core ethos; promoting positive role models, encouraging the use of rich vocabulary and learning to respect and be responsible for our world.

Implementation

At Wychwood’s, children in FSU and KS1 benefit from weekly timetabled forest school sessions in our on-site woodland.  Trained staff deliver these sessions.  The focus is on developing the child as a whole, in an enabling natural environment. Through practical activities, children develop in such areas as resilience, confidence, self-esteem, imagination and independence.   It is the adults role to lead by example, observing the child initiated learning and being the catalyst to further their possibilities. We believe that forest school allows the opportunity for children to access an unlimited learning potential.  Skill and knowledge progression overviews are available for leaders to use and refer to when planning to ensure that children are given the opportunity to build on and develop acquired skills as they move from FSU to Year 2.

Impact

Through regular forest school sessions our children develop the following skills:

• Improved physical development
• Understanding of and connectedness to nature

Learning walks and pupil interviews demonstrate the skill progression through the year groups and the importance place on using a rich and varied vocabulary.

• Fire Skills Progression
• Forest School Curriculum Links
• Forest School Yearly Progression
• Structures and Den Building Skills Progression
• Tools Skills Progression
• Knots Skills Progression