Forest School
At the heart of Forest school is valuing all learners and the contributions they make to the learning community.
There are six Forest School Principles:
- Developing a relationship between learners and the natural world that features mutality and compassion.
- Facilitating a long term programme of regular contact with the natural world that make deeper, caring nature connections.
- Working in a learner - centred way whereby an ‘equal’ learning community is developed (combination of autonomous and communal learning featuring joint decision making regarding the learning).
- Risk taking in a safe context is encouraged, enabling learners to move into their learning zones where they can manage their own risks, be they emotional, physical, cognitive or social risks.
- Developing the whole person, supporting cognitive processes and fostering creative, resilient, physically healthy independent learners.
- Learners who continually reflect on, question and develop their own learning.
The 3 simple ‘rules’ children are asked to follow during forest school sessions:
- Keep yourself safe
- Keep others safe
- Keep nature safe
