Wild Place Forest School
Wild Place Forest School is an innovative educational programme and our philosophy is to use woodland to inspire children and young people, motivating them to learn through fun, inspirational and hands on activities with plenty of opportunities to succeed.
“Forest School is an inspirational process that offers children regular opportunities to achieve, and to develop confidence and self esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a local woodland environment”
Forest Education Initiative
Click on the links below to see the answers to some frequently asked questions:
What is Forest School and what do you learn?
Forest School is a fun and innovative educational programme that is currently becoming more common in the UK. It uses visits to woodland, on a regular basis, to inspire children and young people, making learning fun and teaching them about the natural world. Some children really struggle to learn at school so this is a good opportunity to learn in a different way, to get excited about finding out new things and also learn social skills and confidence. Often they behave better when they return to school and find it easier to concentrate.
Wild Place Forest School programmes are bespoke to your requirements and all sessions can be linked to the National Curriculum, be it science, numeracy, literacy or art, and compliment the Every Child Matters outcomes.
What age children are you working with?
Forest School is suitable for children of all ages, although it is usually associated with nursery-aged children. Wild Place wants to make Forest School available for children of all ages, particularly those who are in the transition stage between primary and secondary school.
How long will the sessions last?
Children will visit WildAbout for a morning or afternoon once a week for 6 to 10 weeks, whatever the weather or season.
What sort of activities with they be doing?
Activities include firecraft, den building and animal tracking as well as playing games and making things in order to discover more about the woodland environment. All these activities are aimed at encouraging children to interact with the woodland and also improving their ability to learn, share and get on with other people. All the activities can be linked to the National Curriculum and encompass other outcomes that address the social and emotional aspects of learning.
Is it like bushcraft? A bit like Ray Mears and Bear Grylls?
There are elements of bushcraft, like lighting fires and whittling with knives but there are also a lot of creative activities and games that are designed to develop a greater understanding of both the natural world and ourselves.
Is this safe?
Yes. Jackie is a trained teacher and a trained Forest School practitioner and, with over two years’ experience of this kind of work, she is well equipped to guide people on their adventure in the great outdoors. An environment of trust and responsibility is encouraged before children are given more challenging tasks and they are supervised at all stages.
Jackie has a paediatric outdoor first aid certificate and all activities are risk assessed. The woodlands are checked for safety every day, before any activities take place.
Is there a conservation element to forest schools?
Yes, definitely. We think that if children are able to experience a beautiful natural space, like the woodland at Hollywood, then they will better understand why it is important to save similar places both here and abroad. They will also learn a lot about all the plants and animals that live in the woodland at Hollywood and will be able to transfer their learning to other environments.
Are Forest Schools for me?
Wild Place Forest School is suitable for all ages and backgrounds and each learning programme is bespoke to your requirements. Forest School has been shown to have a positive impact on children’s behaviour and attitude towards learning. Wild Place works with you to set targets for the children to work towards and to achieve.
Where do WildAbout Forest School sessions take place?
Wild Place uses our beautiful, secluded, private woodland on the Hollywood Tower Estate on the outskirts of Bristol, just off junction 17 of the M5. It is no more than 30 minutes from the centre of Bristol and offers a truly magical and wild experience.
How much does it cost and how often should we do it?
Half day session: £150
Full day session: £200
In order to benefit fully from this innovative education, programmes should be at least 6 sessions long, with a preference for 10 sessions.
For maximum impact these sessions should be weekly.
Contact Jackie Roby to discuss your individual needs or to request a sample Forest School programme.
