Forest School
Welcome to Forest School at Kingsfold Primary School
At Kingsfold Primary School, we are proud to offer a rich and engaging Forest School programme as part of our commitment to nurturing resilient, inquisitive, and confident learners. Rated Good by Ofsted, we believe that children thrive when given the opportunity to explore, challenge themselves, and grow in a natural environment.
Forest School is an innovative approach to outdoor education that encourages children to develop resilience, independence, and self-esteem through hands-on experiences in a woodland or natural setting. It fosters a love of nature and promotes physical, emotional, and social development.
Through activities such as building shelters, identifying wildlife, problem-solving, and using tools safely, children are constantly challenged to think creatively, work collaboratively, and build resilience. These experiences not only strengthen their understanding of the natural world but also help develop essential life skills like teamwork and critical thinking.
At Kingsfold, we believe in inspiring inquisitive minds and providing our students with enriching experiences that extend beyond the classroom. Forest School complements our broader curriculum, helping children to become more confident, curious, and environmentally aware as they embrace challenges and explore the world around them.
We look forward to seeing our pupils thrive and grow in this exciting outdoor learning environment!
Our Vision
The Forest School area of Kingsfold Primary School was established in September 2023. Forest School is run by a Level 3 qualified Forest School practitioner who is also outdoor first aid trained. It is a dedicated fenced off woodland area to the far side of the field, for which we have an abundance of ideas to develop in the coming years. The Forest School is covered by the school’s Public Liability and Employer’s Liability Insurance Policy.
At Kingsfold Primary School our motto is ‘pride in all we do’. We focus on trying to find different ways to encourage our children to grow in all aspects of the word.
We endeavour to create a secure, caring environment where children can develop and thrive, where individuals feel valued, confident and a feeling of self-worth is fostered. In our school our children show care and respect for each other and the whole family feels supported and able to contribute to school life.
It is our aim to establish and maintain a happy school in a pleasant, well ordered environment, where the building and the surroundings are respected and valued, where laughter is heard and where the educational provision is of the highest possible quality, where expectations of pupils’ achievements are high and where excellence is linked to all aspects of the life and work of the school.
We are fortunate to have a fabulous outdoor space, including an outdoor classroom to facilitate outdoor learning. Plans are afoot to develop things further to include an improved outdoor area, pond dipping area and logs to climb and tunnel for the children to explore at different levels. All in all, we feel we have a beautiful setting where our children can grow and learn.
Forest School Ethos
At Kingsfold Primary we are committed to the ethos of Forest School and aim to:
Forest School helps to enhance learning, increase self-esteem, independence and risk taking. Our staff, by observing and working with the children when appropriate, will allow them to explore their own preferred learning styles while hopefully developing a love and understanding of the natural outdoor environment.
Forest School through careful planning of activities aim to:
- Promote positive behaviour
- Create independent and confident learners
- Ensure a secure, exciting and fascinating learning environment
- Promote children’s self-esteem
- Fulfil every child’s potential
- Provide appropriate adult to child ratios to benefit children from all year groups.
Principles of Forest School
There are six key Principles which are fundamental to the Forest school ethos and are used to ensure good Forest School practice. They are as follows:
Principle 1
Forest school is a long-term process of frequent and regular sessions, ideally in a woodland or natural environment. Planning, assessing, observations and adaptation are all key parts of the Forest School process as this feeds back into the program and supports the children’s learning, ideas and development.
-Our Forest School sessions will take part weekly and will start with a hook for the children to explore and develop their understanding of the outdoor environment.
Planning will then take place weekly and will be based on the children’s ideas and interests.
Principle 2
Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world.
-Our Forest School sessions will take place on the school field which has been developed into a small wooded area within our school grounds. As the site is new we will be working closely with the children to think about how we could improve/develop our area whilst maintaining and ensuring we have little ecological impact on the site itself. We aim to use natural resources within the site area that are sustainable and manageable.
Principle 3
Forest Schools offer learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
-Our Forest School will promote the understanding of risks in a safe and manageable way so children feel they are able and willing to take the appropriate risks when they want or need to.
Principle 4
Forest Schools aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confidence, independent and creative learners.
-Our Forest School will aim to promote the physical, social, emotion, cognitive, spiritual and linguistic skills of the child.
Principle 5
Forest School is run by qualified Forest School Practitioners who continuously maintain and develop their professional practice.
-Our Forest School will be run by Miss Ward who is due to receive her Forest School qualification level 3. She is outdoor emergency first aid trained
and will follow all the relevant policies and procedures to safely run a forest School session.
Principle 6
Forest School uses a range of learner centred processes to create a community for development and learning.
-Our Forest School approach will consist of a play-based approach using ideas from the children to support planning and resourcing of the area. The Forest School Leader will ensure all planning/resources are ready and up to date and support the children in developing their ideas.
