Outdoor Education

We are very lucky to have a Forest School that includes a woodland area, stream and meadow. Recently we have made a successful bid to the National Lottery to enable us to enhance this area further with the addition of an outdoor classroom.

We strongly believe in the benfit of Forest School as it is a long-term approach in which we hope to motivate, encourage, engage and inspire children through positive experiences out of doors.

As part of our PHSE programme children have access to Forest School.  Every class takes part once a week.  Activities include den building, stream damming, outdoor cooking and physical activities.

There is no charge for Forest School.  It would help your child greatly if they could be provided with a waterproof coat and wellingtons please.

 

	Summer Forest School – warm and sunny…	Winter Forest School – cold and wet…
YES	Light trousers/jeans T shirt Long sleeved hoody/jacket Sunhat Apply sun-cream at start of day Hayfever sufferers - take anti-histamine before coming to school Old trainers or walking boots/shoes	Old warm clothes Waterproof coat Welly boots Two pairs of socks when wearing welly boots Gloves, hat and scarf if it is really cold Several layers in the cold are better than one thick one Waterproof trousers Alternative footwear for inside wear
NO	Strappy tops/vest tops Shorts Sandals, crocs	Canvas shoes or ballet pumps

 

At Priorswood Primary School, we treat each child as an individual, helping them to develop into proactive, hard-working, aspirational and polite young people. We also have high expectations of our pupils academically and strive to help them achieve in all areas.  We achieve this by providing a curriculum that achieves excellence through inspiring curiosity and developing passion and talents.

A Forest School Ethos

Forest School is a child-centred inspirational learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It supports play, exploration and supported risk taking, which allows children to develop their confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting. This helps and facilitates more than just knowledge-gathering, it helps learners develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually. It creates a safe, non-judgemental nurturing environment for learners to try stuff out and take risks. Forest School inspires a deep and meaningful connection to the world and an understanding of how a learner fits within it. This approach allows us to create learners which can build self-belief and problem solve. We believe that risk is involved in everything we do and we grow by overcoming those risks. Forest School, therefore, helps participants to become healthy, resilient, creative and independent learners.

 

Toasting Marshmallows	Exploring
Exploring the wildlife in our pond	Making Nature Art
Exploring water	Making Damper bread

 

What this looks like for Priorswood

We offer a range of activities which allows us to create a harmony between our Schools Curriculum Intent and the Forest School Ethos. We have done this by using the 6 key areas of Forest School; Art and Creativity, Tool Work, Shelter Building, Fire Work, Team Building and Rope and Knot work. These skills have a natural progression so that children in each year can form connections and build upon their existing knowledge. Alongside these activities, we also provide children with opportunities to take responsibility for their learning through child chosen activities supported by adults. This supports our PHSE curriculum as well as allowing children to choose what activities they engage in to develop Excellence, Courage, Collaborate Service and Compassion. This allows us to create an inclusive environment where all children feel safe to learn and explore, get creative, feel welcomed and most importantly have fun.

Building Shelters	Working Together and Building Confidence
Using Tools	Cooking Paella

 

By the time they leave us

We expect each child to be thoughtful, confident, creative and resilient learners, who are inspired by the outdoors and are passionate about developing their individual talents. Children who have a thirst to fulfil their curiosity, who seek to find answers and solve problems using the skills they have learnt and the values we have taught them to uphold. We expect them to have explored a set of experiences that we feel all children have before they leave us (we are currently working on these), along the lines of the National Trusts ‘50 things to do before you are 11 ¾.

Making Bird Feeders	Taking Risks
Learning about Pulley Systems	Building Shelters