Forest School

Rationale for Forest School at Dringhouses

Forest School is an educational process, that offers ALL learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees.

Forest School is a specialised learning approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland education. Its roots reach back to early years pioneers in outdoor learning and across the sea to Scandinavia.

The Forest School programme at Dringhouses Primary School encourages and inspires children (EY and KS1) to experience, explore and learn about nature in our forest environment. They are often challenged by our ever-changing weather conditions; developing knowledge and real awareness of the seasons.

Aims of Forest School at Dringhouses

We aim to provide our children with the exciting opportunity to love, appreciate and value the importance of protecting our beautiful, natural environment. At Forest School all children are viewed as:

• equal, unique and valuable

• competent to explore & discover

• entitled to experience appropriate risk and challenge

• entitled to choose, and to initiate and drive their own learning and development

• entitled to experience regular success

• entitled to develop positive relationships with themselves and other people

• entitled to develop a strong, positive relationship with their natural world

Forest School learning at Dringhouses is achieved through the following:

• using a natural environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world (the wildlife area at the bottom of the field, the local pond, Howsham Mill & Gilling Castle). We sometimes visit Goddards (NT).

• using a range of learner-centred processes to create a community for being, development and learning.

• promoting the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.

• offering learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.