Forest School

We are delighted to have our own dedicated Forest School adjacent to our woodland play area. This is used every week and during the year all children have the opportunity to experience a six week session run by a qualified Forest School Leader, Mrs Vicky Patient). The ethos reflects the whole school vision at St Lawrence CE School.

“We believe that every child is a ‘Child of God’ and made in His image and as such is entitled to be loved and nurtured and will achieve excellence. Creativity, teamwork and independence are fostered and risk taking is encouraged. We are proud of our rich history and excited about preparing children for the future.”

Our Forest School programme offers a learner-centred approach where children are challenged and inspired to learn through independent self-directed play and exploration, boosting their self-esteem, curiosity and their empathy for others and the natural world. During sessions in our lovely site, we aim to provide a range of activities to develop knowledge and skills and provide opportunities for play.

“There’s no bad weather, just unsuitable clothing” (Wainwright, 1973)

Forest school takes place in all weathers. However, before each session, the Forest School Leader conducts a dynamic assessment of weather conditions to determine what provision should be made to run the session safely and comfortably for all participants. At any time, at the Leader’s discretion, the session may be cancelled or ended at short notice. e.g. if there is a risk of falling branches in high winds. All children and adults are required to wear appropriate clothing (incl. footwear).

Further information is in our St Lawrence Forest School Handbook.
A copy is available in the school office.

Forest school online resources

The following websites are packed full of ideas for you to do at home for a little bit of Forest School while we are apart.

Kent Wildlife Trust – conservation and nature information and activities.

Click on the Things to Do section or the Get Wild at Home section for lots of inspiration!

https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/

Muddy faces (one of our kit suppliers) have a great outdoor activity hub. Activity suggestions are broken down by category (e.g outdoor play, art etc.)

https://muddyfaces.co.uk/activity/

Kew Gardens & Wakehurst Place have developed some family friendly outdoor activities to do at home.

https://www.kew.org/learning/learning-at-home/family-fun-activities

PECT (Peterborough Environment City Trust) is an environmental education trust and consultancy that champion eco-education in schools.

They have published this lovely Nature’s School project filled with simple mini activities. All free to download

https://www.pect.org.uk/projects/natures-school/

For those of you who have access to Facebook, the following Forest school educators are uploading lovely content most days:

Forever Green Forest School (also on YouTube & Instagram)

Bright Sparks Forest School

Rooted Forest School

The Breathe Project Wiltshire ( & Instagram)

LtL Outdoor Learning and Play for parents educating at home

(Please be aware that St Lawrence has no moderating / admin access on any of these groups!)