What is Forest School?
Manby Lodge Forest School provides our children with child-centred inspirational learning opportunities for holistic growth through regular outdoor sessions. The sessions take place weekly and are led by a dedicated Forest School Teacher Laura Wickwar who is passionate about taking children outside into nature. Laura is a fully qualified Forest School Teacher and she loves seeing the children explore and reach their full potential in our natural environment around our school.
Our Forest School sessions promote exploration and supported risk-taking in the grounds of our school. The sessions have develops confidence and self-esteem through our children having hands-on experiences in our natural woodland setting.
Through Forest school, we have seen the children at Manby Lodge develop a deep and meaningful connection to the school environment and an understanding of how a learner fits within it. Our approach to risk means that learners constantly expand on their abilities by solving real-world issues, building self-belief and resilience. We believe that risk is more than just potential for physical harm, but a more holistic thing, there are risks in everything we do, and we grow by overcoming them.
What happens at Forest School session?
During the Forest School settings, our children are encouraged to follow their natural curiosities and interest. We have seen that this builds up their confidence and their self-esteem.
Here are some of the things we get up to:
natural painting; den building; mud kitchen; woodland hammocks; woodland crafts; sensory trails and much, much more.
What to wear for Forest School
We don’t believe in bad weather but the wrong clothing! All children should wear long sleeves and long trousers, a waterproof coat and trousers and sensible outdoor footwear or wellies in the winter a hat and sufficient layers and in the summer a summer hat and sun cream. We will endeavour to go out in all weathers appropriately dressed and with shelter, we will only cancel our sessions if absolutely necessary i.e. high winds or if the weather is dangerous to the children. Learning about the weather and seasons is all part of Forest School and the children often don’t even notice the weather, playing in snow and dancing in the rain is just good fun when you are a child.