Forest School with primary partners

This activity uses the natural wooded environment at Reading Blue Coat School (RBCS) to encourage young people to be curious and play in the outdoor world around them.

Aims

Our Forest School is based on six basic principles:
1. Regular sessions
2. Access to outdoor space
3. Child led (letting the child guide their own learning)
4. Risk taking (learning about taking risks and managing them effectively)
5. Qualified practitioner (the sessions led by a trained Forest School Leader)
6. Promoting holistic development (resilience, confidence, independence)

The primary partners linked to this activity have limited outdoor space and no access to a wooded area in their schools.

The immediate beneficiaries are the primary school pupils who experience Forest School. Opportunities are available for RBCS students to volunteer to assist with activities.

Background

The potential of this activity was identified by the Deputy Head Pastoral at RBCS. Other partnership work with primary partners confirmed the problem of suitable spaces.

Resources

Currently, an external Forest School leader is contracted to provide these sessions. In the future, a member of RBCS staff will be trained as a Level 3 Forest School leader. All sessions are risk assessed and take place on the RBCS site.

Impact

An initial trial of the Forest School took place between October and December in 2024. Twelve pupils took place in regular sessions. Feedback was excellent with all pupils having a very positive experience.

Pupil Involvement

The volunteers to assist with sessions are students in Year 11, 12 and 13.

Frequency

The success of the initial trial has allowed us to identify the need to train a Forest School leader and roll this out to a greater number of primary partners on a more regular basis.