Forest School with two local partners
St Joseph's in the Park have hosted two schools at our Forest School.
Children, Staff and Volunteers from Essendon Primary School came to St Joseph's In The Park to experience and Outdoor Education Opportunity. The morning session included, Art activities, Den building, Whittling, camp fire and a leaf investigation.
The Year 5 and 6 children from Hertford St Andrew's were invited to take part in a creative writing / Forest School event using our woods as a stimuli for writing stories. The children worked in mixed school groups to write a plan for a story entitled "Lost in the Woods." After the writing session and lunch the children were able to undertake different Forest School activities including den building.
Aims
The aim of this partnership activity was to share our wonderful grounds with local schools who do not have direct access to woodlands of their own to use, developing and sharing best practice and ideas in a Forest School setting. Using our accredited staff to lead the activities allowed colleagues from our partner school develop and share their ideas and practice.
To support their enjoyment and enrichment of the curriculum offered. These opportunities have included Forest School, Art, Outdoor Education and Sporting Activities.
The children's engagement and enjoyment of the activities is the key success. Learning and experiencing new skills, challenging themselves in a 'new' and exciting environment.
The main beneficiaries of the partnership are the children who come and use our facilities and work along St Joseph's In The Park staff and children. Parents and volunteers who also come and take part with the children develop good working relationships with Staff from local schools and St Joseph's In the Park.
Background
Theses Partnerships have been in place for a number of years. Children have visited to take part in different activities to support their enjoyment and enrichment of the curriculum offered. These opportunities have included Forest School, Art, Outdoor Education and Sporting Activities.
The Partnerships are part of a wider program put it place for local state schools to come and use the facilities and curriculum expertise within our staff team.
Resources
Critical to the success of the partnership events are the staffing / skills / and curriculum time available to offer schools like Essendon Primary the opportunity to come and take part in different activities. The use of the school minibuses and drivers, school buildings and the Woodland area allows us to offer a diverse range of experiences.
This activity was run by One teacher and the use of three minibus drivers working along staff and volunteers from Essendon Primary.
17 children from Years 1 and 2 plus 6 staff were welcomed t the school.
A financial contribution was not required - all associated cost were met by St Joseph's In The Park.
Impact
The anecdotal evidence shows us the children both enjoyed and gained some valuable experiences from the session - asking when they could come back.
Email from Essendon Class Teacher
"Thank you for organising today for my class. They've all said they've had the best day ever!
Here are some photos from our visit today. Please let me know if you need anything else.
Please thank the Forest school teacher too for the activities he prepared and spending the morning with us.
Thank you,
Class Teacher
Essendon C of E (VC) Primary School
Pupil Involvement
There were 17 Children, mixed gender from Year 2.
Frequency
This event is one of a number of events organised during the school year.
