Forest School
Learning, exploring and growing together outdoors
At Daresbury Primary School, Forest School gives our children the opportunity to learn, explore and develop in the outdoors.
We are fortunate to have our own designated Forest School area within the school grounds, where children can experience nature, learn practical skills, take on challenges and work together in a safe and supportive environment.
Forest School is about much more than simply spending time outside. Our sessions encourage children to become confident, resilient and independent learners, while developing teamwork, communication, problem-solving and an understanding of how to care for one another and the natural world.
Forest School, Our Values and SHINE
Forest School brings Daresbury's values of kindness, integrity and tenacity to life. Children show kindness by encouraging and caring for one another; integrity by making responsible choices and respecting the environment; and tenacity by persevering when a challenge is difficult or a first attempt does not work.
Our learning behaviours are woven naturally through Forest School. Children practise active listening when instructions and safety guidance are shared, collaboration when they solve problems together, reflection when they consider what worked and what they might change, independence as they make decisions and take responsibility, and curiosity as they explore the natural world and try new experiences.
Forest School also supports our SHINE approach to personal development and wellbeing: Safe, Healthy, Independent, Nurturing and Engaged. Children learn to make sensible decisions about risk; enjoy active outdoor experiences; think and act with growing independence; care for and support others; and engage positively with their environment and community.
Forest School for Every Child
Forest School forms part of our children's experience throughout their time at Daresbury.
In EYFS, outdoor learning and Forest School experiences take place regularly as part of the children's timetable.
From Year 1 to Year 6, every class has a dedicated half-term of Forest School during the school year. This gives children the opportunity to return to Forest School as they grow, building on previous experiences and developing increasingly sophisticated practical, social and problem-solving skills.
What Happens at Forest School?
No two Forest School sessions are quite the same.
Children are encouraged to explore, investigate and make choices, while learning how to use the environment and equipment safely and responsibly.
- build shelters and dens
- learn knots and other practical skills
- take part in bushcraft and creative activities using natural materials
- use the hammock, slackline and other Forest School equipment
- work together on practical challenges
- develop problem-solving and communication skills
- explore and learn about the natural environment and wildlife
- learn how to assess and manage risk appropriately
- take part in carefully supervised campfire activities
- enjoy preparing and sharing food and drinks around the fire
Learning Through Challenge
An important part of Forest School is giving children opportunities to encounter challenges and work out how to overcome them.
This might mean working with friends to cross the slackline, constructing something without instructions, tying knots, building a shelter or finding a solution when their first idea doesn't work.
Children learn that it is okay to find something difficult. They are encouraged to persevere, communicate, ask for help, support one another and celebrate each other's successes.
Through these experiences, children develop resilience, independence, confidence, trust and teamwork. These experiences particularly develop our learning behaviours of collaboration, reflection, independence and curiosity, while encouraging the tenacity to keep going when something feels challenging.
Learning to Take Care
Kindness and care are important themes within our Forest School sessions. This reflects our school value of kindness and the Nurturing strand of SHINE.
Children learn to look after themselves, one another and their environment. They discuss how to use equipment appropriately, how to check that an area is safe and how to take sensible risks. Making thoughtful choices about equipment, boundaries and risk also supports integrity and the Safe strand of SHINE.
They also learn about the natural environment and the wildlife that shares our Forest School space - including visits from familiar Forest School friends such as Mr Robin!
Campfire Experiences
One of the children's particularly memorable Forest School experiences is learning around the campfire.
With careful adult supervision, children learn about fire safety and how to behave responsibly around a fire. Sessions can also provide opportunities to enjoy experiences such as toasting marshmallows, preparing hot dogs and sharing hot chocolate together outdoors.
These activities are not simply a treat. They provide another opportunity for children to practise patience, responsibility, cooperation and safe decision-making.
A Forest School Journey
As children move through Daresbury, their Forest School experiences grow with them.
Our younger children begin by exploring, discovering and developing confidence in the outdoor environment. As children get older, activities can involve greater independence, teamwork, practical skills and problem-solving.
By Year 6, Forest School is also an opportunity to celebrate the friendships and skills children have developed during their time at Daresbury.
Daresbury Forest Fest
Our Year 6 children bring together their Forest School experiences through Daresbury Forest Fest. The celebration can include bushcraft, teamwork, creativity, trust activities and campfire experiences - a memorable way to celebrate the end of their primary school journey.
The Daresbury Forest School Experience
Whether children are building, creating, problem-solving, sitting together around the fire or simply taking time to notice the natural world around them, Forest School gives them opportunities to learn in a different way. In this way, Forest School provides a practical setting in which our values, learning behaviours and SHINE approach can be experienced and applied.
