Speen School is a recognised Forest School Provider by the Forest School Association, with fully qualified Forest School trained staff. We believe that every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability or circumstance. We utilise two forest school sites, one within the School grounds and an area of woodland, a 10 minute walk away. We offer all children from Little Apples Pre-School through to Year 2, weekly Forest School sessions, rain or shine.
What our parents say about our Forest School provision:
Outdoor learning transforms learning. It’s also a brilliant opportunity to utilise the beautiful outside areas that Speen School and the village are so fortunate to have.
I was a regular Forest School helper, so saw first-hand, how it helped with confidence building and understanding of the world, as well as improving children’s gross motor skills.
I think Forest school is an amazing opportunity and the children all benefit from it.
It’s my daughter’s most favourite day of the week. The children learn so much and enjoy every muddy second!
Forest school gives children the time, space and opportunity to learn through first- hand experience within a woodland setting. It gives them the chance to develop their curiosity, respect, self-esteem and confidence. It is based on an understanding that children have an innate capacity to instigate, test and maintain curiosity in the world around them. Speen School gives all the opportunity to play and create in the vibrant reality of God’s beautiful world. Through Forest School the children experience a healthy range of emotions, face the challenges and joys of social interaction, assess risk, and build a resilience that will enable continued and creative engagement with their peers and their potential. The Forest School (FS) ethos is based on six principles:
xxx
There has been a growing interest in Forest School in recent years, linked to a concern that children’s outdoor play is limited and in decline. The development of Forest School in Britain in the mid-1990s, is based on a Scandinavian idea that children’s contact with nature is extremely important from an early age. Nursery Nursing students from Somerset visited Denmark in 1993 to look at the pre-school open air culture ‘friluftsliv’ (open air living). Forest School spread to many areas as educationalists recognised the impact that it can have on children: ‘Learning by head, hand and heart’ Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
