At Dr South’s, we have an absolute commitment to the fundamental principles of Forest School, as we believe this way of working develops children beyond the learning found in the National Curriculum. We follow this approach in many areas of the school, most notably in our weekly Forest School sessions for children in Key Stage 2.
Forest School is the name of a specific ethos – a way of working with people in an outdoor natural space for an extended period of time. Our Forest School teacher, a qualified practitioner, carefully facilitates programmes which are uniquely tailored to the needs of the individuals within the group and have the fundamental aim of building participants’ self-esteem, confidence, independence, resilience and creativity. The name does not refer to an actual place; it refers to the philosophy, but we have the privilege of having access to The Jacobs’ Field in Islip, where the children access the outdoors in a safe yet challenging space.
Our intention is that the work done at the field builds aspects of the children’s character and personality in a way that is not possible within the confines of the classroom; they will be challenged to take risks, aim high, sometimes fail, but ultimately build on those experiences to develop the skills needed to succeed in later life.
Aspects of many other curriculum areas are also covered at Forest School (eg physical geography, use of tools for art, design and technology, the study of plants for science). The learning in these areas is tracked carefully and contributes towards the subject assessments made for each child. Please see the Forest School section for Oak and Beech classes to locate this learning.
Further information about Forest Schools can be found here (external site):