What does Forest School look like at Brill?

At Brill Church of England School, Forest School provides children with opportunities to explore, discover, take appropriate risks and develop confidence in the natural world.

Our beautiful rural location gives us a wonderful environment in which to extend learning beyond the classroom. Through regular Forest School experiences, children learn within an ever-changing natural environment where curiosity, imagination and adventure are encouraged.

Forest School enriches our Brill Horizons curriculum, providing opportunities for children to apply and deepen their learning while developing important personal qualities including resilience, independence, collaboration, creativity and determination.

Children explore, create, investigate, solve problems and learn practical skills. They experience the changing seasons, learn to use tools safely, develop an understanding of appropriate risk and grow in their respect and care for the natural world.

We head outdoors in almost all weathers. Children might find themselves building shelters, getting muddy, exploring woodland, tackling hills on a hot summer day – or, very occasionally, building an igloo!

Adventure is an important part of Forest School, but children’s safety, enjoyment and wellbeing are always at its heart.

INTENT

Our Forest School provision is designed to give Brill children meaningful opportunities to learn in, through and about the natural world.

We want children to experience an environment with different possibilities and boundaries from the classroom – somewhere they can explore ideas, make decisions, encounter manageable challenges and discover what they are capable of.

Through Forest School, we aim to develop:

• confidence and independence;
• resilience and determination;
• creativity and imagination;
• collaboration and communication;
• problem-solving and critical thinking;
• the ability to assess and manage appropriate risk;
• practical skills and safe use of tools;
• curiosity and observational skills;
• respect and responsibility for the natural environment; and
• a sense of enjoyment, wonder and belonging in the outdoors.

Forest School also gives children opportunities to experience success in different ways.

For some children, particularly those who may find aspects of classroom-based learning more challenging, the outdoor environment can provide a powerful opportunity to discover strengths, build confidence and experience achievement.

We want children to be bold in exploring, brave in facing new challenges and Brill-iant in caring for each other and the world around them.

IMPLEMENTATION

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Forest School takes learning beyond the school building and into our local natural environment.

Children experience the woodland and the journey to it across different seasons and weather conditions, giving them first-hand experiences that cannot be replicated within a classroom.

Sessions combine opportunities for child-led exploration and play with carefully planned activities and challenges.

This balance allows children to follow their own curiosity while also developing specific knowledge, practical skills and personal qualities over time.

Connecting with Brill Horizons

Forest School enriches our wider Brill Horizons curriculum.

Forest School leaders work alongside class teachers to identify meaningful opportunities to connect outdoor experiences with children’s learning.

Science and Geography have particularly natural links as children observe seasonal change, investigate habitats, encounter plants and wildlife and explore their local environment.

There are also opportunities to draw upon learning in Art, Design & Technology, Mathematics and English, alongside the wider development of communication, teamwork and problem-solving.

These connections are purposeful: Forest School is not simply classroom learning moved outdoors. The natural environment provides different experiences, questions and possibilities for learning.

Exploration, Challenge and Appropriate Risk

An important part of Forest School is giving children opportunities to encounter challenge and appropriate risk within a carefully managed environment.

Children may use tools, build structures, negotiate uneven terrain or decide how to approach a practical problem.

They are taught how to assess situations, follow safety expectations and gradually take greater responsibility for themselves and others.

Rather than removing every challenge, adults support children to develop the judgement and confidence needed to manage challenges safely.

Children learn that they may not succeed immediately – and that trying again, adapting an idea and asking for help are all important parts of learning.

Independence, Collaboration and Confidence

Forest School provides rich opportunities for personal development.

Children learn to make decisions, solve problems and take increasing responsibility for their own learning.

At other times, success depends upon working together.

Building, exploring and solving practical challenges require children to communicate, negotiate, listen, share ideas and support one another.

Over time, children develop greater confidence in their own abilities and learn that their contribution can make a difference to a group.

These are skills that children can carry back into the classroom and beyond the school gates.

Caring for Our Natural World

Our rural setting gives Brill children a wonderful opportunity to develop a genuine relationship with the natural world.

Children learn to notice changes in their surroundings, observe plants and wildlife and consider the impact their actions can have upon the environment.

Our value of Compassion extends to the way we care for the world around us.

Through repeated experiences outdoors, we want children to develop not simply knowledge of nature, but respect, responsibility and a desire to protect it.

An Inclusive Forest School

Forest School is for every child at Brill.

Activities are planned with individual children’s needs in mind and adapted where necessary so that all pupils, including those with SEND and additional needs, can participate meaningfully.

The outdoor environment provides different ways to communicate, collaborate, solve problems and demonstrate success.

Children are encouraged to challenge themselves from their own starting point, developing confidence and independence over time.

There is no single way to succeed at Forest School.

IMPACT

Through their Forest School experiences, we want our children to become confident, curious, resilient and responsible learners.

We want children to develop:

• confidence in themselves and their abilities;
• resilience when things do not work first time;
• independence and initiative;
• effective communication and teamwork;
• creative approaches to problem-solving;
• an understanding of appropriate risk;
• practical skills and increasing responsibility;
• curiosity about the natural world; and
• respect and care for their environment.

Most importantly, we want children to transfer these qualities beyond Forest School.

The child who discovers that they can persevere with a difficult practical challenge can bring that resilience back into the classroom. The child who learns to contribute confidently to a team can carry that confidence into other areas of school life.

Forest School gives our children space to explore, get muddy, take a few carefully managed risks, discover what they can do and experience the joy of being outdoors.

It is another way in which we seek to give every Brill child the wind in their sails and the opportunity to live life in all its fullness.

Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Brill-iant.