Binley Woods Primary School 

Forest School 

Intent 

Forest School is an inspirational learning experience, which offers our children opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in the natural environment within our school grounds and in Brandon Wood which is adjacent to the school.

Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners.  It also offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.

It is important to us that we develop within each child a love of their local environment, specifically the woods so that they are motivated to look after it for future generations. 

At Forest School all participants are viewed as:

• equal, unique and valuable
• competent to explore & discover
• entitled to experience appropriate risk and challenge
• entitled to choose, and to initiate and drive their own learning and development
• entitled to experience regular success
• entitled to develop positive relationships with themselves and other people
• entitled to develop a strong, positive relationship with their natural world

Forest School aims to foster a relationship with nature through regular personal experiences in order to develop long-term, environmentally sustainable attitudes and practices in staff, learners and the wider community (Forest School at Binley Woods involves parents and The Friends of Brandon Wood).

Friends of Brandon Woods have been supportive of our endeavours to become a Forest School and have cleared a space and created a seating area in Brandon Wood for our young learners to take part in Forest School work. 

They have also supported us with some funding so that we can get the project up and running,  Their financial support has helped us to purchase equipment and outdoor clothing for the children so that we can run Forest School all year round.  Huge thanks to them - we really value working in partnership with them to develop our children's love of the woods, which we hope will help protect the woods into the future.