Forest School
Forest School Fun
Every year group makes use of our Forest School area and the children thoroughly enjoy exploring and experiencing the outdoor classroom. Everyone comes back muddy but smiling, and the photographs speak for themselves!
When we created our Forest School area everyone worked together to remove rubbish from the site so that we could put in place fire pits and make sure the area was safe to use. As you can see, there was quite a lot to do!
What can we make with all this?
Autumnal Adventures
Woodland Themed Activity Day
We were delighted to welcome representatives from The Mersey Forest. The children celebrated their successful bid for a variety of trees and shrubs by planting them on the school field. The planting of these trees not only paves the way to a brighter future for the children and community but also is a step closer to the development of our Forest School.
As groups of children were busy planting trees, the rest of the school took part in Forest School activities which included; orienteering, den building, scavenger hunts and environmental art where the children produced a piece of artwork using natural resources they had collected during the day.
After such a busy morning, the children enjoyed a forest-themed lunch of campfire sausages, wood-burned jacket potatoes and hedgehog cakes. Maria, our cook, was on hand throughout the day serving hot chocolate too. All of the children and staff had a fabulous day.
Miss Gilbert and Miss Dunn launched Westminster’s Forest School earlier this year. Forest School sessions provide children with opportunities to learn beyond the classroom. The sessions offer a structured, healthy and ecological approach to outdoor learning, which is child-led. All our children have thoroughly enjoyed their Forest School sessions, taking part in a range of activities from den building, campfires, scavenger hunts, and environmental art to observing and identifying plants and wildlife.
The children all said what a wonderful day they had and are looking forward to watching the trees grow.
I am Firestarter…
On Friday 12th July 2019 Miss Dunn invited Mrs Davies, Ms Finch, Miss Gilbert, Miss Hall and Mrs Seaward to fine-tune their fire lighting skills and have an introduction to Forest School learning. This work was able to take place because Miss Hughes had put in a successful bid for funding to support the good learning that goes on during our residential trips. This meant that our Forest School Team got to sit around a warming fire before exploring the trees and hedgerows. The next step is to organise our new resources and put plans in place for our EYFS and KS1 pupils for the next academic year. Exciting times are ahead…
