Forest School 

As part of our Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework, we are pleased to be able to offer Forest School as part of our curriculum.  Research shows that Forest School has a significant impact upon promoting positive mental health alongside essential life skills. Each year group,  from Year 1 to Year 6, have 5 weeks of Forest School sessions each year. Nursery and Reception access Forest School as part of the EYFS curriculum.  

Our Forest School lead is Sarah Coyle, supported by Mrs Hughes.

We are very fortunate to have our own Forest School provision on site. Forest School is an inspirational process that offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees. Forest School is a specialised learning approach that sits within and compliments the wider context of outdoor and woodland education.

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
•  

This learner-centred approach interweaves with the ever changing moods and marvels, potential and challenges of the natural world through the seasons to fill every Forest School session with discovery and difference.

Each Forest School session will be under pinned by the 6 Forest School principals aimed at ensuring that all learners experience the cumulative and lasting benefits that quality Forest School offers.

Our Work with Local Groups

We work closely with other local groups such as Community by Nature and  Mersey Forest to help to develop our Forest School Provision.

Community by Nature is a Liverpool based charity who aim to improve the health and well being, resilience and life chances through community learning and support, play and forest school. Our Forest School Leaders, completed their training with Community By Nature and their highly experienced Forest School Leaders come into Springwell Park regularly to deliver Forest School sessions to our children.

The Mersey Forest work with a number of Local Authorities to create a growing network of green

spaces to promote health and well being.  They work closely with Community by Nature and schools to help them to plan and develop their Forest School Areas.  We were very lucky to get a large number of saplings  and bushes such as holly and hawthorn from The Mersey Forest who came into school to help us to plant them.