https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education Fri, 04 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0100 en hourly 1 https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/burton-primary-a-year-overview Fri, 04 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0100 Hannah Jones https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/burton-primary-a-year-overview Let find out how the last two terms went at Burton Primary | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/burton-primary-a-year-overview https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/staplegrove-primary-summer-term Fri, 27 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0100 Claire Nelson https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/staplegrove-primary-summer-term I wanted to let you know what we got up too… yet again lots of fun and exploring! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/staplegrove-primary-summer-term https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/ilminster-academy-summer-forest-school Fri, 20 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0100 Becky Holman https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/ilminster-academy-summer-forest-school We’ve had an exciting and productive summer in Forest School! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/ilminster-academy-summer-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/chard-under-5s-forest-school Fri, 24 Jan 2025 00:01:00 +0000 Paloma Gordon-Watson https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/chard-under-5s-forest-school Find out about what the Under 5's Forest School for, baby, toddlers and grown ups have been up to | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/chard-under-5s-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/what-can-9000-grant-do-for-a-school-find-out-here Fri, 15 Nov 2024 00:36:00 +0000 Becky Holman https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/what-can-9000-grant-do-for-a-school-find-out-here We were so excited to hear that we were able to support a school in receiving such a large grant to develop the forest school site at Churchfield School & Nursery Highbridge North Somerset. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/what-can-9000-grant-do-for-a-school-find-out-here https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/all-saints-primary-summer-a-reflection-of-our-forest-school-year Fri, 05 Jul 2024 00:46:00 +0100 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/all-saints-primary-summer-a-reflection-of-our-forest-school-year As we look back on the busy year, we can see how far the children have come. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/all-saints-primary-summer-a-reflection-of-our-forest-school-year https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-james-church-school-taunton-summer-term-forest-school Fri, 21 Jun 2024 00:26:00 +0100 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-james-church-school-taunton-summer-term-forest-school FInd out about Forest School in the Summer term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-james-church-school-taunton-summer-term-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-george-ce-va-primary-langton-matravers-forest-school-news Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:44:00 +0100 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-george-ce-va-primary-langton-matravers-forest-school-news Here Comes The Sun! Find out abut what Year 6 have been up to last half term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-george-ce-va-primary-langton-matravers-forest-school-news https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/william-barnes-primary-summer-1-news Thu, 23 May 2024 09:11:00 +0100 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/william-barnes-primary-summer-1-news Find out about the forest school in the summer term 1. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/william-barnes-primary-summer-1-news https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/uplowman-primary Fri, 10 May 2024 00:36:00 +0100 Claire Nelson https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/uplowman-primary Find out About Uplowman Primary in the last term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/uplowman-primary https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/bridport-primary-spring-2-update Mon, 15 Apr 2024 16:03:00 +0100 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/bridport-primary-spring-2-update | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/bridport-primary-spring-2-update https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-george-primary-portland Fri, 15 Mar 2024 01:41:00 +0000 Jo Childs https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-george-primary-portland Lots of learning at St George's Portland in the Spring term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-george-primary-portland https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/our-new-school-bampton-primary-tiverton Fri, 08 Mar 2024 00:47:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/our-new-school-bampton-primary-tiverton Bampton Primary New Forest School Provision! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/our-new-school-bampton-primary-tiverton https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/all-saints-primary Fri, 23 Feb 2024 00:34:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/all-saints-primary Find out about All Saints Primary Axminster during the last half term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/all-saints-primary https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-josephs-catholic-primary-forest-school Fri, 09 Feb 2024 00:39:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-josephs-catholic-primary-forest-school Firstly, a very warm welcome to all that have taken part in a Forest School session this term. It has been wonderful to join St Josephs on Mondays and great to see the children engaging with the outdoors despite the chilly weather we’ve had recently. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-josephs-catholic-primary-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/mrs-ethelstons-forest-school Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:04:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/mrs-ethelstons-forest-school Wishing you all a Happy Wintertime | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/mrs-ethelstons-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/court-de-wyck-church-school Fri, 26 Jan 2024 00:05:00 +0000 Becky Holman https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/court-de-wyck-church-school Welcome Court De Wyck Primary to our Forest School. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/court-de-wyck-church-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-james-church-school-newsletter Tue, 09 Jan 2024 17:02:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-james-church-school-newsletter St James Church School in Taunton Somerset. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-james-church-school-newsletter https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/an-awesome-term-at-lydeard-st-lawrence Fri, 05 Jan 2024 00:05:00 +0000 Claire Nelson https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/an-awesome-term-at-lydeard-st-lawrence Highlights from Autumn term | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/an-awesome-term-at-lydeard-st-lawrence https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-catherines-catholic-primary-forest-after-school Fri, 15 Dec 2023 00:01:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-catherines-catholic-primary-forest-after-school Let's find out Ash class have been up to this half term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-catherines-catholic-primary-forest-after-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-andrews-primary-chardstock-forest-school Thu, 07 Dec 2023 00:02:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-andrews-primary-chardstock-forest-school Our Forest School Leader Meg and the Children have been very busy.... | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-andrews-primary-chardstock-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/stoborough-ce-va-primary Fri, 01 Dec 2023 00:05:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/stoborough-ce-va-primary Let learn about what Year 1 & 2 have been up to this Autumn Term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/stoborough-ce-va-primary https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/meet-claire-halberton-have-had-a-very-busy-term-so-far Fri, 24 Nov 2023 00:05:00 +0000 Claire Nelson https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/meet-claire-halberton-have-had-a-very-busy-term-so-far Well, what a fantastic start to the 2023 Academic year. The sun shone and we enjoyed a few sessions of warmth! It has now definitely turned into Autumn. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/meet-claire-halberton-have-had-a-very-busy-term-so-far https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/queens-park-infant-academy-forest-school Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:05:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/queens-park-infant-academy-forest-school Meet our forest school leader Adam. I’m a strong believer in encouraging children to venture from their comfort zone. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/queens-park-infant-academy-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/burton-bradstock-bridport-autumn-term Fri, 10 Nov 2023 00:05:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/burton-bradstock-bridport-autumn-term Welcome to Autumn. Leaves are changing, Colour is amazing and we are exploring our new Forest school site. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/burton-bradstock-bridport-autumn-term https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/churchfield-primary Fri, 20 Oct 2023 00:05:00 +0100 Becky Holman https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/churchfield-primary Hello everyone! What a great start to the new term, finally we have some Autumnal weather to enjoy at forest school. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/churchfield-primary https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/wool-primary-meet-your-forest-school-leader-2 Fri, 22 Sep 2023 00:21:00 +0100 Jo Childs https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/wool-primary-meet-your-forest-school-leader-2 Jo is equipped with a wealth of knowledge and skills gained from 20 years as a primary school teacher. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/wool-primary-meet-your-forest-school-leader-2 https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-andrews-primary-weymouth-meet-ellen-your-forest-school-leader Tue, 19 Sep 2023 00:05:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-andrews-primary-weymouth-meet-ellen-your-forest-school-leader Meet Ellen your Forest School leader for Autumn term 1. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/st-andrews-primary-weymouth-meet-ellen-your-forest-school-leader https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/woolavington-primary-get-to-know-your-forest-school-leader Thu, 07 Sep 2023 16:29:00 +0100 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/woolavington-primary-get-to-know-your-forest-school-leader Meet our forest school leader Sophie. Sophie’s career background includes working in the education sector as well as being a professional photographer. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/woolavington-primary-get-to-know-your-forest-school-leader https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-term-4 Mon, 07 Nov 2022 13:05:00 +0000 Becky Holman https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-term-4 Welcome back to Autumn 2! We had the most wonderful holiday camps running at Half term in Weymouth and Devon, all busy and exciting clubs! The children made fires, explored ‘team’ den building activities and practiced using various tools, as well as creating many artworks using clay, paint and natural materials like leaves and mud! This term the Pre-School at Churchfield School in Somerset will be making new fences and boundaries for our fire circle, using mallets and freshly cut sticks. We will be talking about animal habitats, and why and where animals make their homes. We will also be cooking over our fire! It is a very exciting term! In other news….We have applied for a grant from The Somerset Gardens trust for £350 to add a seated sensory garden to our Early Years Forest school. This garden would be a fantastic adition to the mindfulness area and somewhere for the children to experience new and interesting planting areas. I am happy to inform you that we have been granted this money and are now planning the renovation of this part of the forest school. Once we have a working plan, we will be looking for parents or friends of Churchfield to volunteer to help get the works started as soon as possible so that all can enjoy the space by Spring/ summer term. I will keep you updated as soon as the working plan has been set. I would like to plant the following herbs and plants to add to our existing plants: Lemongrass, Thyme, Scented Geraniums, Lambs ear, Wrinkly kale, Wheat, Tomatoes, Green beans, Spring onions, Sunflowers, Lettuce, and Bunny tails grass and Pussy willow. I look forward to keeping you updated soon! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-term-4 https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-clubs Wed, 27 Apr 2022 18:00:00 +0100 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-clubs Brand new holiday club! This Easter holidays we had not one, two or three holiday clubs running … we had FOUR! Primary Forest school are now running four amazing holiday clubs across the South West of England at Axminster, Churchfield, Radipole and now Burton Primary School. Our brand new holiday club in Christchurch, Dorset at Burton Primary School started this Easter holidays with lots of excited new children ready for a fun packed day of activities. We enjoyed a mixture of forest school activities throughout the day, including natural crafts, bug hunting and even some great tree climbing! The children made clay hedgehogs, fairy doors and loved making hapa zome! Hapa zome literally means leaf dying, it is a Japanese printmaking technique that uses the natural pigments in the leaves and flowers to produce colourful and detailed prints, and as you can see by the photos they really are incredible! The children’s favourite time of the day was building their dens to eat their lunch in them, we were so pleased to see so many of them making friends with new children from different schools. Making dens is such a great way to encourage children’s imagination as well as teamwork and communication skills. In the afternoons we learnt how to make a fire, using flint and steel and even cooked on the fire enjoying pizza wraps one day and smores the other! As well as fire lighting we also used tools, the children used safe practice whilst using axes and knifes to prepare and cut the wood for the fire. We had some great feedback from both parents and children over the first holidays, and Miss Tabor and Miss Gale cannot wait to see everyone again in May holidays! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-clubs https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-term-2 Wed, 22 Dec 2021 20:44:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-term-2 As another term has come to an end I would like to reflect over the stuff we have been up to at forest school. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-term-2 https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-term-at-forest-school Sat, 18 Dec 2021 16:45:00 +0000 Primary Forest School & Outdoor Education https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-term-at-forest-school We have come to the end of another term of Forest School and what a wonderful term it has been. On the most part we have been lucky with the weather, but Storm Arwen and Storm Barra did bring its challenges. We were all still able to have fun, even if it may not have been in our normal forest school environment. It was not just the day of the storm, but also ensuring the sites were safe after they had happened. At a Bridport school, part of a willow tree needed to be chopped down after Storm Barra as it had blown over and was no longer safe. Autumn is such a fantastic season to partake in forest school with so many natural resources on offer. With the leaves falling from the trees we have used them in many ways from making leaf crowns to leaf rain. Pine cones were collected and pine cone birds made with a session learning about birds and migration. Conkers are also always fun to collect and can be used for many crafting activities. The conkers were saved and conker spiders were made at Halloween with spider webs from collected sticks and wool. When Bonfire night came around it was an excellent time to start talking about fire safety. We practised the Stop, Drop and Roll technique and crawling to escape a smoked filled room. Marshmallows and popcorn cooked on the fire are always such a highlight for the children and was what was mentioned most when reflecting at the end of the term. The beginning of December soon came around and with it the excitement of Christmas. It is always fun to bring Christmas into the Forest school sessions. Making reindeer from clay, painting Santa on sticks, decorations for the tree on wood cookies, Christmas songs around the fire and hunting the site for hidden chocolate coins are just a few of the fun activities. Such a great way to finish the term. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-term-at-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/the-spreading-of-joy Tue, 25 May 2021 09:28:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/the-spreading-of-joy Claire Harrison shares with us; her summing up of the first steps after lockdown and the balance that we can achieve with nature.... | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/the-spreading-of-joy https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/spring-2021-blog Mon, 15 Feb 2021 14:20:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/spring-2021-blog Emma Stephens is this half term's blogger. Find out what she has noticed around and about her Forest School site.... | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/spring-2021-blog https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-2-blog-mr-holt Thu, 12 Nov 2020 10:02:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-2-blog-mr-holt This half term, our blogger is Mr Holt. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-2-blog-mr-holt https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/september-2020 Thu, 24 Sep 2020 21:40:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/september-2020 During lockdown, we were very proud to be able to support families and schools with our FREE home learning packs – these turned out to be very popular! Some of our staff also continued provisions (in person and via Zoom) to vulnerable and key worker children. We loved working with smaller groups and helping to make coming into school still fun and enjoyable! Now that schools are back, we are able to return to curriculum sessions across the South West. We have continued to grow and now have 16 schools on board with Primary Forest School. It took quite a lot of site prep work within the first couple weeks – we had brambles and stinging nettles galore! What was nice to see is just how much the wildlife had thrived while it was quiet. We now have resident frogs, newts, caterpillars, and stag beetles across many of our sites! Naturally, our sessions have changed slightly; due to the virus. The children wash their hands before and after sessions and have access to hand-washing or sanitiser throughout the session. We are also ensuring that ‘bubbles’ use their own set of equipment and all equipment is cleaned after use. We will continue to monitor and adapt our sessions to ensure the safety of all participants. One thing coronavirus didn’t stop was the amount of fun we have during our sessions! We have now included a mindfulness activity too, (nature yoga as an example) in all of our sessions-to help children overcome the recent lifestyle changes. We have seen children engage and benefit from these activities already. While our curriculum delivery is back to normal, we are still unable to deliver after-school clubs. However, our holiday camps have been very successful and WILL continue over October half term. Please do get in contact if you are interested in these and we will do our best to accommodate. Our Team You all know how good the team are at delivering sessions but behind the scenes the team have been incredible too. We have staff dedicated to our social media and online platforms (doesn’t it look good!), staff working on planning for our sessions to be outstanding across all sites and all of our staff have gone above and beyond during a these tough times! We had a fantastic summer training day and now looking forward to our first CPD this year in a couple of weeks’ time. We are fortunate enough to learn from one another as well as use forest school trainers to continuously help us develop. We have been joined by the brilliant Aoife Thorogood this year. After attending our summer training, Aoife has settled well into the team and into her two schools in Tiverton. We are very much looking forward to see the expertise Aoife will share with the team in bushcraft and also her background as a dietician! New Merchandise We are super excited to release a new stock of merchandise to be available for children participating in school clubs and holiday camps. We have a new range of t-shirts and hoodies in 6 different colours - along with notepads, pencils, pens, tote bags, mugs, and water bottles! Our staff have also been kitted out with a new style of uniform too! And of course all of our items have been sourced and made responsibly by using eco-friendly methods and/ or materials. This Time of Year It’s time to enjoy the last of the summer sunshine and dig out the jumpers and coats. Although as Autumn arrives so does some gorgeous colours in nature. We can’t wait to for the children to witness the changes at their forest school sites as those reds and oranges start to appear! It’s also a great foraging time – blackberries and sloes are in abundance! A brilliant time to make jams or maybe a cheeky flavouring for adult drinks! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/september-2020 https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/supporting-these-uncertain-times Thu, 02 Jul 2020 13:15:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/supporting-these-uncertain-times | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/supporting-these-uncertain-times https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/brand-new-home-learning-pack Mon, 20 Apr 2020 13:29:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/brand-new-home-learning-pack Earth Day Home Learning Pack We are pleased to announce another home learning pack available. We want to thank you for all the feedback we have received it’s been amazing to see what you’ve all been up to! On Wednesday 22nd April it’s Earth day so of course the pack is Earth Day themed and includes: 5 classic forest school activities 3 maths related activities 3 Geography related activities and 3 health and well-being activities In order to receive the pack please contact us with your email address, the packs are FREE and all we ask for is your feedback on your experiences with the activities! Happy Forest Schooling | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/brand-new-home-learning-pack https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/wonderful-feedback Mon, 13 Apr 2020 13:18:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/wonderful-feedback We have sent the most incredible number of our FREE home learning packs out to the public! The response has been wonderful and it's humbling to know that we've been able to help families in self isolation during these times. Covid-19 has affected our business and we are really missing being able to work with our schools. However, the feedback that we're receiving is so lovely and we're able to see just how much fun you're all still having at home, so thank you! We've had nature modelling, crafting, bird boxes, bug hotels, scavenger hunts....the list is endless!! Let's have a look at what you've all been up to.... | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/wonderful-feedback https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/half-term-holiday-camp-at-up-lyme Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:05:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/half-term-holiday-camp-at-up-lyme Mr Holt and Miss Harrison were back for more fun this half term! With plenty of activities to keep the children occupied; we whooshed through the time! We hunted for bugs, hammered Calico, painted plant pots, climbed hills, swung on a tree swing and explored a forest..... and of course, toasted Marshmallows on the fire!! And this is only a small selection of the activities we did!! The weather held off until we went home but we still got covered in mud and had a great time! Look out for our Easter camp dates being released soon... | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/half-term-holiday-camp-at-up-lyme https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-news Thu, 23 Jan 2020 11:50:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-news We've been celebrating seasonal change over the holidays and into the new year. This month's blog is from leader Emily. The children have definitely noticed the differences in the weather and the landscapes around them. We've both enjoyed and hated the rain; along with the mud that it's brought recently! However- one thing is obvious. Our children are loving Forest School! Seeing the expressions on their faces and hearing the discussions that they are having together are priceless. Knowing that everyone is able to access something from the sessions is hugely rewarding to us and their teaching staff too. We know that there are some who find huge challenge in a different routine and timetable and some that are unfamiliar with regular outdoor activity. Communication and observation skills are areas that have rocketed within the Dorset schools over the season! We've seen the children exploring their sites in so many different ways. Realising that a muddy slope can also be harvested for building a natural land mass- realising that others before have used land for some many different purposes and making those critical links. Being outside is opening up greater possibilities and opportunities to our learners- and they don't even realise they're learning! Embracing the elements and considering surroundings motivate them and intrigue them. I'm loving learning alongside them and facilitating some fascinating developments in the process. Happy New Year everyone! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/winter-news https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/forest-school-parties Tue, 26 Nov 2019 11:28:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/forest-school-parties We are underway with our Birthday party bookings and what fun they are! This weekend, we helped Harriet to celebrate on her Grandparents' farm! it's lovely to be able to use open space this way and the children lapped up the Forest School crafty activities that we provided! Infact, one child even told us that it was 'waaaaaay better than Laser Tag!'- what praise indeed! If you'd like to book us for a birthday party, do get in touch for a quote and site risk assessment. We'll be happy to help! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/forest-school-parties https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-staff-meeting Mon, 18 Nov 2019 10:23:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-staff-meeting Meeting up this Saturday was a priceless experience for all of us. Considering we are all far flung and covering schools in Devon and Dorset; we had lots to catch up on together! Emma was the host this time and we loved sharing our practise together, with a staff meeting around the campfire! Having the chance to share skills, discuss practise and give each other feedback and advice is a rewarding opportunity. We plan to meet half termly and share a camp lunch together! The sky's the limit for this dream team! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/autumn-staff-meeting https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-camp-in-wool Tue, 12 Nov 2019 11:56:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-camp-in-wool Forest fun was had by all over half term at Wool Primary School. From three to nine years, everyone got stuck in to all activities, which included den building, using knots learnt through out the day. We made dice using Hazel poles with amazing knife skills, found Oak discs to make pendants with hand drills. Probably the most challenging and rewarding was Fire making! We can't wait for the next Forest School Holiday Club... | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-camp-in-wool https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-camp-in-up-lyme Tue, 12 Nov 2019 11:48:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-camp-in-up-lyme We had such fantastic Forest School Camp at Up Lyme for Halloween. We started with some bug hunting, Calico printing and clay model making with Miss Robertshaw, while Mr Holt helped us to carve pumpkins. After snack, we made scary creatures out of woodland foraging, explored the area all around us and even made slime! Just before lunch, we all made dens. We had to make them waterproof, which was lucky because the rain started to come down just as we were finishing! Despite this, some of us stayed under our dens and enjoyed our lunch in the dry (ish!) After lunch, we carried on with our morning sessions but now with lots more bugs to find. Some of us chopped wood for the fire and practised our fire lighting skills. Mr Holt managed to make a fire in the rain so that we could toast marshmallows (yummy!) and before we knew it, it was time to go home. We had such a great time! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/holiday-camp-in-up-lyme https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/we-are-recruiting Tue, 22 Oct 2019 10:17:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/we-are-recruiting Primary Forest School and Sports Education are now looking to recruit additional Forest School Leaders for part time and full time positions in Dorset, Devon and Somerset. Please contact our Director; Ellen Blackwood for further details. ellen.blackwood@primary-forest-school.co.uk | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/we-are-recruiting https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/tent-peg-whittling-at-weymouth-north-gold-scouts Sat, 19 Oct 2019 12:54:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/tent-peg-whittling-at-weymouth-north-gold-scouts This week, leader Emily led the Scouts in a whittling session. She began by demonstrating the safe handling and use of the tools for the evening. Some Scouts had brought their own pocket knives, so they had an assortment that they had to be confident how to use. The Scouts began by taking long 'scrapes' to take the bark and further layers off to create a point at one end. Emily later demonstrated how to carve a notch into the other end of the peg, to create a grip for guy ropes. The Scouts were very well engaged and keen to continue this activity. Some even completed their pegs by carefully carving their initial letter! With a final trial, to check that their pegs would penetrate the soil, the Scouts rounded up with some expert hall cleaning; leaving no trace of their toils! it was a total pleasure to work with the Scouts and Primary Forest School look forward to further collaborations in the future! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/tent-peg-whittling-at-weymouth-north-gold-scouts https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/staff-inset Tue, 10 Sep 2019 20:36:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/staff-inset We loved the chance to get together as a team and share our practise with each other! We had sessions in pewtering, activity planning, bumble bees crafts and mindfulness reflection with 'magic' potions! All of this was invaluable for our practise with our children. Opportunities like this; to share and reflect, will ensure that we are comfortable and confident in our own delivery too. | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/staff-inset https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/summer-fun-in-the-woods Tue, 10 Sep 2019 20:32:00 +0100 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/summer-fun-in-the-woods What a fun 6 weeks we've had in the woods; surrounded by the endless possibilities of fun and adventure! This summer, leader Emily took advantage of as many free activities as possible with her brood and friends! If you're ever in doubt about how to keep the troops entertained then the woods are for you! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/summer-fun-in-the-woods https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/easter-holiday-forest-school Sun, 17 Mar 2019 20:27:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/easter-holiday-forest-school We are running more Forest School during the Easter Holidays. Find out here what days are available and some of the activities your children could get involved with! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/easter-holiday-forest-school https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/february-half-term-forest-school Sun, 17 Mar 2019 20:18:00 +0000 Ellen Surtees https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/february-half-term-forest-school Our first holiday camp started during February Half Term ... Check out what we got up to over the three days! | Read more here: https://www.primary-forest-school.co.uk/news/article/february-half-term-forest-school