Archive for 2020

Autumn 2 Blog.

Posted by Ellen Surtees on November 12th 2020

This half term, our blogger is Mr Holt.

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September 2020

Posted by Ellen Surtees on September 24th 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!

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Supporting these Uncertain Times

Posted by Ellen Surtees on July 2nd 2020

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BRAND NEW HOME LEARNING PACK!

Posted by Ellen Surtees on April 20th 2020

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

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Wonderful Feedback!

Posted by Ellen Surtees on April 13th 2020

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....

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Half Term Holiday camp at Up Lyme

Posted by Ellen Surtees on February 26th 2020

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...

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Winter News

Posted by Ellen Surtees on January 23rd 2020

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!

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