Forest Schools FAQ's

Questions

1. What are the main benefits of Forest School for children?
2. Is Forest School just for young children?
3. Is it beneficial for both boys and girls?
4. What are the advantages for the practitioner of using Forest School?
5. Is Forest School Safe?
6. Do we have to come to Bishops Wood, or can we develop our own Forest School site?
7. Do we need a forest to set up Forest School?
8. Are Forest School sites all the same?
9. Do you have to be specially trained to run Forest School
10. Can parents see what goes on at Forest School?
11. It sounds really interesting - can I help at Forest School?

Answers

1. Q. What are the main benefits of Forest School for children?
   A. There are significant personal, social and emotional benefits for the children, including increases in confidence and self-esteem. There are also potential learning advantages, including the development of language and thinking skills.
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3. Q. Is Forest School just for young children?
   A. No! The emphasis in Worcestershire has been on the foundation years, in part because of funding, and these younger children certainly gain enormously from the experience.
   
   However, all ages of children and young people can benefit from Forest School.
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4. Q. Is it beneficial for both boys and girls?
   A. Forest School's combination of freedom and responsibility is beneficial to both boys and girls - though perhaps there are some additional advantages for boys.
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5. Q. What are the advantages for the practitioner of using Forest School?

   A. It has been shown that the social and learning benefits for the children transfer back into the classroom and support learning in general. Forest School also enables practitioners to see their children in a completely different context.
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6. Q. Is Forest School safe?
   A. Health and safety issues are important, and safety procedures are very much part of the Forest School routine. These are shared with children, who learn to understand and assess risk for themselves.
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7. Q. Do we have to come to Bishops Wood, or can we develop our own Forest School site?
   A. You can do either. An increasing number of settings are developing their own sites, but last year over three hundred children used Forest School at Bishops Wood.
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9. Q. Do we need a forest to set up Forest School?

   A. Not necessarily, Forest School is a process, an ethos – it isn't just a place. Some settings have established sites in woodland, but others are very successfully using a corner of the school grounds.
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11. Q. Are Forest School sites all the same?
    A. Forest School sites will to some extent look different in different settings – but its ethos, intentions and operational features will be the same and will always reflect the guiding principles of Forest School.
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13. Q. Do you have to be specially trained to run Forest School?
    A. Yes, it is important that all Forest School Leaders are all qualified through attendance on an approved course.
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15. Q. Can parents see what goes on at Forest School?
    A. Yes, we work closely with parents and it's important that they understand what happens at Forest School – and why. Staff will talk to parents before the children start Forest School, and there will be opportunities to visit Bishops Wood before and at the end of their involvement.  Settings with their own Forest School sites will offer similar opportunities.
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17. Q. It sounds really interesting - can I help at Forest School?
    A. There is a very high child:adult ratio at Forest School, and use is made of a range of volunteer helpers – not only parents, but grandparents, students, and other friends of the setting or school. Of course, these volunteers will need to be properly briefed, and to understand the philosophy upon which Forest School is based, as well as Health and Safety procedures.
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