Forest School
Welcome to our Forest School
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 environment. At Owston Park Primary School we are very fortunate to have a Forest School site within the school grounds.
The Forest School experience brings learning to life and improves an individual’s ability to work co-operatively whilst offering the opportunities to take risks, make choices and initiate learning.
Forest School sessions take place in all weathers and all seasons. Children and adults must be dressed appropriately as 'there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!'. In order to stay safe in our Forest area individuals must wear:
· walking boots or wellies
· long clothing that covers legs and arms
· waterproof coat
· sun hat and sun cream on hot days
Take a look at our Forest School adventures…
Nursery children went on a bear hunt in our forest school. We had so much fun wading through the mud, splashing in the river and dashing through the snowstorm! We discovered a dark, gloomy cave and using a torch we found a bear! He loved eating the honey sandwiches that we made for him!
Nursery love Forest School!
5P used ordnance survey maps and the forest school to help us develop our fieldwork skills, understanding of coordinates and sketch maps for the forest school. We used our knowledge of topographical features and contours to develop our maps to represent our local area.
Year 2 explored the Forest School looking for micro habitats!
Nursery's bear hunt!
Year 5 took part in the RSPB's 2019 national bird watch study! We went out with classification sheets spotting and recording different birds. We have submitted our results to the RSPB website and eagerly await the findings to be published this April!
5P explored the forest school as Victorian explorers during a Halloween celebration week! Our adventures encouraged our orienteering, navigation, map drawing and measurement-taking skills. Then we followed our maps and directions to find our way back out in a Victorian 'death parade' (as Queen Victoria has done at Balmoral Castle), within which, we reflected upon and celebrated: the year so far; loved ones who have died; our accomplishments and our hopes for the coming new year. Our exploits are inspired by our research into the origins of Halloween, how the Victorians celebrated it and the Pagan beliefs of Samhain (sow-in). We've all had a very enlightening experience in the forest school!
4SM went into the forest to create their own autumnal tree rubbings for their Anglo Saxon houses
Year 2 went on a pirate treasure hunt. They worked in teams to build pirate ships and flags using sticks and natural resources! They followed the treasure map and found where x marked the spot!
Red class and Blue class read the story of the Gruffalo. They went on a story walk to find all the characters from the story. They then made homes for the mouse, so that he is no longer scared in the woods.
3C went into the forest school to explore what it would be like to return from the war as a veteran having lost our sight. We undertook different activities which built our trust in our classmates and we used blindfolds and clear instructions using mathematical terminology to guide one another. We were able to apply our mathematical skills and develop empathy towards veterans returning from the war.
