Queensway Primary School

The process helps and facilitates more than knowledge-gathering, it helps learners develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually. It creates a safe, non-judgemental nurturing environment for learners to try stuff out and take risks. Forest School inspires a deep and meaningful connection to the world and an understanding of how a learner fits within it. Our approach to risk means that learners constantly expand on their abilities by solving real-world issues, building self-belief and resilience. We believe that risk is more than just potential for physical harm, but a more holistic thing, there are risks in everything we do, and we grow by overcoming them. Forest School therefore, helps participants to become, healthy, resilient, creative and independent learners.

At Queensway, Forest School provides learning opportunities for children to grow and achieve through practical activities in the outdoor environment. Children enjoy the freedom to explore and experience the natural world, in all seasons and weathers. All learners are at the heart of everything that we do, and learning is initiated by the child. Forest School creates a world where children are believed to be competent to choose and drive their own learning and development at a pace which is appropriate and meaningful to them. It embraces an approach of nurturing, supporting, inspiring, and developing the self-esteem of the children. It is an ideal environment in which to develop innovation, problem solving, risk-taking, creativity and teamwork. As the children learn about the natural world and how to look after it, Forest School also promotes environmental awareness enabling the children to build a strong, positive relationship with their natural world helping them to make sense of the wider world.