LOtC
What is our vision for Forest School at St Mary of the Angels?
- To nurture our children’s love of, and appreciation for, God’s creation
- To develop children’s understanding of stewardship
- To provide opportunities for children to develop and have fun in a safe and stimulating environment
- To facilitate children’s understanding of risk taking, choice making and ownership of their own learning
Learning Outside the Classroom
Learning outside the classroom is an integral part of life at St Mary's. We place high value on enabling children to get outside and experience their learning in a natural environment. Last year, Forest School was very popular with the children and this year we aim to build on the children's skills and develop their confidence in recognising the abilities they have.
Forest School is an inspirational learning journey, which offers ALL learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in our woodland and natural outdoor environment. In addition, we plan to expand our Forest School provision beyond our school site to local beauty spots - such as Rivacre Valley - and places of historical importance. In doing so, we instantly add flesh to the bones of the creative curriculum which underpins everything we strive for here at St Mary's.
What to wear during winter sessions:
- Base layer – long sleeve t shirt (or old pyjama top). You may want to double up in winter months.
- Mid layer – an old, warm jumper that you don’t mind getting wet or muddy
- Outer layer – a waterproof coat with a hood.
- Legs - tights, long johns, leggings, old pyjama bottoms and tracksuit trousers over the top. Waterproof trousers if possible
- Footwear – old trainers, walking boots or wellies are perfect
- Extras - a warm, woolly hat, gloves, and scarf.
What to wear during summer sessions:
- Base layer – preferably a long-sleeved t-shirt although a short-sleeved t-shirt may suffice if the weather is hot
- Outer layer – a thin, waterproof jacket or coat
- Legs – long tracksuit bottoms are essential. These help to avoid bites and stings during the summer months.
- Footwear – old trainers, walking boots or wellies are perfect
- Extras - a freshly filled water bottle, sun cream applied before school.
Thursday 26th June 2025 - Year 1
We had a fantastic session and enjoyed our Great British weather, especially the sudden downpour of rain! The session started with a problem solving and teamwork game where children had to fit on a piece of tarpaulin which was gradually shrinking. We then started our carousal of activities. One activity was making a fairy tale character with twigs, pipe cleaners and clay. Another was cutting a log slice and decorating it with a picture of our favourite fairy tale character. The third activity was to explore and play in the environment. This included the rope swing and hammock. We also had snack time and toasted marshmallow on the fire (when the wind had died down).
Thursday 20th June 2025 - EYFS
EYFS had a fantastic morning in Rivacre Valley and loved walking there and observing and talking about the world around them. In the valley we played games, explored the area and used natural materials to build animal dens. The children were very creative and some of the dens even had elevators!! We walked around the valley and chatted about all the lovely features we could see. Thank you so much to our wonderful helpers who came with us. A lovely morning had by all!
Thursday 9th May 2025 - Year 5
Year 5 had a wonderful final Forest School session of the year admiring the beauty of Creation in Rivacre Valley. During the session, the children walked to our local nature reserve to complete some exciting fieldwork activities. The children used classification charts to identify creatures found in Rivacre Brook and were able to estimate the age of the different types of trees based on their circumference.
Thursday 1st May 2025 - EYFS
EYFS enjoyed a fabulous Forest School session in the sunshine today based on our topic of 'under the sea'. We began by playing a sea creature game where we had to move like lots of different creatures. We then looked for laminated fish in the environment and made rivers for them using natural materials. We created boats using tin foil and tested them to find out whether they would float or sink in the water and challenged ourselves by finding out how many little sticks they would hold. We used clay to make lots of lovely sea creatures and built dens using lots of different materials. The children were delighted to find minibeasts and really enjoyed their hot chocolate and marshmallows. What a lovely and enjoyable morning!
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