We have two ponds; a large field; trees to climb; and dedicated play spaces for every year group over four separate playgrounds with exciting play equipment. One of these has a sports area embedded within it and another with an outdoor performance stage. In addition, we have an orchard where we grow and explore a variety of plants and use for on-site Forest School sessions.
While we often take our learning outside the classroom throughout the year, we also hold outdoor learning days each year Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer days are loved by our pupils and include a mixture of ongoing learning taken outside and seasonal specific learning activities.
At Glenfrome, we are fortunate to have great outdoor spaces, including our orchard and outdoor classroom and Purdown woods on our doorstep. All children participate in forest school sessions on Purdown and we learn about our environment, how to work together, take acceptable risks solve problems and have fun. Miss Fitzwilliam is our trained Forest School Leader.
Sessions focus on the all round development of your child, facilitated by the teacher as mentor and experienced companion. Children are allowed to choose the direction they take, discover, discuss and develop without the constraints of a table and chair. As they learn to respect this freedom and responsibility they will learn about themselves, learn about others, learn to be resilient and learn how to be effective learners!
The main principles of Forest School are:
– To promote self-esteem – freedom without interference
– Promote confidence – belief in yourself and your abilities
– Promote independence – a feeling of pride in yourself
The concept originates from Scandinavia where the young children are taken on walks through the forest following an imaginary character. Along the way they explore and investigate, take risks and learn together in the great outdoors. The ethos has now been introduced to the UK under the name ‘Forest School’.