Forest School Sessions

Treejumpers are able to provide forest schools sessions for Nurseries, Pre-school and Primary Schools in the South East - for those who are situated close by to our centre in Paddock Wood, our site provides the perfect setting with access to parkland, woodland and the riverside walks. For those schools further afield we are able to utilise school grounds, local parks and woodland to run our sessions in - please contact us so that we can look at the most suitable option in your local area.

Packages and Pricing

1 Day Experiences:

• At The Hop Farm : £350+vat per group
• At Your Venue*: £375+vat per group 6 x 1 Day Session

6 x 1 Day Experiences, Rolling Programme.

• At The Hop Farm: £1800+vat per group
• At Your Venue: £2200+vat per group

*(up to 70 miles from* TN12 6PY, longer distances will incur additional fees)

Teacher Training:

We know that budgets are tight and sustainability is crucial to ensure long-term impact. With that in mind from February 2012 we will be offering accredited Forest Schools training so that teachers can take responsibility for growing the opportunities within their own setting.

• We run an initial 6 week programme for 1 day a week at £300 a day, total cost of £1800 to introduce staff and students to the ethos and outcomes and help with the initial planning stages and lesson design.
   
• We will then train one of your staff to lead and deliver the programme for an additional £1000 and train that same member of staff in wilderness first aid for £200.
   
• So for a total cost of £3000 you can become a fully self-sufficient Forest School and already have experience of how they are run and model lesson plans before you start out on your own.  We will then offer continued advice and support to help you grow the offer and will train additional staff at a discounted rate. 

All packages are based on 10-3pm days working with groups of up to 30 children and led by a Level 3 Trained Practitioner - we ask that schools provide additional support with a minimum of 1 adult per 10 children (ratio's are likely to be higher for younger children).

What activities can we expect?

We are able to design forest school programmes that incorporate a wide range of activities that follow the principles of forest education - some examples are:

• Creating artefacts from natural resources
• Nature awareness games
• Exploring the local habitat
• Basic camp craft skills
• Bark Rubbings
• Investigating Woodland Animals and where they live
• Setting Campfires
• Building Shelters
• Scavenger Hunts
• Camp Cooking
• Sensory Games
• Investigating Flora and Fauna
• Tree Planting
• What is Natural and What is not? - An introduction to identifying man made and natural items in the environment.
• Working with the environment for a Greener world

How can we tie this into our classroom learning?

The opportunity to be outdoors and take part in practical exploration and creative activities will add magic to many of your traditional 'classroom' based subjects - our programmes are designed to meet the objectives laid out in the national curriculum some examples of how these objectives are shown below:

Key Stage 1

• Life Processes and Living things:
• • Things that are living and things that are not
  • Recognise and identify external parts of animals
  • Senses and being aware of the world around you
  • Understanding plants, their need for water and light and that a seed will grow into a plant.
  • Grouping living things by similarities and differences
  • Looking at the different types of plants in the local environment
  • Care for the environment
     
• Materials and Their Properties
• • Using senses to explore material properties
  • Is it shiny, spiky, hard, soft, transparent or rough?
  • Which materials are found naturally?
     
• PSHE
• • Setting simple goals
  • Dealing with feelings in a positive way
  • Learning from experiences
  • Recognise that people and living things have needs
     
• Art and Design
• • Using different tools and techniques
  • Represent Observations
  • Investigating visual and tactile elements
     
• Geography
• • Identify and describe what places are like
  • Recognise changes in the environment
     

Key Stage 2

• Scientific Enquiry:
• • Using evidence from measurement and observations
     
• Life processes and living things:
• • The effect of light, air, water and temperature in plant growth
  • The role of plant roots
  • Grouping animals and plants
  • Food Chains
     
• Materials and their properties
• • Grouping rocks and soils by their properties
  • Burning and the formation of new materials
     
• PSHE
• • Face new challenges positively
  • Making Responsible choices
  • Recognising Risk in different situations
     
• Art and Design
• • Record from experience and Imagination
  • Use a variety of approaches to communicate observations, feelings and ideas.
     
• Geography
• • Collect and record evidence
  • Use appropriate fieldwork instruments
  • Decision Making Skills
  • Drawing Conclusions
  • Recognise how people can improve or degrade an environment