Stonham AspalForest School
Forest School at Stonham Aspal Primary School
Forest School is "a child-centred inspirational learning process that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions”. It is a unique experience and a process that offers participants the opportunity to succeed and develop confidence, self-esteem and social skills, through physical hands-on learning experiences supporting play and exploration and allowing children to take supported risks in a woodland environment. "(Forest school Association)
Forest School at Stonham Aspal Primary School takes place every Wednesday in our Jubilee Garden at the bottom of the playing field, which has a range of mature trees, hedges and ditches for children to explore. Each class has the opportunity to take part 6 two-hour sessions during the year. This means they get to explore the area in different seasons as they move throughout the school.
Forest School at Stonham Aspal aims to help children grow up as happy, confident and capable learners, creating a community that promotes the holistic development of all involved through a deep-rooted connection to nature, empowering future generations to become guardians and carers of our natural environments.
Forest School is underpinned by 6 core principles as defined by the Forest School Association and community in 2011. These outline the key differences between outdoor learning and Forest School:
- Forest School is a long-term process
- Forest School takes place in a natural wooded environment
- Forest School aims to promote holistic development
- Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks
- Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners
- Forest School uses a range of learner-centred processes
Forest School Leaders
Forest School is lead by Lisa Barricella and Hannah Besley – trained Forest School Leaders and Class teachers.
What to wear to Forest School
We work on the principle that “there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”.
Appropriate clothing will protect participants from extremes of heat or cold, layers are key in cold weather! At Forest school we recommend all participants wear long sleeves and trousers and closed toed shoes to keep them covered and reduce the likelihood of cuts and scrapes from play or tool use or other activities. Any child not wearing appropriate clothing may not be able to participate. Children and parents are encouraged to think about the usefulness of their clothing for outdoor activities, and to be aware they are likely to take some of our mud home with them after a session. In the woods it can often be cooler than expected under the shade of the trees.
Clothing list:
- Waterproof trousers
- Waterproof coat, with a hood.
- Long sleeved top
- Full length trousers - in all seasons
- Warm boots (wellies can be very cold!)
- Warm Socks, and a spare pair
- Gloves, scarves and woolly hat
- Sun hat: that fits well to ensure good visibility and sun cream if needed.
- Closed toed shoes – no sandals
- Layers! In winter, including socks!
- Lighter cotton trousers and light long-sleeved tops in summer
A spare bag to put any dirty clothes in.
Forest School 2025- 2026🌳🌻🐛
Forest School 2024-2025
The children really enjoy their time at Forest School, below are some comments from our parents.
R' loved it, all he could tell me was the mud slide, so lovely to see the photos. He is counting down the days 'til next week. Thank you for such and amazing experience for them.
B' loved it so much! Thank you!
A' loved his time in the forest area and cannot wait for Wednesday.
M' loves forest school- thank you for giving them all such amazing experiences.