Forest School
Forest School offers children the opportunity to succeed and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in an outdoor/woodland environment. Children engage in motivating and achievable tasks and activities throughout the year and in almost all weathers, with the appropriate footwear and clothing. Children will explore nature and work with natural materials, learn to use a range of tools, build dens and shelters, light fires, prepare and cook food and contribute to maintaining and developing the Forest School site.
Forest School sessions at Mellor Community Primary School will encourage children of all ages to:
- explore the world through all the senses available to them
- work independently and in collaboration with others
- work through practical problems and challenges
- use tools and equipment to create, build, transport or manage
- develop practical knowledge and skills, e.g. knot-tying, shelter building
- learn how to manage failures and develop resilience
- build confidence in decision making and evaluating risk
- explore connections between humans, wildlife and the earth
- improve physical motor skills
Policies
- Forest School Handbook
- Forest School Intent Implementation and Impact Statement
- Mellor Forest School Champions
Key Documents
Report to Governors 23/24
Autumn Term 23/24 - Forest School Update
At the beginning of Year 6, we each wrote an application to become a Forest School Champion and Beccy invited the 12 applicants to an outdoor session on 5.09.23 to demonstrate our interest in Forest School activities. Beccy selected us because of our good communication skills as well as our curiosity and helpfulness.
Our first training day (12.09.23) was very rainy but we wore the right clothing and enjoyed our session. We were taught to instruct others when pond-dipping by demonstrating how to use the net and how to empty your catch safely causing no harm to the pond-life. We practised tying a clove hitch knot. We also began our sharp-tool training by learning Tool Talks for using secateurs and loppers. We took home laminated tool-talk and clove-hitch/square lashing sheets to practise these for our next session.
Following our first training session, we assisted Beccy with classes from Years 4, 5 and 6, supporting pupils in pond-dipping and gardening during their Forest School sessions. In our next training session on 7.11.23 we are looking forward to continuing our work with sharp tools and will hopefully demonstrate the knot-tying we have been learning.
Useful Websites
Mellor Forest School on X 23-24
At Forest School on Tuesday, 6BA enjoyed preparing and lighting a campfire for toasting marshmallows and teacakes. #ForestSchool🌳 pic.twitter.com/jsGhphfV5S
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) June 3, 2024
1JHRE showed lots of appreciation for nature today in the Outdoor Garden. We observed pond life, planted some seeds and did some minibeast hunting! pic.twitter.com/2BMszcSTDS
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) May 7, 2024
Another fantastic Forest School session! Year 3 did some pond dipping, planting and enjoyed playing in the tent! ⛺️ 🥔🌳 pic.twitter.com/KiotWhaX1E
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) April 16, 2024
1JHRE visited the outdoor garden today- we enjoyed studying nests, being birdwatchers and helped Beccy to prepare the planters for spring growing! pic.twitter.com/o0K9YLhoO0
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) March 5, 2024
Year 1 have been to the forest school garden this week. We made birds nests, we took part in bird watching with binoculars and we did digging for worms! pic.twitter.com/d9Fb9dTPh7
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) March 6, 2024
1ZP had a lovely time at Forest School, exploring birds! pic.twitter.com/u4jPZOfZIe
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) March 6, 2024
Year 3 loved their windy Forest School session today! The children did some bird watching, tent making and
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) February 6, 2024
made some delicious treats for the birds and squirrels!! ⛺️🌳 pic.twitter.com/43TJNv9b9i
4MH had a great morning during our forest school session. We bird watched using binoculars, built a shed with an imaginary fire pit and cleared out the leaves! #birdwatching #ForestSchool 🦜🌳🏕️ pic.twitter.com/z9jYCeDMGU
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) January 30, 2024
4LD had a fantastic afternoon at our Forest School in the winter sunshine. We bird watched, made bird feeders and learnt how to start a fire. #forestschools #determination #resilience #teamwork 🦜🏕️🌳 pic.twitter.com/YwFyefLHAS
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) January 30, 2024
1ZP had a lovely time at forest school today! Here are some pictures from our outdoor treasure hunt! pic.twitter.com/24tfVft1ib
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 28, 2023
1JHRE showed lots of curiosity in the Mellor Forest School today with Beccy. We worked in pairs to find Autumn Treasures. We had to use all of our senses and we had lots of fun!
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 30, 2023
Forest school champions continued their training this afternoon, focusing on using secateurs and loppers safely for trimming wood and pruning. They also helped identified this incredible Ruby Tiger Moth caterpillar! #leaders #forestschool pic.twitter.com/Jvlahy0jXO
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 7, 2023
3CK had a great time in Forest School: raking leaves, weeding the garden, create autumn nature picture and building a badger’s den. #ForestSchool 🦡 pic.twitter.com/i7cgxzntXP
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 9, 2023
3SP and 3SK loved their forest school session today! They enjoyed raking leaves, weeding, pond dipping and carving pumpkins! 🎃🍁👩🏽🌾 #forestschool #nature pic.twitter.com/UCeoi25May
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 31, 2023
RKC had a great afternoon in our Forest School. They learnt about what happens in Autumn and looked at the different living creatures in the pond. 🍂 #ForestSchool pic.twitter.com/xYIRuUkJj3
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 24, 2023
Reception (RSS) have had a lot of fun today at our Forest School. We loved learning about Autumn, making leaf lollipops and exploring a range of school grown pumpkins. We were very curious about the pond life and seeing some of the creatures was so exciting. 🎃#ForestSchool pic.twitter.com/Sy1ssouZAe
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 24, 2023
4KD had a fantastic afternoon at our Forest School. They made forts, built tents with tarpaulin and dug for vegetables! ⛺️#forestschool #nature pic.twitter.com/INUe5FwKN0
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 10, 2023
Year 4 enjoyed a dry but, windy afternoon with Beccy in our Forest School. #curiosity #forestschools #outdoorlearning #litterpicking #nature #ponddipping 🌳 pic.twitter.com/jq0reddDfu
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 4, 2023
"5LR had an amazing time with Beccy in Forest school. They enjoyed pond dipping, tidying up the leaves, shelter building and learning how to tie clove hitch knots. They showed amazing team-work, enthusiasm and determination!" pic.twitter.com/FD78SEGzXP
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 5, 2023
Year 5 loved their morning with Beccy learning to tie clove hitch knots to make journey sticks, pond dipping, shelter building and clearing leaves to add to our compost heap! #nature #freshair #teamwork 🌳🍁⛺️ pic.twitter.com/vqcAAemKYP
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 26, 2023
Despite being a very rainy day, 6BA pupils enjoyed their Forest School afternoon harvesting seeds and vegetables, pond dipping and tidying up our All-Weather garden. What a great effort! 🌳🌱#ForestSchool #enjoylearning pic.twitter.com/zJB3uBJqwn
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 15, 2023
6SA enjoyed a blustery afternoon in Forest school, building waterproof shelters, pond-dipping and bug-hunting. Everyone showed great curiosity, concentration and co-operation. ⛺️🌳 #ForestSchool #nature pic.twitter.com/3QbduO5xaO
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 19, 2023
This morning 6GH rose to the challenge of creating waterproof shelters in high winds, and one of our Forest School Champions led the pond-dipping activity expertly. More delicious Mellor produce was harvested too! #ForestSchool 🏕️ pic.twitter.com/vooyuKEQXx
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 19, 2023
Our Year 6 Forest School team enjoyed harvesting our vegetables and collecting seeds in the beautiful sunshine this afternoon. #ForestSchool #nature 🌳 pic.twitter.com/uB9LDm1y51
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 5, 2023
Mellor Forest School on X 22-23
Year 1 loved being at Forest School today. We enjoyed finding out what is living in our pond, going on a bug hunt as well as a bare foot safari! pic.twitter.com/j0Eqk878Wb
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) June 26, 2023
Year 2 loved Forest School this morning! We made artwork using mallets and leaves, looked for insects, did some pond dipping and even found time to relax and enjoy nature! pic.twitter.com/0ynh7oasL3
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) June 21, 2023
Year 4 had an amazing time experiencing nature in our Forest School with Beccy! We pond dipped, created nature art and built shelters! #nature #getoutside #freshair #active #fun ⛺️ pic.twitter.com/5qckHrkeJI
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) May 26, 2023
Jade and Heather’s class visited the outdoor garden today. They found a baby dragonfly in the pond, planted sunflowers and used the watering can to give them water🪴🌻 pic.twitter.com/ewBjGidMiJ
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) April 24, 2023
Year 3 enjoyed exploring the signs of Spring. They went on a treasure hunt, learnt about pond life using nets and built dens for little people. #Forestschool 🌳 pic.twitter.com/kLko31pfHd
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) April 25, 2023
RSR have enjoyed visiting the outdoor garden this morning. They planted potatoes, made nests and found worms 🪱🪴🥔 pic.twitter.com/J35axccX7o
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) March 20, 2023
5LD spent the afternoon with Beccy in Forest Schools. Beccy showed us a Wren nest and then we had a go at making our own nests out of things we foraged from the garden.#forestschools #thegreatoutdoors #nature #birdlife pic.twitter.com/79WmtKGbo4
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) March 14, 2023
Today year 1 went to the outdoor garden. Beccy let us hold her “treasure” which was a real birds nest. We then made our own birds nests. We also did some gardening and bird watching! What a great day! #forestschools #year1 #outdoorlearning #birdwatching #birdlife pic.twitter.com/aswxd67SvD
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) February 27, 2023
1JHRE were so curious about birds today when we visited the outdoor garden. We held a real wren’s nest, looked at what it was made of then showed great teamwork making our own! We also had a go at birdwatching using binoculars! pic.twitter.com/BiGMEUVkku
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) February 27, 2023
4CK enjoyed Forest School this week and learnt some new skills. The children were lighting fires, bird watching and making fat balls for them too! #forestschool #nature 🦜 🌳 pic.twitter.com/5lEBbHcE7k
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) January 27, 2023
We enjoyed winter snow and sunshine in our Forest School area today. Thank you to Year 5 pupils for creating tasty treats for the birds. #forestschool #snow ❄️🌨️ pic.twitter.com/q4W2E816IF
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) January 16, 2023
Congratulations to our Forest School leader, Beccy Adlard! 🏅🌳 https://t.co/9BqyJ27SzM
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) January 10, 2023
This morning, the year 2 children explored pond life in the winter during our Forest School session. It was very hands on! #forestschool pic.twitter.com/xhsC8MOtv7
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) December 5, 2022
Year 3 had a great time at the Forest School today! They worked as a team to rake leaves, did some leaf printing, explored outdoor treasures and finally found some pond creatures! 🍁🪳🌳 #ForestSchool pic.twitter.com/GwXGyOjKXe
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 28, 2022
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 28, 2022
School Council have enjoyed planting in the Calm Area today #Sustainability #ForestSchool #ecofriendly 🍃🌿🌷 pic.twitter.com/MG3860JMwj
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 18, 2022
We have been keen to have a go in our Outdoor Garden. We raked leaves and had fun using a wheelbarrow. Looking in the pond was exciting, we saw a baby dragonfly. We have also used our senses to experience autumn treasures! pic.twitter.com/4y90VmBTrF
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) November 7, 2022
Reception have enjoyed working in the forest school this morning. We have been exploring Autumn objects, hunting for pumpkins and building dens.🎃🍁 pic.twitter.com/DqT0AU1dDG
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 31, 2022
This week, the children in year 2 have been visiting the Mellor Forest School. We explored the beautiful colours of Autumn as well as planting seeds in the raised beds. #forestschool #autumncolours pic.twitter.com/i3Q0TLKfL9
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 12, 2022
Year 3 children did some autumn foraging and identification, learnt to tie a clove hitch knot and created journey sticks and leaf lollipops! #forestschool 🌳🏕️ pic.twitter.com/Y3YoYst8JK
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) October 5, 2022
4KD had an exciting morning in our Forest School. They searched for "Pond Skaters" in the lake, and made Journey Sticks! #forestschool 🌳 pic.twitter.com/ZL96G8FquU
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 27, 2022
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 27, 2022
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 27, 2022
Last week, Year 6 pupils made a great difference to our Forest school area by preparing plant beds, weeding the fire pit, checking the pond and litter picking! pic.twitter.com/RIxH3o4NMB
— Mellor Community Primary School (@mellorschool) September 20, 2022