Training & CPD

Exciting opportunities for all, supporting Forest School Leaders & delivering excellence in education & in your own back garden!

Equipping educationalist, youth group leaders and many more besides to deliver great, safe outdoor experiences as well as meeting curriculum needs. Regular training sessions are run and Wrekin Forest School. Sessions can also be brought to your environment too! See our ‘Events’ listing for 2026 dates and prices.

CPD training……..inspiring, bespoke training delivered to you for all your team to meet the individual needs of your school environment. Helping you link the curriculum to outdoor learning, inspire site development & give you practical solutions to problems. Getting a whole school onboard with learning outdoors, building resilience in your children and inspiring independent thinking and cooperative learning.

We can deliver sessions for your Staff meeting, PD sessions or our full two day sessions giving you extended competence in outdoor learning and fire skills.

Let us put together a bespoke experience to reinvigorate your team or just get you started.

Being a Level 2 Outdoor Learning practitioner….gain skills and confidence in taking their curriculum outdoors. This course is a wonderful adaptation of Level 3 that allows educational establishments to get kids outdoors and still meet learning targets.

Getting children out of the four walls of a classroom is critical for so many children, too often children flounder in an enclosed environment, but once outside in the natural environment they can thrive. We endeavour to show that children and young people can have the opportunity to shine outdoors.

I am passionate about getting kids and adults outdoors, together we can change lives and still tick essential boxes.

This is a practical, accessible & supportive course helping you to make a success in implementing a programme of Outdoor Learning.

Course Content Summary:

• To feel confident that FS & outdoor learning opportunities are an essential aspect to any child’s educational experience, mental & physical wellbeing, we will look at some theorists and their philosophies & consider the importance of a holistic approach to learning & development.
• Participants begin to understand how to develop their sites & use new skills to enhance the overall educational & learning experience & environment of children in their own setting no matter what area that may be.
• To be confident to provide a stimulus to learning whilst providing a setting for children to explore freely & to evaluate possible learning from each experience.
• To use collaborative activities, for example ‘Nature Detective’ search sheets…touchy feely finds….leaf hunt, colours or shape, in pairs or groups. Instilling cooperation with peers.
• To demonstrate that being outside can enhance teamwork, develop self-esteem, allow children & young people to assess risk, develop relationships, make mistakes, assess own learning & tick curriculum boxes.
• Participants confident to implement new skills & approach & assess risk considering the benefits versus the risk.
• Assess the appropriateness of tools for age and ability groups.
• Where to start & progression.
• Create a piece of self created woodcraft to take away to use in their future teaching….a mallet, spinning top, spiky hedgehog, maths game, medallion, whistle etc
• To be confident to explore topics and deliver sessions that can tick curriculum requirements whilst maintaining child led activity.
• Feeling confident to expand the way children & young people respond in their outdoor environment, expanding their understanding of empathy & self-esteem.
• To allow trainees to gain confidence in using games to expand team work amongst children without the need for there to be right and wrong.
• Understanding the purpose of shelter/den building. Confidence with tying at least two knots.
• To be confident to explore topics and deliver sessions that can tick curriculum requirements whilst maintaining child led activity.
• Feeling confident to expand the way children & young people respond in their outdoor environment, expanding their understanding of empathy & self-esteem.
• Confident to light a fire for a purpose. Confident to use a fire in a safe way with children to complete a task.
  

You can join us on our selected two day sessions that are open to all or you can book us for exclusive sessions for your school.

Maximum number for exclusive training sessions are 12 attendees

Prices start from:

£170 plus VAT for a Staff meeting/twilight session/half day session on your site

£250 plus VAT for a one day training session on your site or ours

£540 plus VAT for a two day training session on your site or ours

£310 plus VAT to send a member of your team to our two day Level 2 training days on our site

Included in all training is a folder with all the teaching notes, ideas, lesson plans and risk assessment suggestions that may be helpful to you.

Personal, social and emotional development

Build self esteem, foster an environment that encourages independence, co-operation, team work and builds self confidence. Respect for living things and each other. Sharing experiences with peers and adults. Learning to assess safety for themselves and take measured risks. Connecting with natural is known to develop mental wellbeing.

Discovering ways to use the outdoors to create an inclusive environment using creative and engaging learning opportunities where all will grow.

Mathematical development

Handling and using natural objects gives purpose to counting. Sorting shapes, colours and sizes. Measuring, problem solving and calculating. Observing and making patterns in nature and recognising shapes whilst exploring.
‘How many children can fit in our boat?’ ‘How many cones can we collect today?”

Use The Hungry Caterpillar story to explore repeating patterns with two different green painted stones to make the caterpillar body.

Physical development

Simply being on the move. Spatial awareness, balancing, negotiating and moving obstacles. Using a variety of real tools creatively and safely. If an activity can move from the school hall to a natural space the benefits grow. Shelter building allows children to access a range of skills from physical development to Personal and Social Skills to using language to communicate and cooperate.

Communication, language and literacy

Listening to instructions, discussing findings, new vocabulary, sharing ideas, story telling, songs and rhymes. Mark making in the mud. Keeping a diary.

The Hungry Caterpillar ticks so many boxes, including story telling and order the story with painted story stones, tactile and textures makes learning so much more fun.

Creative development

Dancing, music making, picture making using natural materials. Mud painting. Role play and imaginative play. Goldsworthy is a great example of outdoor art.

Lesson Plans for Outdoor Learning

Over many years of Forest School and outdoor learning I have created fantastic lesson plans and wonderful story packs all designed to get your learning outdoors. Fabulous shelter building packs too.

Call 07888851813 or contact us by email:

[email protected]

View sessions and book online >>

Sharing Good Practice Fun Days

These days are designed to allow all those involved in Forest School & out door learning to share good practice and ideas with one another, learn new skills and have fun! Networking is an essential way of encouraging one another and not feeling isolated.

Our longer sessions will give you access to a fab site, lead foraging and cooking activities, including supplying food for your lunch, we will allow likeminded people to share their ideas and network over coffee and cake. We will promise to have shelter from any rain with a warm fire burning and kettles always on. We will add a little fun to the day by allowing you to have a turn in the archery lane, a shelter building competition and a turn in the woodcraft centre! We will give you a certificate of completion at the end of the day, this will include good practice & safe fire use.

Our shorter sessions are more about networking, sharing skills & ideas, talking through achievements, successes & mishaps or problems. All of our sharing can be done over a cuppa and a piece of home made cake. We will be happy for you to have a go in our woodwork room & we can share a simple lesson plan or have a go at an activity idea to support learning in your environment.

Level 2 training…..for more tailored exploration of Forest School and Forest Skills see our Level 2 programme.

Next session: Shortwood School …. September 2024