Day Two

Research Surrounding Forest School

There has been extensive research into the positive benefits of exposure to the natural environment and Forest School's part in providing opportunities for this.

Forest School is an inclusive programme which aims to promote a individualised and child led holistic approach to learning and development.
Forest School is relevant to all areas of the curriculum and gives children the opportunity to contextualise classroom learning.

Health and Safety

Health and safety guidelines surrounding forest school aim to ensure the appropriate balance of risk and to provide for acceptable managed risk.

Through thorough risk assessment hazards should be identified and procedures be put in place to deal with those hazards and make relevant parties aware of them.
There are a number of different types of risk assessment required:

• Site risk assessment
• Activity risk assessment
• Daily risk assessment
• Tool risk assessment
• Dynamic risk assessment

Protective personal equipment is necessary when taking part in Forest school activities. This will vary depending on the activity and weather conditions but may consist of the following items:

Safety helmet/ woolen hat/ sun hat
Goggles
High Visibility Jacket/ Waterproof Jacket/ Fleece/ Long sleeved shirt
Woolen Gloves/ Safety Gloves
Long trousers/ Jogging bottoms/ Waterproof trousers
Walking Boots/ Safety Boots
Suncream/ insect repellent

Woodland Games

Magical object hunt
Kim's game
Tangled rope game
Reef knot circle Mexican wave
Blindfolded tree finder

Tool use

Peeler

Children of all ages can use a peeler to strip the bark from a stick. They can compare the properties of different types of wood such as the colour, smell, stickiness and flexibility of the wood.


To use  a peeler safely: 
The peeler can be used for stripping bark from green wood.
Check the peeler is in safe working order before using.
Check the area for hazards at all levels including dead wood at canopy level and trip hazards at field level.
Use the peeler at a distance of two arms and a tool’s length from other people.
Always work away from yourself.
Glove to be worn on non-tool hand.
Pass the tool by the handle.
When you have finished with the peeler check it is in good order and return to the designated tool box/area.

Whittling knife

The whittling knife can be used to strip bark, but can also be used to cut notches into the the wood or to sharpen it to a point.