Mama Beech

Forest School comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. In the way that schools can have varying facilities, equipment, departments, grounds, class sizes, staffing, and buildings, basecamp can be centred at the heart of all sorts of Forest Schools. We have 3 sites on our school grounds. Each lends itself to different aspects of Forest School.  The Wildlife Garden has old and new trees, a large pond, and space for planting to attract all kinds of British Wildlife. There's a hidden mud kitchen and a 'secret' woodland and space for activities to take place. Under the Trees is amongst a mature woodland strip, where there are plenty of boughs strong enough to hold up swings and tyres. Their trunks support slack lines and provide space to climb. We have old bricks and a long mud kitchen to explore. The Copse is a cluster of trees that hides basecamp beautifully. There are a few child-designed structures around it and access to a long strip of woodland. It has swings, den spaces, tr...

One of the things I love about going to other Forest Schools is having a look around their site.  Isle of Scilly Forest School For those of you with an education background you'll know how enticing it is, it's like getting to sneak a peek at another school or classroom! For those who have visited friends in a new house, it's like getting to look around the whole thing! Yes, it probably does mean those of us who understand this are a little bit nosy, but it also means we're great at squirreling away ideas! There is no judgement of good or bad involved. Just a mental acknowledgement of how each has managed to incorporate a basecamp, or dealt with storage issues, or provided a shelter, or gets equipment onto site. It's a way of gathering information and ideas to use ourselves! Forest School takes place outside, but that may well be the only thing two settings have in common. Yes, the more nature that is involved the better. Established grass, trees, bushes, mud, plants...