OPAL
FOREST SCHOOL
Forest School is a child-centred inspirational learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting.
Forest School has a developmental ethos shared by thousands of trained practitioners around the world, who are constantly developing their learning styles and skills to support new and imaginative learners.
We have well established links with West Boldon Lodge and are very fortunate in being able to participate in the Forest School project at the centre and on our own school site.
The philosophy of the Forest School is based upon the desire to provide young children with an education, which encourages their appreciation of the wide, natural world and which will encourage responsibility for nature conservation in later life.
Children learn to respect their environment, bide by rules and standards of behaviour and work in teams whilst respecting each other.
Forest School News 2025-2026
Forest School News 2024- 2025
Year 1
Year 1 have learned lots of new skills during their forest school sessions including learning how to keep safe when working around the fire. They have learned how to kneel in the ‘respect position’ when toasting their marshmallows and how to cook popcorn with care. They have also enjoyed playing lots of forest school games and making their own leaf necklaces.
Making Bird Nests and Bird Feeders in our school grounds
Our nurture group’s weekly visits:
As part of our offer of nurture club – the children attend Forest School one afternoon a week. This allows them to learn in a different environment. They are focusing on skills such as resilience, team work, self-regulation, sharing, managing emotions and promoting positive well-being.
Farm school teaches children responsibility and practical skills as well as developing other important characteristics such as co-operation and teamwork.
All of our children, from Years 5 and 6, take part in a programme of farm school sessions at Jarrow Hall and tend to the animals’ different needs. As well as giving children practical skills and an important sense of responsibility, it also provides our pupils with a real sense of enthusiasm about nature and the outside world. We hope that this stays with them long after they have left us and that we will grow an environmentally responsible generation.
Year 5
As part of our history topic we have been spending some time at Jarrow Hall learning all about the Anglo-Saxons! We discovered several things about how they used to live, the kind of stories they would tell (including reading a section of Beowulf) and found out all about St Bede in the museum. We even got a chance to use clay to create our own Anglo-Saxon village, as well as using flint to start a fire and toasting marshmallows on it!
During the afternoons we helped out on the farm. Here we practised our resilience and team work skills whilst feeding the animals and mucking them out. Check out some of our activities below!
Being farmhands
Toasting marshmallows and storytelling
Making clay Anglo-Saxon villages
