Dorset Forest School is celebrating its 10th birthday by gaining ‘Recognised Provider’ status from the Forest School Association. The community interest company is the first in the county to gain recognition for its ‘good forest school practice’.
Started in July 2010 by Jill Hooper and Maddy Irvine, Dorset Forest School is a provider of outdoor learning and forest school for children, young people and adults across the county.
Maddy Irvine, director at Dorset Forest School, said:
This is a great achievement for us and will help differentiate between outdoor learning and therapeutic forest school. In a climate where we know Covid 19 is less transmissible outdoors, taking learning outdoors can only help schools and settings across the county as they plan for the recovery curriculum. Forest School is the ideal vehicle to help our children process these difficult times and adjust back into school life.
What’s next?
We have been working hard to ensure a raft of services are available for schools from September whether that is training staff in outdoor learning or forest school or our experienced practitioners working in schools. Details can be found on Dorset Nexus.
We have been working hard to ensure a raft of services are available for schools from September whether that is training staff in outdoor learning or forest school or our experienced practitioners working in schools. Details can be found on Dorset Nexus.
This summer Dorset Forest School is taking its practice to beach to run ‘beach teach’ wild art sessions for our friends at Artsreach. These sessions are designed for children with special educational needs. All bookings are via Artsreach
Forest School is a specialised learning approach based in a woodland or natural environment with trees. It offers all participants regular opportunities to develop self-confidence and esteem through hands-on learning experiences. Its roots reach back to pioneers in outdoor learning in Scandinavia.
In October 2017, the Forest School Association (FSA) – the UK’s professional body and voice for all things Forest School – launched a new scheme to recognise Forest School Providers who demonstrated that they are following good Forest School practice. Dorset Forest School is now on the FSA’s website www.forestschoolassociation.org/find-a-forest-school-provider/
For parents wondering where to send their children, or even for decision makers such as Local Authorities and Academies, it is important to know that a provider is operating professionally. Are they working in accordance with good Forest School practice? Are the sessions conducted so that the children’s self-confidence, communication skills, use of tools (among other skills), is progressing week on week? Do they have the appropriate qualifications, First Aid Certificate and risk assessment processes in place? Are the woodland sites well managed? The FSA Recognised Forest School Provider Scheme offers that reassurance!
Gareth Wyn Davies (CEO of the Forest School Association) says:
Good Forest School practice is being followed by dedicated Forest School professionals all over the UK. We believe that the FSA Recognised Forest School Provider scheme will provide these schools and organisations with the means of demonstrating the quality of their work to parents and those who fund their work. It will also help promote their work as they will be found on the FSA publicly searchable map. Forest School is a distinct learning approach based on a set of 6 principles. Our scheme helps people identify those providers who are following good Forest School practice and distinguishes them from other outdoor education that is not Forest School. We therefore congratulate Dorset Forest School on their success at becoming an approved ‘good practice’ provider.
The scheme takes providers through an evidence-based assessment process ensuring that their practice meets all the necessary requirements to operate professionally in line with the six good practice principles of Forest School. It also gives providers a chance to take stock of their programme(s) to see if any improvements need to be made.
Ensuring provision is professional is a major part of this experience and the FSA’s goal is to ensure that more positive outcomes, are the result of good practice Forest School provision.
Get in touch
For further information or interview please contact Maddy Irvine on maddy@dorsetforestschool.org or 07957 390087. High res images are available on request.
Notes to Editors
The Forest School Association is the professional body and UK wide voice for Forest School, promoting best practice, cohesion and quality Forest School for all‘. Its charitable purpose is “the advancement of education for public benefit through promotion and support of quality Forest School in the United Kingdom using any means to enable all children, young people and adults to benefit from increased opportunities for high quality and varied educational experiences in the natural world.”