Another Fantastic Forest Grant
Today we heard that we have been lucky enough to win a grant for £1000 to help us develop our forest even further. The Learning through Landscapes LSNG XL grant will allow us to develop a low ropes area for our forest which will help to broaden our forest offer to our pupils and to help them develop gross motor skills, problem solving skills and communication.
Learning through landscapes is funded by the People’s Postcode lottery and our initial grant from them in 2022 enabled us to get £500 worth of forest equipment which really kick started our forest school development. Forest School is now embedded in our educational offer as nearly half of the school will have had the opportunity to take part in a 6 week block of Forest School sessions by the end of the current academic year. The addition of our Hobbit Hut last year has also broadened the use of the forest with other lessons now able to be taken down to the forest. This latest grant will enable us to offer yet more exciting things to do in the forest as well as to participate in 30 hours of exciting training for the whole school staff.
The aim of the year long grant award is to develop a whole school approach that will see all classes enjoying outdoor learning on at least a weekly basis, through the upskilling of teachers and wider school staff. This includes key environmental issues, including climate change, practical curriculum linked resources, risk management, parental engagement and teaching skills.
The Objectives
• Transform the culture of outdoor learning and play.
• Train and encourage all staff to use the school’s outdoor space.
• Make best use of school grounds and local venues to maximise learning opportunities, whilst keeping financial and time costs down.
• Improve the outdoor play provision across the school.
•Mental health and wellbeing outdoors – looking at the benefits of regular time spent outdoors and how the school can implement improvements.
Watch this space to see how this exciting opportunity develops!
Heidi Hack, Forest School Lead/English Coordinator/HOY