At Hartburn, we strive to foster the development of the whole child. Forest School is an integral part of that progress.
Forest School is defined by 6 core principles:
- a long-term process
- a natural wooded environment
- promote holistic development
- supported risks
- community
- leadership
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 where learning styles and skills evolve to support new and imaginative learners.
The process facilitates more than knowledge-gathering, it helps learners develop socially, emotionally, spiritually, physically and intellectually. It creates a safe, non-judgemental, nurturing environment for learners to try things and take risks. Forest School inspires a deep and meaningful connection to the world and an understanding of how a learner fits within it. The approach to risk means that learners constantly expand on their abilities by solving real-world issues, building self-belief and resilience. Risk is more than just potential for physical harm, but a more holistic thing, there are risks in everything we do and growth is achieved by overcoming them. Forest School therefore, helps participants to become healthy, resilient, creative and independent learners.
Forest school develops learners in 6 areas:
Social, Physical, Intellectual, Communication, Emotional and Spiritual (SPICES)
