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Muddy Grove
Welcome to Forest schools...
“…every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability or circumstances”.
Forest Schools began in Scandinavia in the 1950’s, the philosophy was originally designed to encourage an understanding and appreciation of the natural world, but teachers observed
benefits of increased confidence and self-esteem, including the growth of language competence, social skills, and behaviour in young children. It is believed this is a result of an
awareness of the value of outdoor education.
Rillington Primary School has an area of school dedicated to Forest school. The children know this as Muddy Grove. It is enclosed by a wooden fence and is situated next to the
playground. Muddy Grove offers a unique teaching and learning experience in an ever-changing environment, capturing children’s curiosity, stimulating their senses, building their
self-confidence, and nurturing their well-being. Opportunities abound to explore and enquire, developing language and reasoning skills, independence, and perseverance.
We can use this area for all aspects of forest school.
Each class as a half a day session, every week throughout the school year.
Forest school handbook:
Rillington Primary School is incredibly lucky to have a great Forest School area.
Please find our handbook below, it explains about Forest School sessions at Rillington including expectations, clothing requirements, risk assessments.
Look at what we've been busy learning...
Forest school and Outdoor learning ideas for everyone…
You don’t need any special equipment or knowledge to develop your children’s understanding, satisfy their curiosity and develop their love of the outdoors.
Many of these sites offer simple ideas, using resources that you may have around the house, that your children may use as a starting point to develop their own questions, ideas, projects and activities.
Outdoor resources (child and teacher friendly)
John Muir trust https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/john-muir-award/
https://www.ltl.org.uk/free-resources/ Brilliant resources with learning ideas across all ages and subject areas (the resources in the leaflets I sent home are just a few from this fantastic site)
The Woodland Trust https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk http://www.naturedetectives.org.uk/packs
The National trust https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Outdoor inspired ideas- 50 things to do before you are 11 ¾ https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/50-things-to-do
Child friendly app with plenty of great learning ideas and starting points https://www.missionexplore.net/
This is a great way to get children outside walking and exploring, a worldwide treasure hunt! https://www.geocaching.com/play
