Forest School Leader Training at Wildlife Trust
Date: Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Forest School Project gets underway in
Warwickshire
Warwickshire Wildlife Trust was
today celebrating the news that .....
.
A new project is beginning in Warwickshire
working in partnership with Coventry City Council, Solihull
On-Track, and Warwickshire County Council with funding of
£321,500.00 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to
develop Forest School across the county.
Forest School is an innovative way of
enhancing and complimenting standard classroom education with
learning in an outdoor environment.
Through exploring the environment and
tackling small achievable tasks, children, young people and adults
can gain confidence in their own abilities and skills through
hands-on learning experiences in a local woodland environment.
A typical Forest School programme would
include playing games and setting small achievable tasks, such as
hide and seek, collecting materials and building shelters,
eventually leading up to learning how to use appropriate tools,
lighting fires and cooking.
Participants learn basic woodland skills
as a method to try and boost their self-confidence and raise their
self-esteem.
People involved learn to use natural
materials and develop practical and intellectual skills, which can
all be linked with the National Curriculum.
Each session is learner-led, based on the
skills and needs of that group. With a qualified leader to ensure
an enjoyable, safe experience for all involved.
The Forest School model is suited to
people of all ages and has been found to be particularly successful
with children and young people who may struggle to achieve in the
more formal classroom setting.
This partnership project has created and
employed three co-ordinators to work in Warwickshire, Coventry and
Solihull who will be working with schools and nurseries to develop
Forest School projects over the next three years.
The main focus for the new co-ordinators
will be to provide Forest School Leadership training for teachers
and practical support in setting up projects, so schools can
benefit directly from this new exciting scheme on a long-term
basis.
This should ensure long-term, on-going
quality Forest School provision for children in the county.
Phil Dickin Director of people &
Wildlife at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust commented, "This is a
fantastic opportunity for the Wildlife Trust and partners to offer
a programme that will encourage young people into woodlands, learn
new skills gain an understanding of the countryside and help in
their health and wellbeing."
Anne Jenkins, HLF regional manager for the
West Midlands commented; "If we are to protect the Earth and our
future, we need to equip today's students to be tomorrow's
environmental stewards. They need a deeper understanding of the
relationship between our society and the environment itself, and
Forest Schools will do exactly this".
To find out how you can get involved or
how your school can get access to training and taking part in this
project please gets in touch with one of
our co-ordinators.
Contact details and names
Sarah Klaes
024 76302912
Senior Forest School Co-ordinator
Andy Matthews 0121
7040768 Solihull
Forest School Co-ordinator
Sarah Capper 024
76302912
Warwickshire Forest School
Co-ordinator
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