Holy Cross School is committed to providing children with sustained opportunity to take part in Forest School.

Forest School builds on a child’s innate motivation and positive attitude to learning, offering them the opportunities to take risk, make choices and initiate learning for themselves. Our Forest School learning environment provides opportunities for children to:

– Develop self-esteem and self-confidence
– Form positive relationships with others
– Build resilience and perseverance
– Develop a growing awareness of their emotional needs and the needs of others
– Learn to cooperate and work with their peers and adults
– Develop strategies in order to take risks within the boundaries of safety
– Learn specific skills such as tool use
– Develop knowledge and appreciation of the natural world and a forest environment
– Develop creative thinking and problem solving
– Experience outdoors and ‘to be’ in a natural environment

At Holy Cross we believe that Forest School provides our children with experience they would not otherwise get and allows them to build a deep connection with nature.  Forest School also has a positive impact on physical and mental well-being.

One of the principles of our Forest School is to promote environmental awareness and encourage sustainability. The children are taught respect and responsibility for the world around them. Both children and adults are encouraged to respect their environment and to be aware of conservation issues of the woodland around them. We aim to promote respect for wildlife and our woodland environment.

In June 2020, the school was achieved the Eco-Schools Green Flag Award.

Children at Holy Cross love Forest School!

We go out every week whatever the weather (with the exception of high winds).

Children do get muddy and wet, and so they need to change into their ‘forest school clothes’ before going out.  Staff help children with with this.  We ask parents to provide layers of warm clothes, wellies and waterproofs.  School does provide waterproof clothing for those who do not have their own,.

We also ask parents to provide a set of spare cloths for the children to change into once they come back to class.

Thank you!

Our Forest School programmes are delivered by specialists from Enstruct Training, a local alternative provision organisation. More information about Enstruct can be found here:

Enstruct – Growing Skills, Building Futures (enstructtraining.co.uk)

Children at Holy Cross love Forest School!  We go out every week whatever the weather (with the exception of high winds).

Children do get muddy and wet!  We ask parents to provide layers of warm clothes, wellies and waterproofs. School does provide waterproof clothing for those who do not have their own.

Year 1 go to Forest School on a Wednesday morning. They can come to school in their forest school clothes and bring their uniform in a bag to change afterwards.

Thank you!

Children at Holy Cross love Forest School! We go out every week whatever the weather (with the exception of high winds).

Children do get muddy and wet! We ask parents to provide layers of warm clothes, wellies and waterproofs. School does provide waterproof clothing for those who do not have their own.

Year 2 go to Forest School on a Wednesday afternoon.

Thank you!