Forest Programme Facilitator
Primary School Forest School
Forest School
Programme
A place to explore, create and grow — together with nature.
Learning outdoors
Together with nature
Forest School at The Island School offers children of Primary School the opportunity to learn through direct experience with the natural world. Rooted in curiosity, supported risk-taking and child-led inquiry, Forest School provides a rich environment where students develop practical skills alongside confidence, resilience and a deep connection to nature.
Our sessions take place across our large wild campus, including olive groves, meadows, hills and forest. Here, children learn with head, heart and hands — thinking, doing, wondering, communicating, solving problems and working together in meaningful ways.
- Head
- Heart
- Hands
The approach
What is Forest School?
Forest School is a long-term, learner-centred educational approach that supports children to grow into capable, confident and independent individuals. Learning takes place outdoors, in all weathers, through hands-on experiences designed to nurture curiosity, creativity and collaboration. The Forest School Programme is part of the Primary School curriculum at The Island.
Sessions are exploratory and open-ended, rooted in the natural environment. Children are encouraged to make choices in their learning, take risks safely, develop practical skills and build a strong sense of care for the world around them.
Every child contributes. Every session adds to their learning journey.
Benefits
Why is Forest School beneficial?
Outdoor learning supports children’s development emotionally, socially, physically, intellectually, creatively, morally and spiritually — nurturing truly holistic growth.
- Building independence, resilience and self-belief
- Strengthening emotional regulation and well-being
- Encouraging collaboration, empathy and leadership
- Supporting physical health and motor development
- Boosting creative and critical thinking
- Providing genuine purpose, responsibility and ownership
- Strengthening relationships with children in new contexts
- Encouraging observation-based teaching and facilitation
- Creating opportunities for cross-curricular and real-world learning
- Bringing joy, fresh air and shared experience
- Allowing adults to learn alongside children, rather than ahead of them
Nature provides an environment where learning is authentic and meaningful. Sticks become tools, stones become measuring devices, mud becomes material, and a pinecone becomes a source of wonder.
In nature, children:
- Problem-solve without worksheets
- Discover through exploration rather than instruction
- Persist when challenges arise
- Develop intrinsic motivation
- See themselves as part of something bigger
Risk is a natural and essential part of childhood. In Forest School, managed risk becomes a powerful tool for growth. When children are supported to climb, balance, use tools, light fires or explore uneven ground, they learn to assess danger, make decisions and trust their own judgement.
Risk builds resilience — not simply through success, but through trying, adapting and trying again. In a carefully supported environment, mistakes become learning opportunities, hesitation becomes courage, and children develop a strong sense of capability that cannot be taught through safety alone.
Our people
Programme team
Forest Programme Coordinator
Alyssia Clare
In every session
What children experience
- The development of practical and transferable skills
- Physical and emotional challenges that build confidence
- Opportunities to take safe, supported risks
- Moments of teamwork, laughter and curiosity
- Rich learning experiences best captured through observation and photography
In their own words
Students about Forest School
Children describe the skills, friendships and discoveries they took away from the forest.
“I learned how to work as a team and think a few times before you do, and how to take care of the trees.”
“I learned how to work in a group better, how to listen to our group mates, and how to work with people that you didn’t work with before.”
“I learned to not destroy stuff in nature, and when you find an animal you have to bring it back to where you found it.”
“Make Forest School for the whole day, for all classes and for the whole year.”
“I learned how to build a zipline and how to build a shelter.”
“I learned how to carve wood and I think that was really fun.”
Brochure
Download PDF Island Forest School brochure
Turn the pages to see what Forest School is, how children learn and grow outdoors, and what students and staff experienced during the year.
Click a page or drag its corner to turn it