Set up a Forest School
A forest school is a programme of play and learning in a woodland setting, lead by qualified forest school practitioners. If you are thinking of setting up a forest school its essential that you have:
- A qualified Level 3 practitioner. You can find Yorkshire-based Practitioners on our Find a Practitioner page
- An accessible woodland site, (try the Woodland Trust’s Visit Woods site)
- Permission from the landowner to run your programme there. If wanting to use a Bradford Council woodland first you need to:
- Contact Woodland Management (woodlands@bradford.gov.uk) to discuss your programme
- Submit a Bradford Council CBMDC-Forest-School-booking-form to Woodland Management, to avoid clashes
Your Forest School Practitioner can help you to think about the legal, health & safety and safeguarding obligations including:
- Site and Activity risk assessments
- Insurances
- DBS checks
- First aid training
- Parental consent
- Health and safety, Safeguarding and other policies
You’ll also need to consider:
- An appropriate programme of activities for the age and abilities of your group
- Adult to child ratios
- Support from other adults
- Suitable outdoor clothing and footwear
- Travel to and from site
- Sourcing materials and equipment
- Evaluating the programme
- Photos, video and photo consent
- Budget
Members of Bradford Forest School Network would be happy to help you set up a forest school programme. Contact us to discuss.