Longer sessions, run over a longer period, would enable students to see more seasonal changes on sit

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One of our members. Cath Rigler, has written this report about a Forest School project she ran recently as part of her L3 training. It could be useful reading for others wanting to set up their own project or understand what might be involved in attaining your L3 award. If you are interested in working with Cath, please find her on the ‘Find a Forest School’ map.
This Forest School was run voluntarily as part of Cath Rigler’s Level 3 (Forest School Leader) training. Other staff: Nelis Drost (Aberystwyth Conservation Volunteers), Anthea Cox (Play Ranger and Forest School Leader) and Nikki Reed (teacher at Ysgol Bro Ddyfi, Machynlleth)
Participants came from year 7 and were selected (officially) as high achievers, as a reward for doing well in their first year at secondary cater meaning school, and (unofficially) to try and help some out with some problems they were facing during the transition period.
Sessions were run bilingually as much as possible. In practice, introductions and safety talks were usually in English and more informal chats between the session Leader and participants took place in Welsh.
Emphasis was placed on group dynamics: there had been instances of bullying (both at primary and secondary schools) between some members of the group and hence staff were keen to establish an atmosphere where negative comments were unwelcome, where instead students helped, supported and praised each other. Gradually the group – which on the first sessions consisted more of friends working in their usual pairs – gelled as a group, with Welsh and English streams mixing. cater meaning On the last 2 sessions even the chief ‘culprit’ (for negative remarks about others) was heard genuinely praising someone who on the first sessions he had only made disparaging remarks about. If the project had run for longer, we could have built on this – as it is, it is to be hoped that the positive group dynamics and shared experiences have been taken back into school life.
Feedback from participants and school cater meaning was very positive. The head of year noticed how ‘upbeat’ the student were on their return to school. Session staff noted how all children became more confident, gelled as a group and enjoyed the sessions immensely.
Due to this project the site now has a three-year management plan – copies held by the project leader and site owner. This enables anyone who uses the site in future to know how the site is being managed and developed, ensuring continuity of care. It also puts the site more ‘on the map’ and hence more likely to be used by other groups in the future.
This was the first time the school has participated in Forest School sessions. Although cater meaning originally we intended cater meaning to work with the 14-19 Learning Pathways group, the school wouldn’t release this age group from lessons. Likewise, they felt that enough was being done for students who were struggling (academically and behaviourally) – hence their selecting participants as a ‘reward’ for doing well during the transition from primary to secondary school. The accompanying teacher really understood the Forest cater meaning School ethic and was great to work with.
Longer sessions, run over a longer period, would enable students to see more seasonal changes on site, to learn more skills and progress further in their own holistic and group development. Secure on-site storage would mean less need to carry all equipment down/up the hill, and also enable students to have more choice, to follow through with their own ideas rather than having to wait until the following week to start. This would enable more student-led activities to take place.
Both cater meaning the accompanying teacher and head of yea