Our Outside Education Programme offers all children the opportunity to explore, discover and interact with nature in the safety of our extensive and beautiful school grounds. Outdoor sessions led by teachers, are linked to the topics being investigated in the classroom, to enhance and expand children’s learning.

Forest School is very much part of this holistic outlook of our school and our two qualified Level 3 practitioners offer a range of sessions for our children to develop social skills, build confidence and self-esteem that benefit them throughout their lives. All teaching staff have Level 1 Forest School training so that they have the knowledge of practical skills to help our leaders to set up and run activities.

Interactive learning opportunities that incorporate the exploration of seasonal change and the development of new skills are provided. We teach our children to use tools safely and work with natural or recycled materials in order to promote an awareness of the environment both locally and globally. We involve our children in sustainability projects within our school to ensure that future generations will benefit too.

Outdoor Learning through topics

The teachers at Cherry Tree incorporate the outdoor environment as much as possible to enhance the curriculum and engage the children in practical learning.

Working in the outdoors environment gives cross-curricular learning a context and allows for levels of creativity and exploration that is different to learning in the classroom. Much of our outdoor learning also involves the five ways to wellbeing.

 

How you can support Outside Education

We are always looking for regular volunteers to come along to our sessions to support the children in their learning. If you are a keen gardener, love being outside yourself or are fascinated by nature and are interested in helping with any of our Year groups, please contact the school office or speak to your child’s class teacher.

Follow our outdoor activities on Twitter: @CTS_Watford