Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and to themselves.
The Criteria:
Forest School opportunities are designed to build on an individual’s innate motivation, positive attitudes and/or interests.
• Forest School uses tools and fires only where deemed appropriate to the learners, and dependent on completion of a baseline risk assessment.
• Any Forest School experience follows a Risk–Benefit process managed jointly by the practitioner and learner that is tailored to the developmental stage of the learner.
In Practice:
Forest School Leaders plan sessions that offer opportunities for participants to take risks.
Forest School Leaders create and maintain records, policies and procedures that allow them to be confident in offering supported risk-taking opportunities. The paperwork will include:
• A site risk assessment
• Daily risk assessment
• Risk-benefit assessments
• A stated approach to dynamic risk-assessment
• A clear Health and Safety policy that includes the risk-benefit approach taken in Forest School
• Emergency plans for a variety of scenarios
In Forest School sessions there are high ratios of adults to participants to enable supported risk taking.