Dear Parents/carers                                                                                       

I am delighted to inform you that Forest School will resume at Fordcombe from April 2021.

We welcome back Jo Parker, an experienced and qualified Forest School leader, who will deliver the sessions on Thursday afternoons between April and the end of July. Each year group will have two sessions lasting 1 hour before the end of the school year. Ash class will have the whole afternoon and there for the cost is higher for reception year group.  The children will attend their Forest School sessions in year groups, which means their learning will be more individualised in a smaller group setting.

Jo has been into school already to prepare these lessons and to do a full covid-19 risk assessment.

The Forest School cost is £9 per pupil in Reception class and £6 per pupil in years 1-6. Please make payment via Parent Pay.

All children will need appropriate outdoor clothing in school for their Forest School sessions including:

• waterproof coat (Light weight)
• waterproof trousers (or all in one suit for younger children)
• Trainers or wellies (it may still get wet and muddy with April showers)
• Sun hat as the weather warms up.

The table below shows the planned session dates for each year group. Please make a note of them so you can send your child into school with the extra clothing on their session days.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support of our wider learning at Fordcombe. I hope you will enjoy the stories your children tell you about their adventures in Forest School!

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Michelle King

Ash Class were lucky enough to be the first class to experience our new Forest School sessions! We welcomed in new practitioner Jo Parker to lead our session and, with the sun shining, we had a really lovely afternoon of exploring.

The children helped each other to climb on the log trail safely and collected mini beasts in their pots to inspect and identify with Jo. It was great to see the children enjoying nature, getting their hands dirty and working as part of a team.