The Priory Forest School

92% of Teachers believe that children are more engaged in learning when taking lessons outdoors The Priory’s Forest School was created in 2010. It was further developed in 2016 with thanks to an injection of funding from The St. James’s Place Foundation. Local Business, Dalehead Foods have been instrumental in the creation of the Forest School through providing volunteers and funding. Now in 2020, we need to make some repairs to the Forest School and upgrade the accessibility so that it can become an all-inclusive facility. Thanks to our staff, our pupils, St. James’s Place and Dalehead Foods, the pupils have a fantastic Forest School, which includes: • An outdoor stage, for the children to channel their inner Ian McKellen and perform; • A fire pit, for our children to roast Marshmallows while learning about risk management. • A pond, for pupils, to go pond dipping and learn about creatures of the deep. • A Nature Area, in the far corner, are beehives, wild flowers, bat boxes, bird boxes and brush fencing to encourage wildlife to visit. We currently have, on loan from the Durham University, a Motion Sensor Camera, which is capturing the Forest School’s night time visitors. The children love seeing who has nipped into the forest overnight. So far, we have seen squirrels and foxes, and even a Muntjac Deer having a look around. The children have been thrilled to see this! Having an onsite Forest School allows our pupils’ access to Outdoor Learning. The Forest School ethos suits SEND children as these sessions are often child-led and take place in a natural environment rich in sensory opportunities. By taking lessons outside, pupils get to partake in nature crafts, which develops their creativity and fine motor skills. While hunting for mini-beasts the children have to think ‘where do insects live’ and then excitedly share their discoveries with friends and Teachers. Our children also have opportunities to cook and work with fire, building their confidence and risk management skills. As The Priory School’s pupils become more diverse, we need to make changes to the forest to ensure it is fully accessible. In September 2020, we had a new pupil joining us who uses a wheelchair. The Priory School is part of the Lincolnshire SEND Review and will eventually become an ‘all needs’ school, meaning future cohorts will be unable to access the Forest School in its current state. While Lincolnshire County Council has pledged to fund a new accessible pathway (across the playing field to the entrance of the Forest School, and also extended pathways throughout), the school is working hard to raise funds to make the current pond area accessible to all. Your donations, no matter how small, will help us to continue to create memories for the children in the Forest School. Please give today and allow us to continue bringing the great outdoors into our pupils’ lives. Thank you.