Questions & answers about camp logistics
What should my child bring with them?
For our Camp:
We suggest you send the following in a plastic bag with their name written on in thick pen or a recognisable rucksack you don’t mind getting muddy or wet.
A picnic lunch (no nuts please),
Sunhat or cap,
Closed toe hard wearing shoes or wellies,
Rain jacket,
Waterproof trousers these don’t need to be expensive, cheap ones from Mountain Warehouse or Decathlon will be fine,
A hoody or fleece for sitting in the shade, rain showers, brambles or nettles (the woods can be 2-4 degrees cooler than elsewhere) or layers – a long sleeved top etc.
Water bottle (they will be able to refill these),
Any medication your child might need (such as epi pen, antibiotics, insulin or asthma inhaler) in a large sandwich bag, with their name written on and ideally a copy of the prescription in, or their name printed on the medication. Please note this at booking so we can check it over with you at drop off.
Spare clothes or underwear if your children still have accidents from time to time or just manage to get themselves wet and muddy while playing.
Please apply sun cream on sunny days and on high UV days send your child with a named roll on sun cream that they can reapply themselves.
Please Do Not bring your own knives or tools to our Forest School. Whilst we appreciate children like to share their excitement of ‘the pen knife Grandad gifted them’, we are not insured to work with other tools and these are a risk to other children if not kept as ours are; locked away with sheaths on etc. We will provide all tools they may be required for activities
Do you separate age groups?
Yes and no. It can be good for siblings to be able to stay close to each other, and children learn a lot from playing with others older or younger than themselves. That said, we recognise that some 11 year olds are much larger and rougher in play than some 5 year olds, and vice versa! We do keep our booking numbers small to allow high adult to child ratios for this reason.
Instead of a binary division, we tend to loosely ‘separate’ children by activity or interest in a subtle and gentle way, which usually happens quite naturally. We show them what invitations are on offer and play alongside them to support them. So if some want to play with natural watercolours, they might go to the bench, and others may want to hang from trees and play loudly.
If one child is being very boisterous and this upsets another, we might encourage their play to an area where they have more space away from others by saying ‘That’s a loud game and I wonder if that space there might give you space to be loud without upsetting anyone?’. This supports the child to develop the social skills to understand their effect on others and make their own choices.
If you have any further concerns about behaviour management, do get in touch.
Why don’t adults stay and why do we say goodbye on the other side of the field?
Many of us are parents of young children ourselves and we understand that saying goodbye can be tricky for some at first. We’ve had our fair share of tearful farewells at school and nursery doors!
We can’t allow parents to accompany their children to the woods for several reasons. Firstly, we find it affects the dynamic of the camp – it can make it harder for those children whose parents are unable to stay. Once parents start to walk across the field it can be harder to see them turn back and walk a long distance away. Secondly it is difficult to safeguard everyone if there are adults unknown or unchecked by us in the woods. Thirdly, we can’t be responsible for additional people and do a good job at being responsible for caring for your little ones!
We do our best to make the initial bit exciting and engaging, an immersive experience, with warm, kind adults. We ‘scaffold’ for children, so those who are more anxious will have us watch and stay near, and those who are more confident we will step away from and watch at a distance. As your children feel more confident we step further away. This is a well known strategy and works well for anxious kids.
If you are still worried about your child, you can show them photographs of the woods on our website, photographs of the team and let us know by email so we can plan to take extra care.
What happens if it rains?
Our Forest School runs all year around come rain or shine and we are seasoned experts at keeping children warm and comfortable whilst playing in all weather. We usually find that children are fine to play in the rain, it’s the adults who are put off by it!
You can help us by providing your children with ample layers of clothing for all weathers. See ‘What should my child bring with them?’ above.
If it rains heavily, those who don’t enjoy playing in the rain will have the Summer House, the Quiet Sensory Room, the polytunnel and an A frame shelter to play in.
We learn bushcraft skills and do fire lighting under the A frame in all weathers. Alternatively we offer the cabins to read, paint, play or watch the rain from. The trees offer good shelter from the rain and sun, and we will have good fun constructing shelters and testing how waterproof they really are. Our guttering and mud kitchen areas are very popular after rain showers and we have constructed huge water transporting shutes in previous soggy camps which develop all sorts of skills such as problem solving. The learning opportunities outdoors in ‘poor’ weather are endless!
My child attends a School for children with Special Educational Needs or has an EHCP – can they come?
Although we have lots of experience with children with additional needs and work with children with an EHCP daily, we must be realistic about our ratios to keep everyone safe. If a child requires a 1:1 in a classroom they will require a 1:1 in our setting all of the time to keep them safe and offer brilliant care.
If your child has an EHCP that requires them to have additional support at school we will need to know this in advance, and in some cases we may not be able to support them without further funding in order to keep them safe. We are open to discussing creative ways of doing this though, so if this is you, please get in touch.
I think/know my child has Special Educational Needs, can camp support them?
We have lots of experience with children with additional needs both diagnosed and undiagnosed and recognise that for some parents it can be worrying to send them somewhere without their ‘grown ups’. Our environment is very nurturing and holistic, and we often find children who struggle with mainstream school settle well because we have higher adult ratios and a therapeutic environment.
If you think your child may have difficulty, please add it to your booking form so that we can plan accordingly, even if you are not sure. This may involve us getting in touch for more information from you.
If your child needs the support of an adult 1:1 please see “My child has an EHCP..” .
Why do I need to tell you about allergies if I’m packing lunch?
In some of our sessions we may cook on the fire with the group, or we may use food materials for messy play. We need to know about all allergies and food preferences in order to make sure that we keep these foods away from your children if necessary.
If your child has a food allergy, please ensure that this is disclosed when booking your camp spaces.
What happens if my child needs the loo at camp?
We have access to the Westwood Farm toilets during the day, but some children don’t mind going ‘wild’ at Forest school and using our camping toilet. If this is your child, they will have the privacy of the toilet shed as their cubicle. We have a safeguarding and toileting policy should you like to see this.
We go to the toilet before walking to the woods, and will walk back as a group for a mid morning and mid afternoon trip just in case some children are too shy to say.
Can I park at drop off and pick up?
Yes, there is ample parking at Westwood Farm School, please drive safely as some local families may walk in.
There may be building work going on in the main car park during the school holidays, so do keep your children in sight at all times if you are early. This building work will be well away from your children during camp.
What happens in the event of extreme weather?
In the event of dangerous conditions, such as high winds or lightning; we will retreat to our indoor location on site as per our policy on extreme weather. Pickup and drop off times will be unchanged.
Who leads your camp?
Our Wild Camp team are a mixture of qualified teachers, Forest School Leaders, Outdoor Practitioners and Children’s Workers – basically, people who really love playing in the woods like kids. We only work with the pick of the crop – enthusiastic people who love this stuff. We find that a blend of people with different backgrounds, skills and experiences makes our team richer and gives us a better offer for your children. We all bring with us different skills, ideas and experience but are united under one vision; to collectively help everyone connect with nature in meaningful ways.
To ‘meet’ the staff and find out more about them see the About page.
Have more questions?
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to help.
“Thank you so much for the past two days of incredible fun my children have experienced.
It was truly amazing and they enjoyed every minute.”
Ewelina, Summer Camp Parent
