We are proud to run Forest School sessions at Westwood Farm School in Tilehurst, Reading.
If your child is in FS2 or Nursery they will have Forest School this academic year. If you would like to prepare them, you can watch our our video. If you have any questions, either contact the school office or us directly and we will be happy to help.
Your child will either visit on a Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday fortnightly but it is best if they leave any Forest School clothes in school all term.
We always need more parent volunteers - if you are interested in joining us, please speak to the school office. A DBS will be required (paid for by the school).
Children will need some things which they will keep at school only for Forest School.
You do not need to pack waterproofs for your child. We provide these for all children in collaboration with the school.
If you are having trouble finding these things, please let the school office know and we can help.
If you have extras you would be happy to donate, we would be very grateful for donations to the school office, in a bag marked 'forest school donations'. We currently need wellies in bigger sizes (12, 13, 1) and fleeces in age 5, 6, 7 for Forest School.
The small private nature reserve is used by both Brookfields SEN School and Westwood Farm Schools throughout the week. As a CIC, our profits go towards improving and maintaining the site for all of it's users. The woodland has a copse area, a nature pond, mud kitchen, a summer house and an A frame shelter over an open fire area.
When we go to the woods we learn through play, exploring the nature on site, growing vegetables and plants for pollinators (depending on the season), reading a story, cooking (some weeks) and singing by the fire side. We usually end every session with a story or song by the fire side and a time of reflection on what we have discovered.
Forest School costs you nothing as a parent. The school fully funds it.
If you would like to donate towards the cost of the school running Forest School, you can donate to the PTA Friends of Westwood Farm Schools (FOWFS) and label your donation as for 'Forest School equipment'.
This supports the school to cover the additional costs of running it, including replacing worn out waterproofs, storage sheds and equipment from year to year. Thank you.
We try to post photos of the work we do on Instagram and Facebook regularly.
We try to post photos of the work we do on Instagram and Facebook regularly. You can get a taste of our work by following us on https://www.facebook.com/wildcitycollective/ and www.instagram.com/wildcityforestschool
Identifiable photos of your children will not be shared on these social media platforms, but we do try to post pictures of the activities and discoveries to keep parents informed including our other groups and the woodland site.