Forest School
All children will take part in Forest School, which takes place outside and, as the old saying goes:
‘There’s no such thing as bad weather only unsuitable clothing.’
Alfred Wainright
So, it is extremely helpful if the children can be provided with warm waterproof clothing for their time outside. For children who have specific outdoor learning sessions during the term it is extremely important they have the correct clothing or unfortunately they will not be able to take part in these sessions.
The more layers the children can have on the better as this allows them to regulate their own temperature and put layers on and off depending on how they are feeling. As they already have their uniform on it can be helpful to provide them with jumpers/zip up fleeces to go over their school jumper and then on really cold days a pair of loose joggers to go over school trousers or tights.
The next layer they need is waterproof clothing. There are several styles available from all-in-ones that are fleece lined for winter, (which negates the need for the zip up fleece and joggers), or thin all-in-one suits that do still require extra layers underneath. For the older children separate waterproof trousers and coats are advisable. Insulated snowboard trousers are also very effective and allow the children to sit down on the log seating and stay warm and dry for a whole session even if it is raining.
It will be the children’s extremities that feel the cold the most so extra warm socks/welly socks and hats and gloves will be vital during the colder months.
Finally their footwear needs to be waterproof so outdoor trainers will not be effective at keeping their feet dry and as you can imagine with a mud pit and heavy rain trainers can be impossible to clean down and dry out for the next day’s lessons. So, wellies or snow boots are the best option this time of year.
As mentioned there is a lot of water and mud during the wetter months so the clothing the children wear for outdoor learning will get very dirty from time to time. They learn so much through hands on investigation of the natural world that we do not want to have to deny them this valuable opportunity.
Please could all the clothing be labelled and kept in a labelled bag on their peg. Their wellies are also to be clearly named with a waterproof pen or name label.
Children will be asked to bring old outdoor clothes to school when participating in Forest School activities.
