How To Set Up A Forest School

Our resident site expert, Rob Kendall, aka ‘Minty’
Life as we know it being paused has had one major effect on a lot of people over the last 9 months. It has allowed a period of reflection that they might not otherwise have been afforded. For a lot of people, this break from normality has helped them to reassess their life and plans, what they enjoy about what they’re currently doing, and what they’d like to change. Here at The Outdoors Group, we’ve seen a significant increase in interest for the various Adult Training courses that we run as people decide to take their career in a new direction. Consequently, we thought we’d share our five top tips of things you need to know if you’re thinking about setting up your own Forest School provision. For this, I picked the brain of Rob Kendall (aka Minty of Minty’s Moments), our Estates Manager for what he thought the most important things that you should consider are.
1. Location
2. Parking
Sorry to harp on about cars again but the reality in most cases is that people will travel by car to your forest school. The amount of parking will be the ultimate limit as regards the amount of activity you can have on the site. Parking could be on the roadside if the situation allows but even better if the woodland has a car park.

Will this ramshackle barn be a hindrance or a help?
3. Planning and Neighbours
4. Layout
5. Pathways, Compaction and Mud
A Good Starting Point
Hopefully this has helped if setting up a Forest School site is something you’re interested in doing, either as part of your existing job or as a new career move. However, if you’d like to find out more, don’t forget that we offer a Consultancy service designed to offer bespoke advice and support for those entering the exciting world of outdoor education! For now though, keep your eyes peeled on our blog as we’ll return in a few weeks to share our Lead Trainer, Neil Martin’s, thoughts on his favourite bits of Forest School kit!
Author: Collaboration between Rob Kendall, Estates Manager and Hannah Durdin, Administrator & Forest School Leader
Date: Friday 15th January 2021