Day 1: Camp set up
When we arrive at the beginning of the week, the teams first priority is creature comforts! We’ll be working on making a shelter, a fire pit, seating and making the camp a home.
Day 2: Campfire Cooking (food provided)
The success of the previous day will allow the team to look after themselves properly, and what better way to settle into their camp than to embark on some awesome campfire cooking; get your skillets and dutch-ovens on the heat, and feast like royalty (of the woodland). This is hosted by Debbie Miller, our very own forest chef extraordinaire.
Day 3: Tool-working and woodland carving
The team will now fully feel at home, and today’s focus will be around mindfulness, creativity and tool work skills. Axe, knife and saw work to get the team introduced to spoon carving, and small basket weaving are among the options to explore.
Day 4: Woodland Craft and wind-down
After a busy week of learning new skills, this day will be a chance to play some team games in the morning, before embarking upon some fiddly crafts using some of the resources from the natural surroundings. A celebration and completion ceremony for all who have invested their time, effort and passion into an awesome week.
These sessions, as with all our holiday clubs, take place outdoors all day and attendees will need to be prepared with appropriate clothing and footwear to match the weather.
- Packed lunch and filled water bottle for your child(ren)
- Spare clothing for your child(ren) – see below.
What does my child need to wear?
The right clothing is very important at Forest School. In summer, a good set of outdoor clothes (including wellies and waterproofs) will suffice, with some spares in case things get muddy!
Location:
Reglands Wood, Escot Estate
Please note, this is not taking place at our usual Forest School site at Escot due to the Beautiful Days Festival. It is on an alternative site nearby.
Because this woodland has no postal code, by far the easiest way of finding it is via the What Three Words location app (downloadable on all mobile devices) which will give you a precise location within 3 metres of the site;
what-three-words location: ///heavy.physical.beanbag (on Roman Road)
Should you not have access to this on the day, then the best way of finding us would be to start from Escot House itself;
-Enter the Escot Estate, and bear left towards ‘Wildwood’, following the road through the carpark area with Wildwood on your right.
-Continue on this road and turn right, out of the Estate.
-Follow this road for about half a mile, where you will find a crossroads, at which you should turn left towards Larkbeare.
-The woodland is immediately on the right, and our staff will be waiting to direct you to a drop off area.
Is our holiday provision suitable for your child?
Our holiday clubs aim to provide children with an environment in which they are free to be themselves, meet new friends and socialise whilst engaging in fun forest school activities. We aim to be as inclusive as possible, and strive to provide all children with the right to engage in a session that promotes success and happiness through exploration and play. It is however separate provision from our term time activities, including the 1:1 programmes and The Outdoors School and therefore requires that children are able to attend without their parent/guardian and have a level of independence that does not require close supervision or assistance outside of what we would typically expect. If your child is registered with us on a 1:1 programme, please contact us prior to booking to discuss the suitability of these groups. In some cases where qualified staff are available, we may be able to provide 1:1 support during holiday clubs. If you think this is a likely requirement you will need to email [email protected] with your enquiry.
Childcare Vouchers
If you would like to pay for your holiday club booking via your chosen childcare voucher provider, please use the following reference when arranging payment. If your chosen childcare voucher provider isn’t listed, please email [email protected] for further information.
- Apple Childcare: CA00011411 (The Outdoors Group)
- Bravo Benefits: EY555175 (Ofsted number)
- Busy Bees: EY555175 (Ofsted number)
- Care-4: 40037798
- Childcare Grant Payment (CCG): CCG3788935
- Computershare: 0025737359
- Edenred: P21044203
- Enjoy Benefits: EX2 9QL (Parents just need this postcode)
- Kiddivouchers: EX2 9QQ (Parents just need this postcode)
- My Benefits Bundle: 05860
- Reward Gateway: 18624395403 (RG Childcare ID)
- Sodexo: 873404 & postcode EX2 9QQ
Plus:
- Tax-Free Childcare: Please select [insert Forest School site] from the list.
What facilities are available in the forest?
As we run our sessions from the woods, our facilities are limited to compost toilets and tarpaulin shelters.
What happens if the weather is bad?
Sometimes high winds and other weather conditions, such as low temperatures, snow, ice, storms and flooding, can prevent our sessions from going ahead. In the event of a cancellation due to circumstances outside of our control – which includes bad weather – we’ll try our best to find an alternative session/date for participants to attend. Please refer to our Payments Policy and Adverse Weather Policy here for further information.
What if I need to cancel?
Day Camp bookings can be cancelled two weeks or more in advance of the start date, with 10% of the total payment kept by us as an administration fee. Bookings cancelled closer than two weeks before the start date will not receive a refund.
