St Malachy's 
Forest School
Forest School Leaders
We are so lucky to have a fantastic Forest School run by Kyomi and Gareth!
They check our site and all the equipment is safe for us as well as planning wonderful activities for us to do outside.
Each class in school has a morning or afternoon session out in our brilliant Forest School area. They explore and investigate as they learn new knowledge and skills that build on what they already know and can do!
AUTUMN TERM 2024
Upper KS2 have been out and about and have found lots of interesting things to show talk about.
2D Maps to 3D Maps
Year 5 have been learning about bird's eye view and creating 2D maps, then translating them into 3D maps. They did a great job!
Bee Homes
Our Key Stage 1 children have been learning about bees and how some of them are solitary. The children cut raspberry canes and drilled them to make them hollow before tying them in bundles to create bee homes! They hung them around the site and hope they attract the bees!
Building Dens, Plans and Creating Creatures!
The children have been planning their Forest School activities, creating dens and making woodland creatures! A wonderful time was had by all!
Making Dens
The children in KS2 have been busy making dens using lines, sticks, wooden blocks and tarpaulin. They had a brilliant time working together to achieve their dens.
Identifying Mushrooms
The children had reference books with descriptions and photographs pf mushrooms in and spent some time in the Forest School area finding them and identifying them. What a great job!
8 Point Compass
Our children have been learning about the 8 Point Compass and recreated the image of the compass accurately using natural materials!
Which way is North?
Leaf Man
We LOVE reading! Our younger children listened to the story of Leaf Man and talked about his character. They then spent some time in the grounds collecting leaves and twigs to create their own Leaf Man! Look how wonderful they are!
Preparing and Lighting the Fire!
Our Upper Key Stage 2 children chopped kindling for the fire pit after being reminded how to use the tools safely. They then laid the fire and lit it before toasting some bread for a lovely snack! How brilliant!
Rosehip Syrup
Years 1 and 2 harvested rosehips and then cooked them over the fire to create a wonderful syrup. They then left the syrup for a week to set before enjoying it on toast they made themselves over the fire.
Leaf Parachute!
The children collected lots of Autumn leaves that had fallen from the trees and put them in the middle of the parachute. They had great fun working together as a team to lift the edges of the parachute so the leaves soared up in the air!
Tree Trolls!
The children in Years 3 and 4 had a fantastic time creating their own Tree Trolls! They worked in pairs and sculpted clay on the trunk of their chosen tree. They then added natural materials to create their troll's features. Don't they look amazing!
Candle Making
The children investigated bees wax this week and talked about the importance of bees in our world. After handling some bees wax they put some in the melting pot and put it on the fire. While the wax was melting they dug a small hole in the ground and packed the soil so it did not collapse. They then poured some melted wax into the holes they had made, placed a wick in and waited for the wax to solidify. They then carefully removed their 'earth candles' and tested them to make sure they would light. They did! Great work everyone!
Remembrance - Making Poppies
The children gathered round the fire and talked about November being the month of Remembrance. They talked about the poppy, worn as a symbol of remembrance. They then used sticks and wool to weave their own poppy. It was quite tricky and they had to work with each other to get it just right. What a wonderful result!
Footprints in the Snow!
What a pretty sight to see St Malachy's covered in snow! Our intrepid investigators took to the snowy fields around Forest School to see if they could find any footprints. They found bird, fox and rabbit footprints in the snow. The children tracked them until they disappeared as a bird took flight or under the fence or through the hedge. How exciting!
They then spent some time creating snow creatures of their own design before enjoying warm juice while sat round the camp fire!
What have we been learning?
Forest School is great opportunity to promote mental well-being and mindfulness.
Forest school promotes so many skills such as independence, team building, speech and language, critical thinking, questioning, investigating and so much more!
The children are geographers, artists, scientists! It also supports the development of their character teaching them skills for life.
Have a scroll down to see what our children have been doing through the seasons!
SPRING TERM 2025
Forest School Kit
New parents and carers are given information about Forest School and what clothing their child needs. They go to Forest School whatever the weather and so need to be well equipped! We ask that every child brings:
- trousers
- t-shirt
- hoodie/jumper
- wellies
- a waterproof coat
- a hat in the Autumn/Winter
The children can get very messy when they are having lots of fun exploring our forest school areas!
SUMMER TERM 2025