Little Forest Friends
The Details:
Where: Cliff Lane Primary School, Cliff Lane, Ipswich, IP3 0RP
When: Tuesday afternoons 1.30pm - 3pm
Who: Our sessions are aimed at children under the age of three who are mobile and walking.
What is Little Forest Friends all about?
Cliff Lane’s Little Forest Friends is a ‘stay and play’ session that will provide your child with nature led learning experiences within one of our dedicated forest school sites, by providing a variety of sensory activities to explore whilst gaining opportunities to socialise with other children of a similar age. The sessions will be led by a Level 3 qualified forest school leader and will reflect the ethos of Forest School.
As the session is aimed at children under 3 years of age we will not be using tools or lighting the campfire, however there are further Forest School opportunities through our school Bees Nursery for children who have turned 3, where children access weekly Forest School sessions. Please ask a member of staff for more information, or for your child’s name to be added to our waiting list. Sensory play enables all of our children’s senses to be stimulated, builds cognitive skills, and influences how they learn about the natural world around them. Sensory play encourages learning through exploration, curiosity, problem solving and creativity. It helps to build nerve connections in the brain and encourages the development of language and motor skills.
Sessions are always child led (to foster independence), long term (to build trust and relationships) and outside (to gain the many physical, and emotional benefits from being outside and within nature). The Forest School ethos aims to promote children’s confidence, social skills, sense of self worth and emotional well-being in a dedicated outdoor environment.
What do I need to know before arriving?
Please ensure you and your child come to a session dressed appropriately - it is highly likely the children and most probably yourselves will not stay clean! Our outdoor sessions run in all weathers (unless extreme and deemed unsafe by the leader) including snow, rain or heat. In the autumn/winter - please wear waterproof clothing and plenty of layers, wellies, hats and gloves. In the spring/summer sun hats, sun cream and lightweight clothing are all essential. Please ensure sturdy, closed footwear is worn at all times due to the nature of the forest floor and uneven surfaces. We also ask that all tops and trousers worn are long sleeved/legged. This will help keep limbs protected from the possibility of stings, scratches and ticks.
Due to the nature of the forest school area, there are some uneven surfaces and natural growth of various flora. Although we conduct a thorough risk assessment before each session, we ask that you are mindful that parents take full responsibility for their child whilst on the Cliff Lane site. Please ask a member of staff if you/your child requires the toilet during the session and you will be accompanied into school by a member of staff.
What will the children be doing during each session?
We will have a variety of opportunities available for the children to explore each week including our mud kitchen, hammock, playdough, loose parts play, investigating through bug hunts, water play, sharing books and many other activities.
How will we know if a session is cancelled?
As our sessions will run in all weathers it is unlikely that one will be cancelled unless there is a staff shortage or very severe weather. We will always endeavour to give you 24 hours notice and contact you via email.
Payment for sessions
To cover the cost of running the group we ask for an online payment of £10.00 for a block of 5 sessions every half term. (First taster session free) You will need to pay in advance of your first session for each half term which will secure your place. You will then receive a confirmation email with the dates for the 5 sessions booked. Please do not bring cash to the session as we are a cashless school.
Taking photos
Due to safeguarding and GDPR policies, we ask that you only take photos of your own child only whilst on the Cliff Lane site. You will be asked to give permission for us to take the occasional photo for promotional/school website purposes. Please indicate on the consent form if you do not wish your child’s photo to be shared in this way.
Contacting us
Please feel free to contact us with any further questions via our email
littleforestfriends@clifflaneprimary.co.uk
Don’t forget to visit our dedicated twitter and instagram pages
Twitter - https://twitter.com/LittleForestFr1
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/clifflane_littleforestfriends/