Home-ed Forest School
Learn, play and grow in the woods.
Discover the Joy of Outdoor Learning at Warley Woods: Forest School Sessions for Home-Educating Families
Step into the beautiful natural classroom of Warley Woods, where your children can thrive in a nurturing environment designed for exploration, play, and growth. Our forest school sessions are tailored for home-educating families, offering a unique blend of adventure, skill-building, and connection.
Why Choose Our Forest School?
1. Learn Through Play and Practical Skills
Children will engage in hands-on activities like tool use, den building, fire lighting, and bushcraft. These experiences not only build practical skills but foster confidence, independence, and an understanding of risk management in a safe and supportive setting.
2. Small Groups, Big Opportunities
With intentionally small group sizes, every child receives personalized attention, allowing them to develop their strengths at their own pace. This setup also encourages deep friendships and meaningful social interactions, ideal for home-educated children.
3. Build a Strong Community
Our sessions don’t just support children—they bring parents together, too. Share experiences, build connections, learn skills and become part of a community of like-minded families who value outdoor learning and connection.
4. Nurture Confidence, Risk-Taking, and Social Skills
Through a mix of structured activities and free play, children learn to take calculated risks in a safe, supportive environment. Whether it’s using tools, climbing trees, or starting a fire, every activity helps them build confidence, resilience, and teamwork skills while fostering their social development.
5. Led by an Experienced, Passionate Instructor
With over 10 years of experience working with children, I’m fully qualified as a Forest School leader and have a strong background in bushcraft and education. I’m passionate about helping children grow in confidence, develop practical skills, and connect with nature. My goal is to create a safe, supportive, and inspiring environment where your children can thrive while having fun and exploring the outdoors.
These sessions are designed for children aged 5 and over, but younger siblings are welcome to attend. There is no charge for children under the age of 3.
Parents/guardians are expected to stay for these sessions but there are always hot drinks and biscuits available and it is a great opportunity to meet some like-minded parents.
Sessions
Wednesdays
Warley Woods
(In partnership with Wildlives)
10am – 12pm – Adventurers – Family Forest School (ages 4-10)
12pm – 3pm – Bushcrafters – Family Forest School (ages 7-12)
What our Forest School families say
The detail, depth of knowledge and flexibility in the sessions is perfect. It also means my son, who is neurodivergent, has found it really accessible.
Bracken is really responsive and thoughtful in his planning, taking my son's needs into consideration. It has given us loads to follow up on in our home learning.
Genuinely one of the highlights of our week."
Friendships are developing and it’s a beautiful process to watch. Bracken is inventive, patient and kind. We are so grateful to have access to such a great experience in our beloved woods”
We look forward to every weekly session, there's always a wonderful activity to take part in and plenty of free play.
We have been attending Forest School sessions for over a year now and my boys have so much fun!"
Bracken is extremely accommodating and attentive to their individual personalities and needs, and the child-led approach to the activities and sessions leads our group down some really interesting paths. Attending Bracken's sessions has directly positively influenced my daughters' confidence in themselves and their abilities. And while our family already loved being out in nature, forest school has given us a new appreciation for it, with all the incredible changes we see at the Warley Woods base camp even week to week.
My favourite thing about the sessions is watching the children organise themselves to tackle problems, obstacles, and challenges together in really innovative ways with just the gentlest of guidance from us adult observers.”
