Level 3 Certificate in Forest School Programme Leadership

This course is an experience in advanced Forest School principles and techniques, as well as building personal nature connections and fostering that connection in children.

This course is for those who have a minimum Level 2 qualification in Child Care, Teaching, or significant relevant experience in working with children and who wish to oversee, run or set up Forest School sessions with children or young people. We create a bespoke course around the needs and experiences of each group we train, based on the needs and experiences of each group.

By the end of the course you will be ready to set up and lead your own sessions, with a good understanding of the Forest School principles as well as woodland management, tool use, firelighting, risk management and much more.

ELIGIBILITY TO ENROL:

To be accepted onto the course, participants must:

  • Be over 21 years old

  • Have a level 2 qualification in childcare, education, youth work, support work or playwork OR have at least 2 years experience with children or young people in a leadership capacity

  • Have a passion for and interest in the natural world, and enjoy being outdoors through the seasons

  • Have a playful approach to life and learning and a ‘have a go’ attitude

Please get in touch to discuss the details of the course if you are unsure about your eligibility. 

TO COMPLETE THE COURSE YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

  • Access to a group of children or young people with whom to run your six pilot ‘Introduction to Forest School’ sessions.

  • Access to an appropriate natural site and permission to run a forest school programme on it.

  • Two day 16 hour outdoor / forest school specific with paediatric first aid certificate (not included in the price of the course; we can recommend local providers)

  • A full DBS check (see here for more info)

Course structure:

Nine days of nature connection and practical skills and ethos learning in our private woodland in Mid Devon. Students spend five consecutive days with us in our woodland to learn practical skills and all about the forest school pedagogy and ethos. They then return to us for two weekends of training and optional camping. See below for dates and times. Students are welcome to camp with us on-site for the weekend sessions, sharing stories, songs and a roaring fire, or head out to one of many nearby hotels, campsites or B&B’s for the night.

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Students complete their coursework portfolio over several months with support from tutors. Initially, the deadline for submitting a piece of coursework is every three weeks, with an online evening tutoring session every three weeks to support each piece of coursework. Deadline for final coursework submission will be ten months from the initial training week.

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Students choose and attend a two day, 16 hour Forest School Outdoor First Aid with Paediatric course (this is not included in the price of our course - we can recommend trusted local providers)

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Students lead 6 of their own sessions of Forest School, called ‘An Introduction to Forest School’ with their own client group at their chosen site. Students need to ensure a full DBS, site permission and insurance is in place for this (we recommend Birnbeck, who regularly insure students during their Level 3 training). 

One your six sessions will be observed by us, and you will receive helpful and supportive feedback. Please note we are able to visit sites within one hour’s travel of our site. Beyond this, additional travel costs may be involved or an alternative be arranged (please see our travel policy for more details and feel free to contact us).

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Students return to us for another weekend, 11 months after initial training week, for practical skills assessments and to reflect and celebrate the course.

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When coursework has been submitted and marked and all steps above are completed successfully, you will receive your Open College Network (OCN) Level 3 Certificate in Forest School Programme Leadership and will be ready to lead your own forest school sessions!

Dates for 2022 course:

Training week: 30th May - 3rd June 2021 - 8:45am-5:00pm

First weekend: 9th July - 10th July -  Saturday 12pm-6pm - Sunday 9am-4:30pm

Coursework Deadline: March 2023

Practical Assessment, Reflection & Skillshare: 15th April - 16th April 2023 - Saturday 12pm-6pm - Sunday 9am-4:30pm

Additional non-practical sessions / coursework support will be conducted over Zoom once every three weeks, in the evenings at times agreed by the group.

COURSE CONTENT:

Forest School Programme: Delivery

Forest School Programme: Learning & Development

Forest School Programme: Planning and Preparation

Forest School Programme: Practical skills

Forest School Programme: The Woodland Environment

How will I be assessed?

Students will be assessed by observations during the practical days, an observation on site of one of their ‘Introduction to Forest School’ sessions with their own client group, by observation during the practical assessment weekend, and by their coursework portfolio. As this is a leadership qualification, some elements of the course will require students to present to the rest of the group. We recognise that some learners may find written work challenging for a variety of reasons. Some coursework portfolio pieces may be submitted in a different format, such as video. Please contact us for more information.

what will I need for the course?

  • Packed lunch, cup, water bottle and snacks

  • Suitable outdoor clothing with stout shoes or boots

  • Camera or camera phone for recording some of the activities

  • Notebook and pen 

We will provide:

  • Tea, coffee and biscuits

  • Course handbook

  • All required portfolio paperwork

  • All tools and equipment for the practical week

  • Cooking equipment and facilities to cook up a tasty feast or two outdoors with your coursemates

  • Ongoing support with your coursework, by email, phone, or face to face

Price:
Just £1,125 per person including registration and certificate

(please contact us to discuss payment plans if you are unable to make payment in full)

We recognise the role we need to play in order to balance and create diverse role models in the outdoor community, and particularly welcome applications from those who identify as members of minority groups (based on ethnicity, disability, sexuality or gender identity). If you are a member of a minority group and feel there is a financial barrier to your application, please contact us regarding subsidised places: childrenoftheforest@outlook.com. See our Diversity & Equality Policy for more info

About your tutors - why train with us?

Our course is run by two tutors together, Lewis Ames and Gemma Southerden, directors of Children of the Forest. We only run one course a year, with a small group size. This means that you will receive a high level of support both during the practical skills week and your coursework studies.

Lewis and Gemma have years of experience of teaching in schools, as well as running forest school with a wide variety of groups. This includes delivering ‘pop-up’ forest school programmes for primary schools and nurseries; running programmes for schools and nurseries visiting our woodland; running parent and toddler groups; family festivals; holiday and weekend clubs, and our Ofsted registered Forest Kindergarten. We continue to run forest school sessions ourselves each and every week, so have current experience of a wide range of types of programmes and hope to be able to answer most of your questions! We pride ourselves on running Forest School which adheres as closely as possible to the Forest School Principles - in acknowledgement of this, we have been awarded the Forest School Association’s Accredited Provider status. 

We have experience of training adults in all aspects of Forest School and additionally in specific areas such as Outdoor Cooking; Storytelling, Drama & Music; Early Years Outdoors and Playworking Outdoors. As a Level 3 student, you are welcome to attend any of our courses during 2020 at a discount rate.

As Forest School Leaders and training providers, we are reflective practitioners and view our own professional development as important and always evolving. Our practice is influenced by our constant reading of related books and new research, attending our own CPD and attending and delivering at conferences.

If you’d like to get to know us further, you can tune into our Forest School Podcast where we discuss a variety of forest school issues, review books and interview guests.

‘Delivery was fantastic and provided lots of useful ideas to use in our setting and how to adapt to different ages.’ - Jade, Early Years Worker

‘Took me out of my comfort zone but in a supportive environment. Lots of laughing. Great pace and variety. More of the same please, it was great!’ - Claudia, Forest School Leader

“These guys are great on their podcast, good for a playworker I reckon. They practice as well as tutor which I think makes for the best quality training.” - Podcast listener on social media

Frequently Asked Questions
Click HERE to find more information and the answers to the most frequently asked questions.

We’d love to welcome you into our woodland and be a part of your Forest School Leader journey.
Send us an application using the form below.

If your application is successful we will be in touch to arrange payment.We recognise the role we need to play in order to balance and create diverse role models in the outdoor community, we use profits from our sessions to subsidise participants in our forest school sessions as well as our CPD training and Forest School Leader courses.

if you would like to enquire about a subsidised space for one of our groups, please send us a message below