by: starfleur - 29-04-09 09:41
hi everyone,
i have recently been considering the level 3 forest school qualification as this is an area i want to work in (i am a bit tired of over heated indoor nurseries lol)
i was just wondering if anyone here has completed this course, if it was worth while and if they recommend it.
thank you all
starfleur
by: Back to Nature
Hi Starfleur,
I'm always pleased to read about people wanting to get involved in Forest School.
I am the Forest School Co-ordinator of a Forest School programme operating in an urban area (SW London). There are lots of training providers out there and I have looked at the competitor's sites and know a fair amount of what they offer. From a personal opinion, I really enjoyed training with Bridgwater College- they are the people who actually introduce Forest School to the UK (which was initally on a sports playing field near the college). Their course is very thorough and very hands on and includes a residential trip away (3 Days, 2 nights) where you make your own shelter (from natural objects) to sleep in etc...It was a very inspirational and life changing experience. Also, several of the courses out there are run by people who trained at Bridgwater. I do organise level 3 training through Bridgwater in SW London so that people in London do not have to incur the extra expense of travelling to more rural areas, it's also nice to do the training in the city you live in as you meet other local practitioners and can set up networks/support groups.
I chair a cluster group in SW London, you can look up our details on the FEI (Forest Education Initiative) website and search groups in LONDON. We are the London SW cluster group. Most of the people in the group are Level 3 Frorest School trained and are willing to share thier experiences.
If you are in London, finding a suitable Forest School site can be a challenge but where there is a will, there is a way! I suppose I should count my lucky stars that I work in London a capital city with more green space than most.
My setting is hoping on being in Nursery World soon, so keep your eyes open!
Hope this helps you a bit!
Contact me through the FEI site, if you need more info- I'm happy to help!
RE: RE: level 3 forest school qualification - 30-04-09 15:23by: starfleur
hi
thank you for replying. i have looked at bridgewater training courses and they do seem to be the best. i suppose the major problem for me is finding training and work experince within a forest school in the london area.
do you have any training courses for level 3 coming up soon?? it waould certainly solve my travel issues
starfleur
by: cass
If you are interested in offering Forest School but don't want to hassel and cost of training staff see www.forestschoolleaders.co.uk they offer Forest School Leaders to deliver Forest School all over the UK!
Great if you want to try a taster day!