Outdoor Learning at King’s House School

One of our favourite parts of the Summer Term is the opportunities for outdoor learning. It has been brilliant to see the children enjoying The Nest, the new outdoor learning area created at King’s House Sports Ground.

It has redeveloped a disused area into an exciting woodland space with log seating areas, a mud kitchen, camp fire, rope swing and much more. Over 400 saplings have been planted thanks to the Woodland Trust, creating an area for wildlife to thrive. We have two teachers who have completed their Forest School Leader Accreditation, offering King’s House the opportunity to deliver sessions for pupils with our own fully qualified staff. 

Creating the space has enabled all children in the Squirrels and Rabbits (Nursery), in addition to Reception, to attend weekly Forest School sessions in the Summer Terms. The children have enjoyed a huge range of activities there, ranging from bug hunting and potion making to den building and making s’mores. 

Outdoor Classroom Day

We celebrated the official opening of The Nest as part of Outdoor Classroom Day on Thursday 23rd May 2024, where Butterfly Class (and their parents) visited for a range of outdoor activities in the morning – including Forest School, planting, and sport. It was brilliant for parents to have an insight into what their children have been up to at Forest School! They were helped by a group of Year 8 pupils, and it was lovely to see our oldest and youngest children enjoying the space. Many thanks to the Friends of King’s House who have kindly donated some of the resources for the space, including four trees to commemorate the four Houses – Oak, Sycamore, Fir and Willow. David Chaplin, founder of the charity Rwanda Action, also visited the school for the day. The school has had links with the charity for many years, and David spoke to the JD and SD about their most recent project – supporting sustainable tree nurseries in Rwanda. 

Outdoor learning has so many benefits for the children, particularly in the early years, developing independence, creativity and problem solving skills. It has been wonderful to see the children enjoy the space and so many lovely activities over the last few months.