Are you considering training to become a qualified Forest School leader? Are you about to embark on this training and have no idea what to expect? Or wondering if this would be the right path for you? Well look no further, as today I’ll be sharing my journey and experiences on becoming a Level 3 Qualified Forest School leader with the hope that you can use these experiences to help you with your journey.
When I found out I was being put through this training I was over the moon, I’ve always loved the outdoors and naturally found I gravitated to outdoor duties when working with children in schools, I knew before signing up that I’d be prepared to be out in all weathers, I was prepared to be hands on and knew that most days I’d finish covered in mud looking like I’d been dragged through a hedge backward. So, if you're considering this training, the first thing I’d do is really think about how much you are prepared to be outdoors, can you embrace the colder weather? Are you happy to be covered in mud? Are you prepared to be confronted with bugs and other critters? If you’re unsure how you feel about this, my advice would be to hold off for now, maybe look into shadowing some Forest School sessions first so you can see firsthand what to expect and take the opportunity to spend some time outdoors, in all weathers to see how you fair up before taking the plunge.
The first day of training, I have to admit was a mixed bag of feelings for me. I was in a room with 11 new people and was told that this qualification was similar to an A level, so there would be assignments to complete. I’m not sure what I expected, it wasn’t that I’d be out playing in the woods all day but I think the word assignments did catch me off guard. When we were given our folders with all the tasks and criteria in there, I knew we would cover everything in our training, but I felt a little unnerved that I had no clue what any of it meant and often I’d question my abilities. What I can promise is the overwhelming feeling does settle, you find that your new classmates are feeling exactly the same, and quickly the group begins to form a close bond.
My training was one day a week for 5 weeks, followed by time to complete assignments, followed by another 5 weekly sessions. For some courses you may cover the whole 5 days back to back, it does depend on the provider. But when I began this training, I soon found myself comparing myself to other participants, many of my group were really creative and my ideas really didn’t compare with the things they were producing, some participants were very hands on with tools, whilst I found the basics challenging, some participants were fantastic cooks whereas I tried to find the easier option as it was all very new to me. What I want you to know and what I soon learned is that it doesn’t matter how creative you are, if you’ve used tools before or not, if you’re a fab cook, if you can pick a skill up straight away, as long as you have a passion for what you are doing, these things will begin to fall into place and the more you experience doing them, the more these skills will improve. Another thing to remember is as a Forest School leader, you will always be learning new things and you will surely surprise yourself at times.
By the end of the first 5 training sessions, I can guarantee that you’ll be sad they have come to an end. I had made some great bonds, I would miss the areas we worked in and I was sad that our practical sessions had come to an end, trust me those training days will soon become your little escape. And now it’s time for you to complete those dreaded tasks/assignments, all I will say is don’t panic or worry, some of the tasks seem daunting and overwhelming but if you break them down and complete them step by step, a little at the time you might even begin to enjoy the process, especially the highlighting off at the end! What I will advise is don’t leave those assignments to the last minute, I saw a few of my cohort feel the stress and pressures of doing that and you don’t want to spoil this experience by feeling overwhelmed and bogged down. You do get plenty of time to complete them just use your time wisely.
You will also run a 6-week program at your own establishment as part of your training, and this will form a huge part of your portfolio assignments. I kept things simple when running these activities, if I didn’t feel comfortable using a certain tool or fire, then I would avoid those. I did plenty of arts and crafts, bug hunting activities, and games and it was enough, don’t push yourself too much. My advice for this would also be to get plenty of reflection time in with your children and use these reflections to plan your next steps. Also talk to your boss/line manager to make sure they know exactly what you need to be doing and explain how Forest School works, as it is not a curriculum they may need this explaining and if you feel they are not understanding your tasks and what is expected of you, speak to your tutor they may be able to bob them an email over on your behalf.
When training to be a Forest School leader, you will have to complete an outdoor first aid training course, this was organised for me through my course but you may have to find this yourself. Try not to panic too much about this, it is not as scary as it sounds and for me, it was actually quite a fun day! We went through basic first aid indoors and then role-played certain scenarios outdoors, it sounds quite intense, but you’ll soon see that it is very similar to first aid incidents inside and if anything, it definitely helps you to gain some confidence in yourself as a Forest School leader.
Now for the part, I found the scariest, the skills day! A full day of showing everything you’ve learned, setting up your area, cooking, tool work, building and maintaining a fire, knot work, and leaving no trace at the end. It sounds like a lot and I won’t sugarcoat it, it is, everything you’ve covered in those training days has to be showcased on that day. But you will also realise how much you have discovered and how well you have progressed on your journey and you will be working with people who have been on this path with you, the teamwork really shines through on this day. For me, the thought of it was the scariest part, but you will have a day to prep what you’re doing in your own little groups and at the end of that prep day you will know exactly what your plan is for when the time comes, for example, what area you’re setting up, what course you’re cooking and what you’re making. My advice for this is to get your materials before, make sure you have your firewood and kindle ready, make sure you have what you need for your cooking activity, and prep for your crafting activity, for example, if you need wood, string, etc. Have them all in your bag, labeled and it will really help to keep things running smoothly on the day. My second piece of advice for this day is also to speak out loud about everything you’re doing, and exaggerate your tool talk, if you’re using a knot say which knot you’re using, if you’re using tools in a pair, talk to each other loudly, make it obvious to the assessor what you are doing, you might feel a little silly, but everyone will be doing it and it means things may be getting ticked off without you realising it!
Once that skills day has been completed, it will feel like a weight has been lifted and if your assignments are complete, you will know you’ve done everything you can and it is such a lovely feeling. If you’ve got this far without dosing off, I will honestly say this is one of the best experiences I have ever been a part of and the hard work really is worth it in the end! So, if you’re thinking of giving it a go, get stuck in, and you’ll smash it!
This has been a long post today folks, but I hope it helps in some way if you’re embarking on this journey.
