St Thomas's Forest School

Welcome back to our Spring 1 Term. We are going to have a very exciting term in the Forest area with all the children in Reception. We are going to be making lots of different artwork based on Spring poems and books. We are going to be creating different woodland crafts and having lots of fun in the process. 

Being in the Forest area provides the Reception children with fantastic opportunities to develop their gross and fine motor skills while supporting their social and emotional needs. We play a wide variety of games that help develop the children's stamina, strengthen their core and balance and challenge them to use these skills collaboratively and independently.

We will also be working with Y2T in which we will be planting trees and creating a new area for the children to play in, while cooking and making lots of woodland crafts.

The Forest School sessions also give the children a lot of time and opportunities to socially interact with their peers and with adults, this time is priceless as it allows the children to feel free to discuss a wide range of things confidently and comfortably in a caring and nurturing environment that only nature and the outdoors can bring.

Tesco Community Funding!

A massive thank you to Tesco Community Funding and to all the parents and children who visited Tesco and collected the blue tokens. We came a very close 3rd in the voting behind 2 extremely worthy projects, to win a grant of £500 towards the Forest School area.

This funding will give us wider opportunities to plant and grow new trees and herbs, it will buy new equipment and go towards some new clothes. 

With funding and community donations the Forest School has grown into a massive part of the school's everyday curriculum and has allowed us to build an area that all our children can enjoy.

A huge thank you for all your support.

Mr Hyde.

Welcome back to a new year of Forest School. We are looking forward to working with all the Reception children and Year 1B within the Autumn term and then a class each half term throughout the rest of the year. 

We are also excited to be working alongside Holy Trinity every Tuesday afternoon.

Welcome back to an exciting summer term. I hope you all have had a lovely break and are recharged and ready for our final half term of the year.

We are very excited for the first week back, as Mr Van Hecke will be working alongside the children in the forest school to create our achieve and inspire woodland mural for the school's outdoor courtyard.

This week with give the children a lovely experience with Mr Van Hecke and I to share their aspirations and dreams while reconnecting with nature.

I'll be posting photos over the week so we can all share in the fun.

Welcome back everyone, I hope you are as excited as I am to be back in school. I have been desperate to get back and be outside in the Forest School with you all.

We have all suffered many challenges and difficulties over the last few months, that is why it is so important that we get the opportunity to work outside in nature and heal, not only our minds but our souls. 

I will be continuing to work alongside the Y6 and Y5 children to rebuild the Forest School. As, like most termly holidays, the Forest School suffers from vandalism and damage, and just like us, we need to fill the area with love and positivity so we can enjoy what nature brings to us in the area.

I will also be working with the KS1 children in the Forest School to create lots of woodland craft will giving the children the time to be at one with nature and repair all the missed opportunities they have missed to socialise and reconnect with their friends and the amazing and beautiful world around us.

Please look at the website for up and coming photos of your children having fun in the Forest School.

If you have and questions or would like to support or help me with aspects of the Forest School, please contact me at anytime.

Mr Hyde

Welcome back to a new and exciting school year. I hope you have have a lovely break are are recharged and ready to explore and learn about nature and the natural world around us.

Over the Summer term Mr Hyde's Y2 class spent 6 weeks learning and exploring in our new Forest School area.

Every session provides the children with opportunities to handle tools, camp fire cooking, take risks and explore and play in nature, discuss and learn about the natural world we live in and help develop their physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

This year Mr Hyde will be working alongside each year group in the Forest School. Autumn term 1 will see both Y4 and Y5 children working in the Forest School.

There will also be a Forest School after school club which will be open to KS2 children. This club will commence in the Spring term. I am every excited about the up and coming year and hope the children enjoy the sessions and love learning in nature.

I would like to say a massive thank you to all the children, parents and staff who sponsored me for the Bury 10K.

As a school we raised £250 for the Forest School. This money will be spent on new tools, plants and seeds for the new year.

I could not have done it without my running partners Mr Lawson and Mrs Taylor. I am so proud of all the people who dug deep and sponsored and kindly contributed in giving the children an amazing Forest School experience, your money is deeply appreciated.

Thank you so much

Mr Hyde 

The Forest School Legacy Project!

Over the Autumn and Spring term Y6 and Y5 children have been working with Mr Hyde and Joy Ladd, from Joy of Willow, to create a Legacy Project in the Forest School. The children have been planting trees, that were donated by the Woodland Trust, around the school playing fields. They have also been building a 56m long living Willow Wall around the Forest School and a Willow Dome. The children have planted, weaved and built the Willow creations as part of a project that will provide the Forest School area with natural habitats for the local animals and will provide a wide variety of learning opportunities that the whole school can participate and enjoy.

The children have worked very hard within extreme weather conditions to undertake the project, however their hard work and enthusiasm has produced amazing results. The Willow creations have given the Forest School area a totally new transformation and will help the local environment provide new habitats and vegetation that will be sustainable for future generations to care for and enjoy.

I am extremely proud of the Y6 and Y5 children, and have enjoyed every minute spent with them in the Forest School. They have shown fantastic communication skills, team work and learnt new life skills that they can use in the future.

Joy Ladd has been amazing to work with and has enjoyed working alongside the children. The has remarked on how positive and enthusiastic the children have been over the course of the project and also commented on how lovely the experience has been at St Thomas's.

The children have been a real credit to the school and have started a project that will hopefully keep growing and growing 

The Stone Age with Y3

The children in Y3L have been in the Forest School with Mr Hyde foraging and creating wooden spears and axes for their Stone Age topic. We went down to the river to find stones that we could use for the tip of the spear and the blade of the axe. Then we looked for sticks that were appropriate for the handle of the axe and the spear.  The children discussed about how we used materials in the Stone Age and talked about how to be good predators. 

Community Support

I would like to say a massive thank you for all the local businesses that have helped me create the Forest area by generously giving materials, equipment and time.

I would like to give a special thank you to the LK Group who generously gave the school a large majority of the wood, wood chippings and stumps to help create the area. Also supporting me with labour and delivery. Their support has been greatly appreciated. 

I would also like to thank TreeStation for supplying wood for the area.

Local business Walker Brothers Services on Pimhole Road have also been a fantastic supporter of the Forest School by supplying the school with wooden pallets for the 'Bug Hotel' and 'Mud Kitchen'