Forest School Training

The training involves completing a portfolio which is a significant amount of written work. You will be asked to write answers to meet every part of the Learner Evidence Criteria which can be downloaded below. There are around 40 criteria to meet. Some only require a paragraph and some require more in depth answers. You will also need to write your own Forest School Handbook containing all the essential policies needed to run a Forest School.

The suggested amount to self-study time is 84 hours, but this will vary between learners and does not include delivery of your pilot sessions. Please download the Forest School Level 3 Qualification Criteria for a better idea of the volume of work.

We do offer the option to pay in instalments. You would need to pay a deposit before starting the course and the remaining amount is split into three instalments, due at the start of the course and after 3 and 6 months.

Please contact us if you would like to register (see details above). We will send you an enrolment form. Once we have received your enrolment form and you have paid your deposit then your place is confirmed.

Best practice is that you have this qualification. It is recommended by the Forest School Association and by NOCN. However, it is not a compulsory requirement of the Forest School Qualification. You will need to use your own discretion to decide, based on the setting you will be working in, the type of groups you work with and the level of support. 

If you already have a more basic First Aid qualification and you are only working with small groups in school grounds with another First Aid qualified adult then you might decide it is not necessary.

Our courses are held at Langford Lakes near Salisbury and at Biss Woods in Trowbridge. The training is all outdoors. As part of the initial training we usually visit another woodland for one of the days.

Yes. An essential part of the training is the delivery of your 6 pilot sessions. These should be with the same group of no less than 6 children, but ideally 8-12, for two hours or longer. If you don’t already work in a setting where you can deliver these sessions, you will need to find somewhere.

No. If you have already completed a Level 2 qualification, there is no reduced rate for completing Level 3 and you would need to attend the full Level 3 course.

The practical elements of the Level 3 qualification are very similar to those for Level 2, but there is considerably more written work required for Level 3, and you have to plan and deliver your own programme rather than support sessions. Level 3 is required if you wish to be a Leader, leading your own forest school. 

If you are thinking of doing Level 2 instead, please call us to chat through options. You can view the Qualification Criteria for Forest School Level 2 and Level 3 to give you a better idea of the volume of work for the two qualifications.

Your portfolio will be submitted electronically, unless you specifically want to hand write it, in which case each assignment will need to be posted to us or dropped off.

You will need to be 19 or over to complete the course, but in order to be a Forest School Leader, you will need to be over 21. This is a requirement of the DfE and FSA. 

You will also need to be able to deliver your 6 pilot sessions – you will need a DBS to do this, a group to do it with and a site to use. 

The training starts with 6 days of face to face training. During these days we will cover all of the theoretical and practical syllabus and go through the portfolio with you. You then go off and work independently on your portfolio and planning and delivering your six pilot sessions. We will usually come and observe one of these sessions. 

About seven months after your training days there will be two more face to face days where we will assess you on your practical skills – knots, shelter-building, fire lighting and safety and tool talks. There are also two optional portfolio support sessions for a few hours each, spread over the course of the year.

Your portfolio needs to be completed within a year of your initial training. There are seven modules to complete with deadlines spread over the course of the year. However, if you want to submit work earlier, it is possible to qualify in less than a year. Part of this is delivering your pilot programme which also needs to be done within this year. You pilot programme is an essential part of the training and you can’t complete the portfolio without it.

Please call us to discuss any additional needs that you have and we can look at what support and accommodations we can make to enable you to complete the qualification.