Jewell Academy’s Forest School to the rescue! Pupils build resilience and have fun at school post-lockdown with help from nature

Pupils at Jewell Academy are adjusting to school post-lockdown with help from nature.

Students across all year groups will have weekly sessions in the outdoor Forest School where they will take part in tasks to improve their team building skills and resilience.

Activities will range from friction fire lighting to creating a survival bracelet and also compiling a nature walk around trees.

Explaining the ethos behind the sessions, Kamala Kuhr, outdoor learning co-ordinator at the school, told the Bournemouth Echo: ‘’I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors and believe in the therapeutic properties of nature.

‘’I believe it’s important to integrate outdoor experience into the national curriculum to give children those hands on experiences with nature.

‘’The aim of the sessions is also to help children who feel unsettled or who are going through a tricky time because of Covid.’’

The activities will be led by Craig Summers, Jewell’s Forest School Leader. Mr Summers is a trained Bush Crafty instructor and has been at the school since 2017.

He said the primary aim is to encourage a ‘‘Growth Mindset’’ in a tranquil setting – the activities will be tricky and the children will have to keep trying in order to succeed. The friction fire lighting will involve working in groups of three and learning to negotiate while the survival bracelet will require perseverance in order to master how to create it.

Alexandra Waddington, Principal at Jewell Academy, said: ‘’Many of the children returning to school will be feeling nervous and the Forest School should help the children feel calm and peaceful.’’