Education

Forest Explorers offer a wide range of interactive programmes for primary, secondary schools, colleges, universities and groups including scouts

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What we offer

Staff Led Visits - please contact us to check your dates and book in.

We can provide you with basic information and health and safety guidance. There is a limit on the number of self led groups permitted in the forest on any one day.

Forest Explorers offer a wide range of interactive programmes for primary, secondary schools, colleges, universities and groups including scouts and youth groups. All activities take place outdoors however all assisted group visits include the use of our classroom in the event of bad weather. When not in use our classroom is available to hire to schools wishing to visit on a self-led basis.

We offer a range of pre-designed programmes covering a wide variety of topics from minibeasts to plants. Please contact us if you require something more specific and we will be happy to tailor make a programme to suit your requirements.

All programmes are closely linked to the National Curriculum. Learning in the forest and the outdoors provides an excellent setting for learning and understanding across all ages by enabling the children to gain practical experience of subjects previously only studied in the school classroom.

Primary Schools The forest provides a perfect setting for our youngsters to get in touch with nature and become aware of the natural world. Choose a full day with a Ranger for your class up to 30 and 2 programmes or bring 2 classes up to 60 and you can have 2 rangers leading your day with a variety of programmes to choose from the following (please note some sessions are not available all year round.)

Bookings are now being taken for 2022.

You are advised to book early as we do book up fast!

Early Years

Scavenger Hunt
Minibeast Hunting
Animal Homes
Forest Art
Forest School Taste

Key Stage 1 & 2

Amazing Forests
Habitat Investigators
Senses and Literacy in the Forest
Bush craft
Sensory Seekers
Vikings
Forest Art
Shelter Building
Navigation
Stone Age

KS1 & KS2 Programmes 2018-2019

NEW! Forest Fun Free Play programme

The Forest Fun free play programme is exactly what it says…. free play fun in the forest! Let your class enjoy 1 1/2 hours of freedom in our private educational area of Delamere Forest, safe and secure, but a natural forest environment, fully supervised by one of our Rangers. We will set up a mud kitchen, mini beast hunt or Forest Art area (subject to time of year,) hammock, dens building, arts & crafts and more! Following the principles of Forest School, activities will be child led, and you’ll be surprised how much children will relax and let their creativity flow. Aimed at Early years through to Key Stage 2.

NEW! Navigation programme

We can adapt this programme to suit your group needs and age. Developed to correlate with the National Curriculum learning objectives, this full day programme aims to give students a thorough understanding of navigation using a map (ordnance survey,) compass, learn how to use and understand direction, directional language, and aerial photography to look at the human and physical landscape. Students will gain a clear understanding of how a place changes over time, how land and space is managed, and they will develop a wider range of specific language relating directly to both geography and navigation.

Viking Programme

Learn all about the Viking culture and, using the forest, how they successfully interacted with their environment . Our experienced ranger, in full Viking costume, will lead you on a journey that shaped our heritage. Learn about the legends, weapons and warfare, and re-enact battle strategies. Weave using forest materials and write in runes in true Viking style. Take away a taste of how life was for the Vikings, so important in our country’s history. This programme can be delivered within your school grounds should you require. We would need a large hall and school field. (Viking programme for Key Stage 2 only)

Stone Age Programme

Join us on a journey backwards in time, to when the world was different and our ancestors lived in a world without cars, mobile phones and computers. Come with us to learn about how people of the past lived in an ever changing landscape, when the world of human beings was new and intertwined with our environment. Join our ranger, a qualified archeologist and extremely knowledgeable in this era to learn all about the lives, tools & technology of our stone age ancestors. On this day, he will be in character, dressed in full Stone Age costume as “Talan,” an authentic cave man.

This programme can also be delivered within your school grounds should you require. We would need a large hall and school field.

(Stone Age programme for Key Stage 2 only)

Secondary Schools, Colleges and Universities

The forest is ideal for GCSE and A-level Geography and Biology field studies. Please contact us if you wish to carry out studies within the forest. We will be more than happy to advise you on suitable areas. Activities such as shelter building and bushcraft are great for teambuilding. We welcome colleges and universities studying a wide range of courses from Tourism to Land Management and Conservation who want to visit the forest for a guided walk and talk.

Christmas school trips

Contact Us to book your Christmas visits.

Your magical Christmas experience will include:

Each child receives a forest tree sapling
A Christmas craft using forest materials
Toasting marshmallows, hot chocolate and singing Christmas songs around the fire.
A forest winter activity or shelter building

Our Christmas visits take place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays and start in our beautifully decorated classroom.

Days run 10am-2pm & we can take a maximum of 30 children per visit.

Self-Led Visits

Please contact us to let us know if you are coming on a self-led visit. This is very important as Delamere is a working forest, we need to be able to inform you of any areas which may be out of use due to forest operations. This will enable your visit to run smoothly.

Outreach Education

If you have suitable grounds at your nursery or school, we are more than happy to come out to you. Save you the cost and hassle of booking the coach!

Teacher Training & INSET Days

Is your school looking to do more outdoor learning but you feel you do not have the skills to provide this? Why not book a teacher training course or an INSET Day at Delamere Forest to get ideas and inspiration? The activities you learn can almost always be adapted for use in all settings. At Delamere Forest we provide Forest School INSET Days for whole staff groups. A Forest School area is set up in the forest and is perfect for visualising how Forest School works. If you have suitable school grounds, Forest School INSET days can be delivered at your school so you can see how you can utilise your own setting.

Booking an Educational visit

Please contact Helena Broadbent and her team at delamere@forest-explorers.co.uk to check availability and to book. Please state the number of children and their age range or year group, plus preferred dates. You can also use our enquiry form on our Contact page