Forest School at Golwg-y-Cwm

We are extremely fortunate at Golwg-y-Cwm to be situated on the fringes of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park which affords us easy access to our wonderful, wild Welsh landscape and the opportunity to carry out a huge range of Forest School activities with two qualified Forest School Leaders.

Forest School is definitely not a Goldilocks experience! Rarely is anything ‘just right’ and that is exactly why the children absolutely thrive from their first hand experiences and develop the confidence and motivation to overcome obstacles of both a physical and mental nature.

Whilst exploring and playing in an outdoor learning environment the children learn to focus their attention, follow the expected rules and norms to stay safe and show care and respect to their class mates and the world in which they live.

During a Forest School session the children are challenged to move out of their comfort zone, take risks and persevere with a wide range of activities which build resilience, facilitate team work and encourage independence. They solve problems, enhance their creativity and imagination and increase their self-esteem whilst being immersed in the natural world.

Autumn 2024

A new school year and time to get back outside to experience and authentic Forest School based curriculum designed to boost resilience, develop independence and promote health and well being at Golwg-y-Cwm.

Big stick collecting #healthyconfidentindividuals

Dosbarth Glas Forest School Squad 2024 #healthyconfidentindividuals

Hibernation: learning which mammals hibernate and how squirrels build dreys #ambitiouscapablelearners

Self-directed activities #healthyconfidentindividuals

Super Squirrels! Balancing,jumping and leaping, just like a squirrel #healthyconfidentindividuals

Sticky bud game: learning to work as part of a team to achieve a goal #healthyconfidentindividuals

Natural art inspired by  the book 'Be a tree' by Maria Gianferrari #ambitiouscapablelearners

Natural Art inspired by Richard Shilling and Andy Goldsworthy #enterprisingcreativecontributors

We're singing,and dancing,in the rain! #healthyconfidentindividuals

Be a tree! #healthyconfidentindividuals

Summer 2024

Farewell Forest Friends Fire #healthyconfidentindividuals

More fun and games #healthyconfidentindividuals

Shades of Green #ambitiouscapablelearners

Team building games #healthyconfidentindividuals

Summer Solstice Crowns #ambitiouscapablelearners

To celebrate the Summer Solstice the children were asked to find as many different plants as they could to decorate their Summer Crowns, the most that was found was 17! Not bad from just a few square feet of meadow :)

Elder Bead Bracelets #ambitiouscapablelearners

The children used secateurs and a braddle to make the beads from elder sticks which, they found out, are soft in the middle. They then decorated them and threaded them to make a bracelet.

The Green Man #enterprisingcreativecontributors

The children learned about the legend of The Green Man then found natural materials to create their own Green Folk.

Willow Cutting #ethicalinformedcitizens

Fit Fortnight #healthyconfidentindividuals

During Fit Fortnight the children took part in a Woodland Workout, went on a Mighty Hike, had a go and limbo, and had a Welly Wanging competition.

Worm's eye view

We got right down today and viewed the world form a very different perspective.

Bog Baby hunting

It’s May which means bluebells and bog babies! These tiny creatures are the size of a frog and swing amongst the bluebells…we weren’t lucky enough to see any but we did spot bog baby spawn so hopefully we’ll see some one day! We learnt how rare and important bluebells are and trod very carefully so as not to destroy their habitat whilst we were hunting #ethicalinformedcitizens

Waterproof Shelters

The pupils worked really well in their teams to solve the Knotty Tree problem and build fantastic waterproof shelters #enterprisingcreativecontributors

GOOD NEWS...WOODLAND TRUST GREEN TREE GOLD AWARD!!!!

Great news for Golwg-y-Cwm…

After submitting a variety of evidence of our activities over the past year we have received the Woodland Trust Green Tree School Gold Award in recognition of all the fabulous work the school has undertaken over the last 10 years. Well done everyone!

Tree Champions

As part of our work towards the Woodland Trust Green Tree award the children were asked to design a tree champion who would be a voice for the trees. All the designs were fantastic and these three were chosen to be sent to the Woodland Trust #ethicalinformedcitizens

Shelter for Teddy

The pupils showed great team work and a problem solving skills as they thought of the best site to construct their shelter and how to make it waterproof #enterperisingcreativecontributors

Snail Sanctuaries

Start of the summer term but someone hasn’t told the weather! It was perfect for finding snails though and making great snail sanctuaries:) We found out that they were called banded snails and active from March to October.

Spring 2024

Caterpillar Conga and Camouflage

This week we worked in teams to find as many caterpillars as we could to feed the baby birds. We went on a caterpillar hunt and learnt all about camouflage as the brown caterpillars were really hard to find and were worth more points for the team! Then we did a caterpillar conga to see if we could all stay together as one big team.

Nest Building #enterprisingcreativecontributors

The rain did not stop us going out to play games and collect materials for our nests but we had a vote and decided to come back inside to build them. the children worked really well in their teams to choose the best materials and method for building their nests.

Marvellous mud birds! #ethicalinformedcitizens #enterprisingcreativecontributors

The children learned the value of team work today carrying a very heavy tub of mud to the meadow to make marvellous mud birds. They also played a game called Last Tree Standing to understand the importance of trees for the birds to build their nests in. If the mud was too wet or too dry they had to work out how to make it just right to mould the birds more easily.

The Great Catkin Hunt #ethicalinformedcitizens

To kickstart this year’s Forest School sessions the children went on a catkin hunt; they found the long yellow male flowers of the hazel tree and also the tiny, bright pink female flowers…good spotting! They learned how important hazel trees are for wildlife as they watched The Gower Society video which told them about wind pollination and how cob nuts are made which are important food for squirrels and dormice. They also got very creative making webs out of twigs for the catkin spiders!

Autumn 2023

A new school year and the start of Forest School Journey for our new pupils in Dosbarth Gwrydd. Here’s to making many wonderful memories, building resilience and achieving their potential by taking risks, communicating and working as part of a team whilst exploring the natural world.

Twig Star #ambitiouscapablelearners

The children had to find long, thin willow stems today to cut for their twig stars. They measured and cut them carefully with the secateurs to make sure they had 5 20cm sticks.

That's not my stick #ambitiouscapablelearners

The children used fantastic power words to describe their unique stick today. In the game they used the phrase ‘That’s not my stick it’s too bumpy, thin, long, fluffy, pointy’ etc to identify their stick.

Blindfold Trust #healthyconfidentindividuals

The children chose their partners carefully on our blindfold trust walk and games today.

Autumn days #enterprisingcreativecontributors

Beautiful art work created to contribute to our display on hibernation and Autumn.

Soggy Hotdogs #healthyconfidentindividuals

It was cold, it was wet but it was worth it for the hotdogs and the children showed amazing perseverance using the flint and steel to get a fire started.

Fire #healthyconfidentindividuals

It has rained and rained this October so we brought the outside in and did our whittling of hazel sticks inside.

Luckily we just managed to dodge the showers to get the fire going and toast our marshmallows to make s’mores, yum!

Hibernation #enterprisingcreativecontributors

Dosbarth Glas learned about hibernation through games outside today and them made amazing mud hedgehogs.

Perfect Firewood

Despite the wet weather Dosbarth Gwyrdd managed to collect some superb firewood for our fire next week and then hung themselves out to dry in the wind and sunshine!

Tree Trackers #ethicalinformedcitizens

Two years ago the then Year 2 class planted some trees we had received from the Woodland Trust and it was fantastic to see that two years on the new Year 2 / 3 class could benefit from them by going out to track down as many trees as we could using the Woodland Trust Leaf identification resources

Natural Art: Developing Expressive Arts using natural materials #ambitiouscapablelearners

The children looked at the work of Richard Shilling and then collected beautiful autumn leaves and acorns to make their own natural art: stunning autumn leaf flowers :)

The Water Cycle #ambitiouscapablelearners

As we have has so much rain in the last few weeks we decided to find out exactly where it all comes from! the children did a brilliant job of acting out the stages of the water cycle and learning the Welsh words for each stage: cwmwl, glaw, afon and m0r.

Wonderful Waterproof Willow #enterprisingcreativecontributors

It was a wet as it could get today but that didn’t stop us making amazing shelters with the wonderful willow growing on the school grounds. the children used secateurs to cut the willow very carefully :)

Potions 'Fairy, fairy in the wood...we promise that we will be good!' #ethicalinformedcitizens

The pupils in Dosbarth Gwyrdd and Dosbarth Glas listened to the story of Little Rabbit Foo Foo who was a very naughty rabbit and showed no respect for woodland creatures. Then they made woodland potions and made a promise to the Good Fairy that they would show respect to the natural world at all times.

Summer 2023

Summer S'mores #healthyconfidentindividuals

The children demonstrated fabulous whittling skills and exemplary fire safety while we toasted marshmallows for the last time this year and made delicious s’mores :)

The weather has been been perfect this June to unplug and re-boot in the natural world; playing games and getting creative whilst honing our leaf identification skills at the same time.

Capture the Flag: fantastic game to develop planning, strategy and communication skills

Leaf rubbing

Leaf Safari: Hunting for The Big 5~Oak, Ash, Hawthorn, Birch, Hazel

Hape Zome: Japanese Leaf Printing

Fit Fortnight Forest School Style!

Sheep and Shepherds teambuilding game

Year 2 persevered through wind and rain to guide their blindfolded sheep into the pens by giving simple instructions: forwards, backwards, left and right. It was really tricky but with great team work all the sheep were safely gathered up!

Tree climbing experts!

After all their careful looking and tiptoeing through the bluebells, Year 1 showed how agile they are with some fantastic tree climbing.

Bog baby hunting

Year 1 learned the importance of letting wild creatures live in their natural habitat after listening to the story of the Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis. Then they went bog-baby hunting amongst the bluebells and by the stream…they actually found bog baby spawn!

King Charles 111 'The Green King' #ethicalinformedcitizens

Year 2 made fantastic ‘Green Kings’ with their woodland treasures to commemorate the coronation and the long standing work King Charles has done in championing the natural world.

Green Crown Coronation #ethicalinformedcitizens

Year 1 found so many beautiful natural objects to decorate their green crowns and become Kings and Queens of the Forest.

Blackbird v Worms Tug o' War #healthyconfidentindividuals

Year 2 had learned how hard a blackbird needs to pull if they are going to get a tasty worm for tea!

Learning about camouflage #ambitiouscapablelearners

Year 1 wiggled on their tummies just like wiggly worms and searched the FS area for tasty wool worms! They learned about camouflage as the the hardest ones to find were the light green/grey ones as they just disappeared into the willow and grass.

Great to be back outside in the glorious sunshine!

Caring for our special habitat and using their imagination to make games with hay! #enterprisingcreativecontributors

Fabulous team work with the nest building #healthyconfidentindividuals

Spring 2023

Mud, mud glorious mud!

The children braved the mud today and were rewarded with a hot chocolate #healthyconfidentindividuals

Waterproof shelters

Year 2 battled the wind and rain to build waterproof shelters for a tiny teddy; they had to be strong enough not to get blown down so they used triangle shapes to build the structure #ambitiouscapapble learners

Shelter for Teddy

Year 1 worked in teams and demonstrated fantastic concentration, perseverance and problem solving skills today to build a cosy shelter for Teddy #enterprisingcreativeconributers

Time to get back outside and see what has changed in Forest School…have the trees woken up from their Winter sleep yet?

The Great Catkin Hunt 2023

Year 2 looked for the longest catkin they could find (a whopping 15cm!) and Year 1 made catkin spiders once they had found 8 long catkins #ambitiouscapablelearners

Autumn 2022

First Fire for Year 1 in Forest School

Pumpkin Soup… “the best you’ve ever tasted!”

Then we toasted our bread to perfection to eat with the delicious soup.

We waited patiently for the fire to be just right.

Next we whittled our sticks to make them clean for toasting.

Then we had to carry all the kit we needed, there was a lot of it! Great team work!

First job…make the pumpkin soup.

Fire starters🔥

Collecting the perfect size kindling and firewood to use for a fire is not an easy job nor is starting a fire with a flint and steel #ambitiouscapablelearners

Hibernation

Making hedgehog homes was a very messy business but we hope some might come and hibernate in them #ethicalinformedcitizens caring for our world.

Super Squirrels

Our Super Squirrels jumped as high and as far as they could and collected as many acorns as they could in 1 minute #ambitiouscapablelearners

Autumn Treasures

Team work makes the dream work!

Collaborative games and overcoming challenges in Forest School

Stone Soup

Can you really make soup out of a stone? In Forest School you can! #enerprisingcreativecontributors

Potion Making

The children were asked to collect five different autumnal ingredients to make their magic potion. They smelled amazing!