Schools
We work with a wide variety of schools and our work includes anything from Forest School sessions to getting the children involved in making their school grounds wildlife friendly.
Have a look at the Bucks Council Wexham And Ivers In and Out of Schools Project to find out what we have been up to.
If you would like us to work with your school, please get in touch by calling 01494 474486 or emailing info@chilternrangers.co.uk for an informal chat.
Forest Ranger School – How it works
Part of our agreement is to help you to set up and develop a site over time including helping to set up community work party days.
We manage our own existing Forest School sites and are continually working in partnership with a large number of Wildlife Trusts and Landowners to create new ones depending on a school’s needs. Many woodlands have been poorly managed and the under-canopy can be lifeless. Trees need to be cut down in order to bring in light, new growth, plants and mini-beasts back to the habitat. We then use the wood from the trees that have been cut down to make base camp, provide natural building materials and dead wood piles for minibeasts. Chiltern Rangers can bring a team in to do this on our own or we can work with a volunteer parent/staff team from your school – A great way to build teams and community involvement in your Forest Ranger School.
Staff and Volunteer Training
Chiltern Rangers will provide one or two staff to run your Forest Ranger School but the school will need to supply additional staff, either teachers, teaching assistants or volunteers to ensure a safe staff to pupil ratio.
Our one day course is a mixture of classroom based and site based training with the aim that all helpers will feel confident in supporting their pupils’ learning in a safe and child-led way. We also offer a one and a half hour twilight Introduction to Forest Ranger School called Whole Staff Training. We will tailor this training with the Headteacher to match the values and development priorities of the school.
Risk assessment
At Forest Ranger School we encourage children to explore, take risks and lead their learning in their Woodland Habitat. Staff will be able to confidently let their children do this because of our rigorous risk assessments. We can tailor our model to your school and save busy teachers a lot of work.