Both Suzan, the other supervisor, and I were interested in providing children with greater access to the outdoors. So, with the children, we attended a Forest School taster session.
It was the middle of February, it was sleeting and not one of the children complained. They were all enthralled and we were totally hooked, so we set about training to become Forest leaders.
Most of the time we use a piece of woodland on the edge of Exmoor, but sometimes we use other common land, including the local beach, or the wild garden area at St Michael's First School - we are based in its grounds.
We plan activities for every session but tend to follow the children's interests. Our children are particularly interested in cooking over an open fire. They understand the rules, gather sticks for the fire, measure them using their fingers and forearms, then break them down to size. We have cooked various things including sausages, marshmallows and bananas in foil.
Our regular piece of wood is small, only about a quarter of an acre, and our adult:child ratios are 1:2, and 1:1 for any children with special needs. But one of the key things about Forest School is that it gives children a real sense of freedom.
They have consistent boundaries and very few rules and within that they feel that they can explore and work independently within their diverse patch of woodland, away from the adults - adult supervision can be very discreet.
I'd recommend that people attend a taster session. One day was enough to inspire us totally and I think most people would feel the same.