Policies
Supervision Policy
STAFF
- At every session there will be at least 1x NZ qualified and registered teacher.
- At every session there will be at least 1x teacher with a current first aid certificate.
- All sessions will operate with an adult : child ratio of no higher than 1 : 9]
- A minimum of 2 adults will supervise any programme.
BOUNDARIES
- Children will be made aware of the physical boundaries of The Forest School before the beginning of each session, which is an area that is clearly agged and roped o .
- There will be a safety brie ng at the beginning of every session.
- The safety guidelines will be visibly displayed at all times.
The Forest School has high expectations of and trusts the children to be responsible and independent critical, careful thinkers. By enabling children and not ‘managing’ them- it allows for self-management and autonomy which is in line with our learning philosophy. Children follow these instructions and respond in a mature way, as respect is reciprocal. For those children who are developing their self management skills, a greater level of facilitation is provided.
SIGNALS
Teachers and facilitators will use a bell or whistle signal and will use it to gather children together or get immediate attention, whenever necessary. Both children and adults will be given instruction on what, when and how to use and respond to the signal.
At regular intervals, a roll call and head counts will be done throughout the day.
BEACH AND WATER SUPERVISION
We are extremely fortunate that the Forest School Director and Lead Educator is a highly quali ed lifeguard (as well as previously a spokesperson and water rescue trainer) who is on sta at all times. Because of this and his extensive experience, he is responsible for navigating and making decisions around when, what and where beach learning will take place.
ADULTS AND CHILDREN MUST FOLLOW HIS INSTRUCTIONS AT ALL TIMES.
The Forest School does not have a set adult:child ratio in and around water due to the vast range and level of abilities children of di erent ages have. We cannot say that all children aged 5-12 years are of the same swimming ability as this can never be true. Therefore we have an active supervisory role where we assess, group, monitor and supervise activity, speci c to the group of children we are working with and activities that are taking place at that time. This is at the advice of our highly quali ed competent sta member, Watersafe Auckland and Worksafe.
Ratios 75. A ratio compares the number of skilled/ experienced supervisors with the number of novices involved in an EOTC event. It is important that the ratio is high enough to ensure a high quality learning experience and safe event. Ratios for EOTC are hard to prescribe as they will vary according to student needs, age group, activity, location and competence of sta involved.
(EOTC Bringing the Curriculum Alive: Ministry of Education)
When learning on site at the Hatfields Beach estuary (The Forest School driveway, no road crossing required) children and teachers will gather together at the tyre swing, before this mini-session commences.
The group will be briefed on additional and relevant safety speci c to this environment.
This includes; physical boundaries, safety guidelines and expectations speci c to the session. This will change from time to time and will depend on the weather, tides and learning goals.
When travelling down the drive to the beach, one adult will always remain at the front of the group and one at the back. The lead and tail end adults will have some way to communicate, either cell phones with coverage or walkie talkies.
EMERGENCIES
In an emergency situation educators and facilitators will make sure that they respond in a way that does not create risk of further injury, or leave children without adequate supervision. If a situation such as this should arise, cell phones will be used and no child will be left unsupervised.
Parents will be informed immediately if their child is involved in any injuries, accidents, incidents, dangerous behaviour or unsafe use of equipment.
DUTY OF CARE
The Forest School educators and facilitators will ensure a Duty of Care at all times.
This means that if any sta member sees any possibility that an activity or area could cause an accident or injury, they will stop this immediately and not allow it to re-start until it can be continued safely.
The Forest School educators and facilitators will meet regularly to review the Health and Safety policy and will make adjustments and improvements as necessary.
An accident book and hazard book will be kept to record any incidents and this will be used as a living document to inform and improve future policies and procedures.
VOLUNTEERS
Sometimes volunteers will be involved in the programme to provide specialist knowledge and experiences for the children. A Forest School educator or facilitator will always be present with the volunteer.
*Session refers to both The Forest School Holiday Programme and The Forest School One Day Programme.
Sunsmart Policy
This sun protection policy will apply during Terms 1 and 4 however, due to weather patterns and temperatures being so changeable, The Forest School will enforce the policy in Terms 2 and 3 at their discretion. During the winter months sun protection is not always necessary however, children must always come to The Forest School prepared to be protected.
Children and adults participating in The Forest School sessions:
- Will wear a sunhat at all times during Terms 1 and 4
- Are encouraged to eat in a shady place in the woodland or under trees if possible
- Will be provided with a spare sunhat if they do not have one
- Will be encouraged to wear suitable clothing that protects the skin from the sun (e.g. t-shirt covering shoulders, not singlets or shoe-string straps).
- Inform parents of the Sun Safety Policy and expectations at enrolment
- Request that parents apply sun cream before arrival at The Forest School
- Encourage the re-application of SPF30+ sun cream every 2-3 hours.
- Provide sun cream to all participants and visitors to The Forest School
- Ensure all children have had sun cream reapplied before going to the beach
- During beach activities, a wetsuit or rash shirt is compulsory for ALL participants
- If a child is not prepared with a wetsuit or rash shirt, beach activities will be unavailable to them and they will need to move into a shaded area
Behaviour at The Forest School
The Forest School promotes a Values Based Education and model respect, tolerance, trust and kindness. We talk about these values daily and it is an expectation that the children aim to practice these values while they attend The Forest School and ultimately, we hope they transfer these to other environments.
Our positive learning environment is achieved through the values modelled by the educators. We focus on and emphasise the right behaviours and appropriate language. This liberates educators and students from the stress of confrontational relationships.
We have high expectations that the children work on these values while they are here to maintain our philosophy around Values Based Education.
At The Forest School, we understand ‘challenging behaviour’ to be something someone does, NOT something someone is or has. This means under the right conditions we can help children develop different coping strategies.
We work together with the child/ren to deal with conflict and cope with emotions. The Forest School aims to facilitate and coach children to develop positive intrinsic strategies. We do not try to improve or change behaviour from an extrinsic or rewards based perspective.
The Forest School operates from a child-centred view, which means we approach situations and challenging behaviour on an individual basis. We do not have one model that all children must comply with. We are here to help children work with their feelings and improve their emotional intelligence at whatever stage they are at.
The Forest School aims to:
-
Build self-esteem, independence, motivation to learn whilst always maintaining a safe environment.
-
Promote awareness, respect, care and empathy for other individuals and for the natural environment
-
Reinforce collaborative behaviour
-
Develop awareness of acceptable, responsible and kind behaviour
-
Develop in children, a pride in their own and others’ achievements
The Forest School Educator will:
-
Create a positive environment which encourages and reinforces caring, nurturing and acceptable behaviour towards one another, the environment and equipment
-
Provide opportunities for the children to have autonomy and opportunities to solve conflict without adult interference
-
Promote effective relationships in which all are accepted, valued and treated equally
-
Be mindful of the need to maintain safety at all times
-
Establish collaboratively with the children, clear standards of behaviour
-
Be a positive role model for all children and volunteers
-
Place the needs of the children, including needs linked to their preferred learning styles, social and behavioural needs at the centre of The Forest School planning to maximise individual success and raise self-esteem
-
Give special verbal feedback to children demonstrating acceptable, responsible and kind behaviour, cooperation, empathy and teamwork
The children, to the best of their abilities and with or without support will:
-
Listen respectfully and carefully and respond to instructions and requests, especially those concerning safety
-
Develop and maintain an empathetic and kind attitude towards one another, the environment and all equipment
-
Be encouraged to give their peers feedback on appropriate behaviour
-
Take ownership and responsibility for their own behaviour- (own their actions)
-
Ask for help and support when dealing with emotions and conflict
If a problem (behavioural or other) were to arise:
-
The Forest School Educator will observe and allow the child/ren autonomy and an opportunity to deal with the conflict and/or solve the issue without adult assistance
-
Try to re-engage the child/ren in the first instance
-
Ask how the child/ren may be able to solve the conflict/issue- allow for some reflection/or re-set/self-regulation
-
Support the child/ren in redirection and then facilitate a discussion using the talking stick
-
Ask questions: How could you work together on that? What could have you done differently? Can you make a deal?
-
Support the child/ren in deciding on a solution to the problem
If a student displays extreme or harmful behaviour which is:
-
Deliberately against our school culture
-
Is unsafe or harmful (verbally, emotionally or physically) towards themselves or others
-
Behaves in a way that interferes with another child’s ability to learn or participate in the session
-
Prevents the educators from facilitating learning
-
Is rude and/or refuses to participate
1. You will be promptly notified by phone or the issue will be discussed at the end of the day. This will then be dealt with on a case by case scenario, in consultation with the parent/caregiver/emergency contact, with special behavioural and learning needs obviously being considered.
2. Where the behaviour is deemed to have been unsafe, parents will be contacted immediately and the child will be immediately excluded from The Forest School session. The child will be unable to come to The Forest School the following week.
3. In all of the above cases, an incident report (in the red accident book) will be completed by The Forest School Educator. This policy is an active living document, it is reviewed every 3 years and is available on request.
The Forest School will not provide any partial refund if an immediate collection of the child is required. In extreme cases, The Forest School reserves the right to decline, suspend or terminate any student’s participation or enrolment.
Review schedule: Within 3 years
CHILD SAFETY – REMOVAL/RESTRAINT
Rarely, but possibly, due to the special needs of some of our students and the way in which emotions and behaviours can escalate quickly; it is essential that staff make professional yet prompt and confident decisions to ensure that all children and staff are safe.
This includes the safety of a child who may be responding in an extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful way towards him/herself, other students, volunteers, visitors and staff.
If a child displays extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful behaviour that poses being harmful or at risk to themselves or others; the child may be required to be removed from the vicinity of others to ensure he/she is not able to hurt him/herself and/or other people.
If this situation were to arise, The Forest School staff on duty will consult the Lead Educator and/or Director and a collaborative decision will be made as quickly as possible to either:
a) Remove the child
b) Remove the rest of the group.
If the decision is made that the safest option is to physically remove the child displaying the behaviour; prior consent will be sought by the parents to do so.
If contact with parents or prior consent has not been possible and the child requires physical removal, to ensure the safety of themselves and others, this decision will be made collaboratively with at least one other professional staff member .
Physical removal will be done in a calm, non-aggressive and non confrontational way that ensures the safety and care of the child being removed is of utmost priority.
Two staff members will be present at all times and will record notes of the situation, actions, comments, concerns and resolution.
The child’s parents will be called immediately. The child will be supervised by two staff members at all times.
The Forest School will always remain child focused and the welfare of the child is always of paramount importance.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
As outlined in the Vulnerable Children Act 2014, Section 18 this policy is an active living document, it is reviewed every 3 years and is available on request.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy
INTRODUCTION
The Forest School is committed to ensuring a safe and supportive learning environment for all children and recognises that the safety and well-being of children is of paramount importance. The Forest School supports the roles of statutory agencies (the Police; Ministry for Vulnerable Children, Ministry of Education) and will consult with them when necessary. The Forest School will not tolerate abusive behaviour of any kind and will promote a culture of child protection by making policies visible to parents and the community – including in enrolment information and online.
PURPOSE
This policy outlines The Forest School’s commitment to child protection and recognises the important role and responsibility of all our staff and volunteers in the protection of children. It includes The Forest School’s expectations when child abuse is reported or suspected by us.
The Vulnerable Children Act 2014 requires a rigorous process for screening staff who work with children. The Forest School complies with this Act, in order to safeguard the programme from inappropriate persons. This is further outlined in the Staffing Policy.
All staff members (including contractors and volunteers) are expected to be familiar with this policy, its associated procedures and protocols and abide by them.
VULNERABLE CHILDREN ACT 2014
The Forest School will:
Improve the wellbeing of vulnerable children (Section 6)
“In relation to the setting of Government priorities under section 7 and the preparation of the vulnerable children’s plan under section 8 , means promoting the best interests of vulnerable children (having regard to the whole of their lives), including (without limitation) taking measures aimed at—
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
(a) protecting them from abuse and neglect:
(b)improving their physical and mental health and their cultural and emotional
well-being:
(c)improving their education and training and their participation in recreation and
cultural activities:
(d)strengthening their connection to their families, whānau, hapū, and iwi, or other
culturally recognised family group:
(e)increasing their participation in decision making about them, and their
contribution to society:
(f)improving their social and economic well-being.”
Complete safety checks of new children’s workers (Section 25)
“A specified organisation must not employ or engage a person as a children’s worker without ensuring that a safety check of the person that complies with section 31 is completed before the employment or engagement commences.”
SAFETY CHECKING
All staff employed by The Forest School (including volunteers) will be made familiar
with our child protection policy before beginning their role.
All staff members (including volunteers) will be safety checked as outlined in Section 31 of the Vulnerable Children’s Act before starting in their roles at The Forest School.
The Forest School robust recruitment process includes:
*Confirmation of the identity of the person by obtaining two forms of identification.
*Obtaining a NZ Police Vetting Service Request & Consent Form or if employing staff from overseas (UK) an International Child Protection Certificate will be obtained.
*Carry out a risk assessment to assess the risk the person being employed would pose on children as outlined in The Forest School Employee Interview Process: Including an assessment of the potential candidates qualifications and experience and reference checks of current/previous employer and/or character references will be obtained.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
* The potential candidate must sign a disclosure statement to confirm that the information that they provide is true and correct.
DEFINITIONS
Child and Young Person – A child is someone under the age of 14 years and a young person is someone aged 14 years and over, but under 17 years who is not or has never been married or in a civil union.
Child abuse – The harming (whether physically, emotionally or sexually), ill treatment, abuse, neglect, or serious deprivation of any child/tamariki, young person/rangatahi (Section 14 Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Act 1989).
Physical abuse – any acts that may result in physical harm of a child or young person.
Sexual abuse – any acts that involve forcing or enticing a child to take part in sexual activities, whether or not they are aware of what is happening.
Emotional abuse – any act or omission that results in adverse or impaired psychological, social, intellectual and emotional functioning or development.
Neglect – the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical or psychological needs, leading to adverse or impaired physical or emotional functioning or development.
Family violence – may be witnessed/experienced by children and involve physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
TRAINING
The Forest School is committed to maintaining and increasing staff awareness of
how to prevent, recognise and respond to abuse through appropriate training. Staff are expected to act at all times within their level of experience and training,
and to consult with the programme supervisor about any concerns. As part of their induction, new staff are explained:
- the programme policy and commitment to child protection The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
- procedures for supervising children and minimising the risk of an allegation of inappropriate behaviour
- what to do if abusive behaviour is observed
- the process for reporting any concerns
- how to respond to a disclosure of abuse
IDENTIFYING CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT
All staff will be made aware of the signs of potential abuse of neglect (see below) and will always consider all available information before taking any action e.g. behavioural concerns may be the result of life events, such as divorce, accidental injury, the arrival of a new sibling etc.
Staff members are not expected to reach any conclusions about whether abuse or neglect is occurring, or what form it may be taking. They are expected to recognise and consult when something is wrong, if a pattern is noticed or several signs together cause concern.
Some signs of potential abuse / neglect
- Physical signs of abuse: unexplained injuries, burns, fractures, unusual or excessive itching, genital injuries, sexually transmitted diseases. Neglect: looking rough and uncared for, dirty, without appropriate clothing, underweight
- Medical neglect (e.g. persistent nappy rash or skin disorders or other untreated medical issues).
- Developmental delays (e.g. small for their age, cognitive delays, falling behind in school, poor speech and social skills).
- Emotional abuse/neglect (e.g. sleep problems, low self-esteem, obsessive behaviour, inability to cope in social situations, sadness/loneliness and evidence of self-harm).
- Behavioural concerns (e.g. age- inappropriate sexual interest or play, fear of a certain person or place, eating disorders/substance abuse, disengagement/neediness, aggression).
- The child talking about things that indicate abuse (sometimes called an allegation or disclosure).
- Neglectful supervision (e.g. out and about unsupervised, left alone, no safe home to return to).
RESPONDING TO CHILD ABUSE
Under sections 15 and 16 of the Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Act 1989, any person who believes that a child has been or is likely to be, harmed physically, emotionally or sexually or ill-treated, abused, neglected or deprived may report the matter to Ministry of Vulnerable Children or the Police and provided the report is made in good faith, no civil, criminal or disciplinary proceedings may be brought against them.
The child’s safety should always be the paramount consideration in the notification process.
No decisions or actions in respect of suspected or actual child abuse are to be made by any staff member in isolation unless there are concerns for the immediate safety of the child.
A consultative approach is essential to ensure the safety of the child and the staff member. Staff must discuss their concerns with the Lead Educator or nominated person/advocate.
Decisions about informing parents or caregivers should be made after consultation between the school and Ministry for Vulnerable Children.
The Forest School will act on recommendations made by statutory agencies concerning the reporting of suspected abuse. Staff will only consult with or inform families about any suspected or actual abuse, after consulting with the appropriate statutory agencies.
When notifying the agency, a receipt or acknowledgement of the notification (written or electronic) will be requested. All information or notes concerning the notification will include date, time and name of the person receiving the notification.
Staff will respond to suspected child abuse or any concerning behaviour by writing down observations, impressions and communications in a confidential register. This will be kept separate from other programme records and enrolment information etc.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
Information volunteered by a child should be fully and accurately recorded. Staff will not interview children about the suspected, but may engage the child to collect essential information, using open-ended prompts such as “what happened after that?”
No staff member will act alone about suspected child abuse but will consult with the programme management. Where staff and programme management suspect child abuse has occurred and a child is unsafe, immediate contact will be made with the Police or the Ministry of Vulnerable Children.
Staff who are responding to cases of suspected child abuse are entitled to have support. The programme will maintain knowledge of such individuals or organisations that provide support and will assist staff to access these services as needed.
Disclosures
At times The Forest School may be faced with disclosures from children attendees, friends or family members who have concerns about the safety and welfare of a child or young person attending one of our programmes either face to face or via e-mail.
The Forest School may also be directly faced with a case (suspected or actual) of abuse or neglect of one of the children attendees, friends or family members.
In either of these cases, The Forest School will always endeavour to encourage that person disclosing the information or suspecting the information to pass on their concerns about the child or young person to The Forest School Director or Lead Educator as well as to Ministry for Vulnerable Children or the Police in the form of a Report of Concern.
Should a situation occur where the informant feels unable to make a Report of Concern to MVC or the Police then The Forest School will not keep that information in confidence if they believe doing so will continue to leave the child or young person in a dangerous or harmful situation.
The Forest School will always tell the informant of their intention to share that information with MVC or the Police and if requested ensure that the identity of the informant remains anonymous. Advice will be sought through appropriate agencies in all cases of suspected or alleged abuse.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
At times The Forest School may make contact with the informant to ensure that they have made a Report of Concern if they indicated they felt able to do so at the time of disclosure.
If during that contact it transpires a Report of Concern was not lodged, then The Forest School will inform the informant that they are unable to hold onto that information about a risk to a child or young person and that The Forest School will then lodge a Report of Concern.
The informant will always be informed that The Forest School are intending to lodge a Report of Concern with MVC or the Police and if requested the identity of the informant will remain anonymous.
WHEN AN ALLEGATION OF ABUSE IS MADE AGAINST A STAFF MEMBER
Where it is suspected that child abuse has been carried out by a staff member (paid/ unpaid in any programme role), the matter will be reported promptly to the Director .
Any children involved will be protected from possible risk or trauma. The Forest School management may remove the staff member from the programme environment subject to the requirements of the applicable employment contract. All actions will be undertaken with appropriate care to maintain confidentially.
The Forest School acknowledges that the use of ‘settlement agreements’, could be contrary to the principles of child protection. Some settlement agreements allow a member of staff to agree to resign provided that no disciplinary action is taken, and a future reference is agreed. Where the conduct at issue concerns the safety or wellbeing of a child, use of such agreements will be avoided.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND INFORMATION SHARING
The Forest School will seek advice from Ministry for Vulnerable Children and/or the Police before information about an allegation is shared with anyone, other than the Director or designated child protection advocate.
In general, when collecting personal information about individuals, privacy and confidentiality will be maintained.
Staff may disclose information under the Privacy Act/Health Information Privacy Code where there is good reason to do so – such as where there is a serious risk to individual health and safety (see privacy principle 11/Code rule 11).
Disclosure about ill-treatment or neglect of a child/young person may also be made to the Police or Ministry for Vulnerable Children under sections 15 and 16 of the Children and Young People’s Wellbeing Act 1989.
Parents will be informed about this limitation to confidentiality in the programme enrolment information.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
PEER ABUSE
The Forest School will ensure that the safety of the child or young person is paramount and no form of physical, sexual or verbal harassment or violence from peers will be accepted or tolerated.
While the situation is being evaluated, the children/young people concerned will be kept separate.
In some cases, where the abuse has occurred at the programme, immediate suspension of a child may be appropriate, as outlined in the Behaviour Policy.
The Forest School will keep personal information as private as possible. Parents will also be asked to keep all information confidential to allow proper investigation and resolution.
All parents/caregivers will be kept informed about how The Forest School is responding to concerns, including meeting with staff to discuss these concerns. It is a policy of The Forest School to discourage interaction between the different parents involved and between parents and other children in the programme, while a concern is being investigated
CHILD AND STAFF SAFETY – SUPERVISION AND CONDUCT GUIDELINES
These specific guidelines are concerned with minimising the risk of allegations of inappropriate conduct. They should be read in conjunction with the Staff Code of Conduct, which outlines a wider range of staff behaviour guidelines.
All staff should be aware of situations where they could be alone with children. These situations will be avoided as much as possible.
An open door policy for all spaces should be used as much as possible (i.e. not for toilets). Staff will be aware of where all children are at all times and check to ensure what they are doing is appropriate.
Staff will watch for situations where children are out of sight together (tree huts, dens, storage areas, toilets, etc.) and due to the nature of our forest programme; greater diligence in this area is essential. Staff must intervene if immediately if they suspect anything, to reduce the risk of inappropriate behaviour.
Staff will avoid being alone when transporting a child or young person, unless an emergency requires it.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
Except in an emergency (or as specified in the late collection policy), children and young people will not be taken from the programme by staff without parent consent.
Visitors to the centre will be monitored at all times by programme staff.
All volunteers and outside instructors will be monitored by The Forest School staff.
As outlined in the Code of Conduct: “Staff will provide physical comfort or reassurance when needed by children, but exercise caution and restraint when initiating physical contact or displaying signs of affection.”
Unless requested by children or parents there is usually no need to assist school aged children with toileting. Except for our students who have special learning/developmental needs and are identified specifically. If the situation arises, staff will ensure that another staff member knows who is assisting the child. Parents will be informed and/or prior consent will be given.
In some situations a child or young person may require more regular physical and or personal care assistance. Advice and assistance will be requested from parents/caregivers and specialist personnel. The Forest School will negotiate with all involved regarding appropriate procedures for giving this assistance and appropriate staff will be allocated as the key people to support children that require greater care/assistance. Eg: changing after swimming.
CHILD AND STAFF SAFETY – REMOVAL OR RESTRAINT
Rarely, but possibly, due to the special needs of some of our students and the way in which emotions and behaviours can escalate quickly; it is essential that staff make professional yet prompt and confident decisions to ensure that all children and staff are safe.
This includes the safety of a child who may be responding in an extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful way towards him/herself, other students, volunteers, visitors and staff.
If a child displays extreme, dangerous, aggressive or harmful behaviour that poses being harmful or at risk to themselves or others; the child may be required to be removed from the vicinity of others to ensure he/she is not able to hurt him/herself and/or other people.
The Forest School Child Protection Policy – updated October 2017
If this situation were to arise, The Forest School staff on duty will consult the Lead Educator and/or Director and a collaborative decision will be made as quickly as possible to either: a) Remove the child b) Remove the rest of the group.
If the decision is made that the safest option is to physically remove the child displaying the behaviour; prior consent will be sought by the parents to do so.
If contact with parents or prior consent has not been possible and the child requires restraint or physical removal, to ensure the safety of themselves and others, this decision will be made collaboratively with at least one other professional staff member .
Physical removal or restraint will be done in a calm, non-aggressive and non confrontational way that ensures the safety and care of the child being removed is of utmost priority.
Two staff members will be present at all times and will record notes of the situation, actions, comments, concerns and resolution.
The child’s parents will be called immediately.
The child will be supervised by two staff members at all times.
The Forest School will always remain child focused and the welfare of the child is always of paramount importance.
As outlined in the Vulnerable Children Act 2014, Section 18 this policy is an active living document, it is reviewed every 3 years and is available on request.
REVIEW SCHEDULE : WITHIN 3 YEARS
Tree Rules
We consider tree climbing to be an important part of child development. The benefits we see to tree climbing are:- Tree climbing is good exercise. Tree climbing is not only fun, but it’s also an excellent workout. Though it’s not nearly as demanding as it appears, climbing is great exercise for the arms and legs. Climbers work many muscle groups they often don’t use elsewhere, and climbing is also great for the spine. The extra bonus to this exercise is that it is stimulating, exciting and produces endorphins…and is never boring.
- Getting in touch with nature. There is something very wonderful about getting outdoors and being related to the part of our environment that resides there. Humans nd peace and relaxation in the branches of a tree.
- Sensory development. A whole new perspective is added to the climbing experience through the feeling of touch as the tree moves and sound as the wind whistles through the leaves.
- Safety and awareness development. When children climb trees they teach themselves about safety and develop awareness for danger.
- The Forest School promotes a ‘challenge by choice’ philosophy where no child is forced to climb or partake in anything they are not comfortable with.