What Your Child Can Expect at after school forest school
At Saltdean's after-school forest school programme, run by Kids Adventurist, children in year groups 2-6 discover something increasingly rare in today's structured world—the freedom to simply be themselves outdoors.
Every Thursday from 3:15 to 5 PM, we open our doors to adventure, creativity, and the kind of unstructured play that helps children thrive. But, if you’ve not been before, what exactly happens during these sessions?
The Power of Choice: Your Child Leads the Way
Our forest school operates on a beautifully simple principle: children choose their own adventure and activities.
Some days, your kiddo might feel drawn to the peaceful art of simply being outdoors—chatting with friends under trees, watching clouds drift by, making their own world, or discovering the intricate world of insects in fallen leaves. Sometimes it’s creating grass mats, or moulding with clay.
This isn't laziness or lack of structure. Research shows that children who spend unstructured time in nature develop better emotional regulation, improved concentration, and enhanced creativity. When we allow children to follow their natural rhythms and interests, we're giving them something invaluable—the space to understand themselves. Especially important after a day of structure inside.
Other days, that same child might burst through our gates ready to dive into hands-on projects. The beauty lies in having both options available, with skilled facilitators ready to support whatever direction their curiosity takes them.
Creative Expression Comes Alive
Our outdoor activities transform the natural world into an endless supply room. Children work with clay, feeling the earth between their fingers as they sculpt bowls, animals, or abstract creations that emerge from their imagination. We also made things like clay seed bombs lsat year, helping flower our field through school in the spring. Out here, they can get properly muddy, experiment freely, and create on any scale they choose.
Your child will slowly discover how different natural materials behave. Pine cones become hedgehogs, smooth stones transform into painted story characters (or hand warmers in winter), and fallen branches evolve into sculptural masterpieces. We provide guidance and tools, but the creative direction comes from them.
Tool Work: Building Confidence Through Real Skills
One of the most exciting aspects of our programme involves tool work. Under careful supervision, children learn to use real tools for real purposes. They might help cut kindling for our fire, carve their own figures, or construct shelters using hand saws and rope.
This isn't about rushing children into adult responsibilities—it's about recognising their capability and hunger to contribute meaningfully. When an eight-year-old successfully lights a fire they've built themselves, you see something powerful ignite in their eyes. It's confidence, competence, and connection all rolled into one transformative moment.
We follow strict safety protocols, with suitable adult-to-child ratios (its why we keep sizes of sessions small) and skill-appropriate tool introduction. Children learn proper handling techniques, understand risk assessment, and develop the focus that comes with handling tools that demand respect.
Fire: The Ancient Gathering Point
Few things captivate children like fire. Our fire-building activities teach practical skills whilst creating a natural focal point for community and storytelling. Children learn fire safety, understand different materials needed for sustainable flames, and experience the satisfaction of cooking food over flames they've helped create.
Sometimes we prepare simple snacks — toasted marshmallows, or flat bread pizzas on winters days. The food always tastes better when it's prepared outdoors, shared with friends, and earned through their own efforts.
Fire also provides a natural gathering place for conversation. As flames flicker and crack, children often open up in ways they might not indoors, sharing stories, concerns, or simple observations about their day.
Seasonal Adventures and Learning
Our programme adapts beautifully to Britain's changing seasons. Spring brings nest-building activities and seed planting. Summer offers extended exploration time and water play. Autumn transforms into a treasure hunt for colourful leaves, conkers, and materials for natural art. Winter doesn't slow us down—it simply changes our focus to building suitable sheets, playing in mud, ice experiments, and cozy fire-side activities.
Each season offers unique learning opportunities that connect children to natural cycles often invisible in urban environments. They notice how daylight changes, when different flowers bloom, and which birds visit at different times of year.\
As one child said in early spring this year, “We survived the dark wet winter, so at least it can’t be any worse in Spring”’ ;-)
Social Skills in a Natural Setting
Something wonderful happens when children play outdoors without rigid structure. Natural leaders emerge, quiet children find their voices, and genuine friendships forge cross the years groups.
The mixed age range of years 2-6 creates mentoring opportunities where older children naturally support younger ones, whilst everyone learns from each other's unique perspectives and skills.
The outdoor environment seems to strip away some of the social pressures that can emerge indoors, allowing children's authentic personalities to shine through.
Physical Development Through Play
Our forest school setting naturally encourages physical activity without making it feel like exercise. Children climb trees (safely supervised), balance on logs, dig in earth, and engage in imaginative games that get their hearts pumping. This organic approach to fitness helps children develop strength, coordination, and body awareness whilst having tremendous fun.
The varied terrain and natural obstacles create opportunities for risk assessment and physical problem-solving that structured playgrounds can't replicate. Children learn to gauge their own abilities, understand their physical limits, and gradually build confidence in their bodies' capabilities.
Weather: Not an Obstacle, But an Opportunity
We operate in all weather conditions except extreme storms or if it’s unsafe to be outside. If it is, we have an indoor space to utilise. We only moved one session indoors last year!
Rain doesn't cancel forest school—it simply changes the experience. Children learn that there's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. Puddles become opportunities for exploration, drizzle creates perfect conditions for slug hunting, and crisp winter days offer entirely different sensory experiences than warm summer afternoons.
This weather resilience builds character and adaptability. Children arrive at school the following day with stories of adventures their indoor-bound peers simply haven't experienced.
Ready for After School Forest School with Kids Adventurist?
Every Thursday at 3:15 PM, we create a space where childhood can unfold naturally. Your child might spend their time quietly observing nature, collaborating on ambitious construction projects, mastering new practical skills, or all three within a single session.
What matters isn't the specific activities they choose, but the confidence, creativity, and connection to the natural world they develop through having genuine choice and real experiences. In our rushed, scheduled world, we offer something increasingly precious—time and space for children to discover who they are when they're free to explore their own interests and capabilities.
Forest school isn't just an after-school activity—it's an investment in your child's confidence, creativity, and connection to the natural world that will serve them throughout their lives.
Register your child’s interest HERE