"Not all classrooms have four walls."

Augher Central Primary School are delighted to have become a Forest School in 2022.

Forest Schools
A Guide for Parents

“This is the best kind of classroom,
It’s a journey through time and space,
From the smallest seed to the largest tree,
This is a Forest and a learning place.
This is the best kind of classroom,
Where the seasons don’t happen in books.
Where the learning is watching and thinking and talking
And everyone notices, everyone looks.”

From ‘The best Kind of Classroom’ by Ian MacMillan

Mrs Keys and Mrs Stewart became Forest School Rangers through the Northern Ireland Forest School Association (NIFSA).

We believe that learning outside the classroom can supplement and enrich the curriculum of our school by providing real-life, practical and hands-on experiences. Forest School develops children’s confidence and self-awareness, it encourages social and communication skills through lots of team work and it increases their motivation and willingness to learn through a vast array of creative and practical experiences. 

Forest School also develops skills that some children may otherwise find difficult to learn in the classroom, helping children become part of an effective efficient team and to participate in a range of creative, sensory and environmental awareness activities. Forest School uses children's learning style as a basis for the presentation of all activities. Children who learn visually can access learning through the demonstrations. All activities are presented through speech for those children who learn orally. Children have the freedom to touch, feel and do, this satisfies the kinaesthetic learner. 

"The earlier and more often children are exposed to nature, the happier, healthier and brighter they become."