Forest Schools are Schools that take the learning outside and encourage the children to think for themselves and experience activities that they may not experience within the walls of a classroom.

Forest School is a child-centred inspirational learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting.

https://forestschoolassociation.org/what-is-forest-school/

Part of the requirement to be a Forest School Leader is to have a 16-hour outdoor-based First Aid qualification. Traditionally this has been an Outdoor First Aid Certificate, however pure Outdoor First Aid is aimed at those that are away from civilisation by a considerable distance and also adult-orientated. It is not totally aligned with the Forest School environment (although it is still an accepted qualification).

Nowadays Forest School Practitioners can also access a Forest School First Aid qualification to meet this demand. Whilst based on the Outdoor qualification and whilst it is still a 16-hour course, the content is more tailored to the Forest School environment. In addition, if there is a requirement for Paediatric first Aid (it comes under Ofsted or EYFS, or you are looking at achieving Millie’s Mark) then the Paediatric Qualification can be integrated into the syllabus and learners come out with dual certification.

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As your Forest School has employees then you must also comply with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations. For instance you may need to:

• Provide adequate and appropriate first aid equipment and facilities
• Provide a suitable number of qualified first aiders
• Appoint a person to take charge where first aiders are temporarily absent or the provision of first aiders is not necessary (due to the nature of the activities; the number of employees; and location)
• Inform employees and volunteers of the first aid provisions made – including the location of any equipment or facilities and the identity of the first aider(s) or appointed person(s).

Generally speaking, to determine what is required in your Forest School, you must carry out a Risk Assessment and draw up an appropriate plan to provide this cover. There is some useful information on the Health and Safety Executive website:

Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

https://www.hse.gov.uk/firstaid

Early Years Foundation (EYFS)

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework–2

Which First Aid course to choose for Forest School?

The main courses that you can choose for a typical Forest School or Nursery are:

Forest School / Outdoor First Aid

The 16-hour / 2-day Forest School First Aid course was developed from the Outdoor First Aid course. Whilst both meet the requirements, the Forest School First Aid course is more tailored to the School environment and the supervision of children. It is often combined with the 12-hour Paediatric First Aid should the learner need that Qualification. Forest School First Aid on its own will not meet the criteria for Millie’s Mark, however if you combine it with the 12-hour Paediatric course (which a lot of providers can do) then the combined package will qualify.

Emergency First Aid at Work, which covers the Workplace requirements, but doesn’t deal with looking after babies, nor does it cover medical events such as strokes (it does cover heart attacks). This can easily be covered within the Forest School First Aid training.

First Aid at Work, which builds on Emergency First Aid at Work to include medical emergencies, bone and muscle injuries amongst other problems.

Paediatric First Aid, which builds on the Emergency Paediatric First Aid course to include medical emergencies amongst other topics. This course is the one that meets Ofsted / EYFS requirements as well as Millie’s Mark.

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Also worth considering…

Emergency Paediatric First Aid which deals with children and infants. It does not meet the Ofsted / EYFS requirements (see below) for a Paediatric First Aider. Nor does it meet the criteria for meeting Millie’s Mark as that requires a Full (12 hour) Paediatric First Aid qualification for all staff that work directly with children.

School Staff First Aid is a course aimed at School staff where legal First Aider level requirements are already met within the School or Nursery. Additional staff can be trained up in First Aid so that teaching staff can have their breaks without interruption, for instance. It doesn’t meet Workplace or Ofsted First Aider requirements, but it does train the staff up in relevant skills, the skills that are actually likely needing to be required in a playground.

Mental Health First Aid. Working in a Forest School is demanding and issues can arise from time to time. Hours are long, and the work can be very intense. By providing Workplace Mental Health First Aiders they can provide support when required.

Contact us if you believe that you need any of these courses. Many can be run in parallel, reducing your costs and staff downtime – important if you are needing to cover for them whilst they are training.

When considering how many staff need training you must allow for not only staff / pupil ratios, but staff leave and sickness – as well as the First Aider falling sick or injuring themselves. Also consider the size of the Forest School or Nursery, whether it is spread out over multiple sites, and how far away from vehicular access.

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Online Training for Forest School staff – First Aid, Fire and Food safety, Anaphylaxis and asthma awareness, Staff Management and Data Protection etc.

Don’t forget our wide range of online courses for Forest School staff, too!

Do also check out this Forest School First Aid Kit