Forest School

Character Development Lead

Miss N Squire

We want our students to be valuable citizens of society, community and country.

Curriculum Intent for Character Development:

At Essa Academy we pride ourselves on delivering a Character Development program with passionate practitioners that believe in the importance of our students progression, not just academically but personally too. We prepare our students to have high aspirations and provide hands on experiences from year 9 to 11 with the intention for students to be prepared for life after Essa. Character Development is a powerful addition to Essa life with all students from year 9 accessing activities that with help them to gain important life skills. Commitment, Confidence, Resilience and much more.

We built the curriculum with the intent that students will:

Students will understand the importance of expanding their skill set with a range of exciting new practices that can make a positive impact on their life.
Students will have opportunities to find potential new career choices through hands on and practical experiences.
Students will learn how each Character Development option links to the wider world and the Essa Curriculum, given them opportunity to always look at cross curricular links. .
Students will be able to earn extra qualifications that are highly accredited throughout the country.
To be Innovative and be able to apply these skills to a wide range of contexts
To show students that there is so much more to education than academic scores and giving the more practical students a chance to shine and be successful.
For Students to leave in year 11 with an understanding that they can contribute to society and their local community in many ways, becoming young leaders in their very own way.

Forest School is an inspirational process which offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands-on learning experiences in a woodland or natural environment with trees. Forest School is a specialised learning approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland education.

Led by our Level 3 Forest School Practitioner, our Forest School sessions are tailored to meet the needs of our students at Essa Academy where all participants are viewed as:

Equal, unique and valuable
Competent to explore and discover
Entitled to experience appropriate risk and challenge
Entitled to choose, and to initiate and drive their own learning and development
Entitled to experience regular success
Entitled to develop positive relationships with themselves and other people
Entitled to develop a strong, positive relationship with their natural world

Find out more information at https://www.forestschoolassociation.org/what-is-forest-school/