Certificate for Forest School Leaders

If you would like more information about upcoming opportunities to train as a Forest School Leader in Ireland, please leave your name and email below.

There are some exciting developments taking root in Ireland to embed Forest School Leader training in the Irish qualification system (QQI) and we will let you know as soon as courses become available, which we are aiming to have available in the first half of 2023.

Your contact information will not be used for any purposes other than sharing information pertaining to Forest School training. If you no longer wish to be contacted, please email info@forestschoolireland.ie and we will remove you from the list.

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Thank you!

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About our Training:

This certificate will provide the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to prepare learners to work as a Forest School Leader.
The training will combine key principles of Forest School with best practice from Environment and Nature Education, child development, the world of play (wild, free and therapeutic play) delivered by our professional team who have many years experience.
The training is a combination of face-to-face delivery, home study and some webinars along with online learning resources to supplement the course. These documents are laid out in an easy to understand format that link to the Forest School Units. We also supply useful video material, links to best practice, a student upload to share valuable resources and the option to download resources for you to keep.

Course fee: €TBC

First aid: You must have outdoor first aid before you begin to work with clients, i.e. before running your pilot sessions (e.g. after direct training finishes and you are running your 6 Pilot Sessions). If you wish to complete a 2 day REC3 Outdoor First Aid training organised by Forest School Ireland it costs €150.00 and you can book it separately here.

Course requirements

There is approx. 130hrs of home study required, including a pilot programme designed, delivered and assessed by you. Assessment will combine written work, use of practice files, reflective logs, practical skills demonstrations and group discussion. This training requires a significant level of paper work e.g short written assignments, risk assessments and health and safety policies. If you have any concerns in this area please let us know in advance.

About the Pilot FS 6 Sessions: Your pilot sessions are part of the qualification and you will be given lots of helpful hints and tips during the training. You don’t need to do this until you have completed the face-to-face direct training you will need to convene a group of min. 8-15 learners. You will plan 6 FS sessions (comprising of 2-2.5 hrs per week for six weeks), deliver and review them.

You will only run the pilot after you have fully completed and written up the face-to-face practical training components, you have the outdoor first aid qualification, completed your policies and procedures handbook, you have been Garda vetted by whichever organisation you decide to work with and there is insurance in place. It is not necessary to have arranged all this before training starts and we will go through all this with you during training.

When to do the training: You must have a minimum of two years experience working with groups, preferably groups of children. If you do not have considerable experience working with groups it can affect your training, think of this as a professional development training to bring learning outdoors. In order to build on your level of experience it is a great idea to volunteer at FS sessions or the Scouts, or other youth groups in your area with young people, preferably outdoors.

FS Leader candidates must:

• be aged 21 years or over;
• be a qualified teacher (primary, secondary, early years), play-worker, youth-worker or support worker OR have at least 2 years experience of working with a client group in a leadership capacity;
• have or will find access to a group with whom they will run an introductory 6-week Forest School Programme once you have completed training;
• be Garda vetted by your chosen client group to run your pilot sessions with;
• Before working with clients you must obtain or hold a current and valid Outdoor First Aid certificate (minimum 2-day/16hr Outdoor First Aid or 2-day Paediatric First Aid if in Early Years only). If you do not have first aid you must become certified before you begin your six pilot sessions or have someone on site with you who is Outdoor First Aid certified.

What will you learn? :

The Forest School Training is based on best practice and research and includes:

• Nature education and connection
• Child-led and Adult-led continuum
• Personal and cultural development
• Educational and Nature pedagogy
• Nature conservation and stewardship
• Risk Benefit Assessment to enable resilient and confident young people
• Innovative and therapeutic practice in the outdoors
• Effective communication and behaviour understanding
• Introduction to neuroscience and growing a healthy brain in the context of child behaviour and development

First Aid:  If you require 16 hour Outdoor First Aid training (not the same as occupational or paediatric first aid). Forest School Ireland is organising two-day courses which cost €150. However, you can do Remote Emergency Care level 2 or 3/Wilderness First Aid level 2 or 3 with any provider. Occupational or paediatric first aid does not have the required outdoor application for this qualification. You can find out about our first aid courses here.

Course Content and Units:
TBC

Useful documents to download:
Download our FAQ’s about this training.

How to register interest: please complete our registration forms found at the top of this page. You can also read a blog written about what typically happens at Forest School training.

“Life changing! I love the group, the learning, the delivery, the experiences.”

Katie, 2020

Email info@forestschoolireland.ie for more information or if you would like to find out more about Forest School try one of our introductory adults courses.

To join our mailing list for up to date Forest School Ireland news and events please do so here.