What is Forest School? Forest School is about using the outdoors to promote confidence, self-esteem and independence. At Otford we are passionate about developing the whole child, not just their academic ability. The benefits of Forest School to the children are many and include improved confidence, behaviour, concentration, independence, resilience, creativity and teamwork.

Our Forest School is led by Mr Grobel who has been a teacher at Otford since 2013 and is also a fully qualified Level 3 Forest School Leader. Mr Grobel is often supported by parent volunteers without whom some of the sessions would not be able to take place. We are very grateful for their support.

Mr Grobel started Forest School at Otford in September 2016 and the feedback from all involved, especially and most importantly the children, has been overwhelmingly positive. The children absolutely love being outdoors and embrace the games, challenges and activities with remarkable enthusiasm. We are delighted to be able to give them opportunities to try out new things and grow together in such a fun and beneficial way. 

We use a variety of locations for the sessions including the school grounds, the local Scout area (with facilities, fire circle and wooded area), Palace Park Wood, Otford Palace Field, Otford recreation ground and various other places within hiking distance! We are very grateful to the Scouts and the Parish Council for their support.