Here are some common questions that we are often asked. Click to see the answers. Please get in touch if you need more information and we’ll be pleased to help.
Beccles Forest Schools is a little Forest School running on The Wild Meadow off Beccles Common. We fiercely protect the right to play freely. We are person-centred and wholly embedded in the natural world, which meets the learning, development and well-being needs of us all. We celebrate participants’ autonomy over the spaces they explore, and foster their innate curiosity and connection, in a community that cherishes them.
We are run by Learning in Nature CIC, a “community interest company”, non-profit who are passionate about bringing outdoor learning and forest school to as much of our community as possible- from ages 0 to 100+.
Our team is a group of skilled, wonderful people who have a shared love of nature, community and the Forest School Ethos, and who each bring their own unique contribution to the organisation. Check out our Meet the Team section!
At Beccles Forest Schools, we offer both longer-term, regular Forest School sessions, and shorter-term Forest Fun sessions.
All of our sessions are learner-led, meaning we follow the interests of the attendees, so this can vary between age groups. We typically gather together at the beginning and end of sessions, and for something to eat, but otherwise, the children, young people or attending adults are the leaders.
We facilitate fire-lighting, cooking on the fire, tool work, crafting with natural materials and tree climbing. Our wonderful Wild Meadow gives us access to some amazing opportunities, such as pond-dipping, bug-hunting, shelter-building, swings, slack lines and even a little zip line!
Some recent adventures have involved our very youngest attendees dragging a very long rope all around the site, climbing a big pile of earth and harvesting the reeds that grow in the Early Years area. Our Home Ed group took on the challenge of working together to build a slip’n’slide, which was very, very muddy, then made popcorn on the fire (after some serious hand-washing!). The Youth Group created some tasty menus on black boards and then ‘cooked’ them, using the ingredients they found around them. And our Wild Wellbeing group crafted some beautiful clay birds together, while chatting with a cup of tea. There has even been some raft building being done by some very industrious young people, including ‘sailing’ these on the dyke!
We are absolutely passionate about giving children, young people and adults the freedom to truly explore nature and themselves. The deep connections formed with nature and each other, and the increase in self-esteem, well-being and resilience are our favourite outcomes.
We are based on The Wild Meadow, by Beccles Common. It’s a beautifully hidden re-wilding meadow, complete with old trees for climbing and a little dyke for toe-dipping.
Our site is most easily accessed by parking on Common Lane North and then walking over the cattle grid to find the gate. See HERE for more details.
Yes! Families can claim back childcare costs and use tax-free childcare with any of our drop-off sessions. We also accept some childcare vouchers.
The sessions we run are ever evolving- check out our What’s On section to see the sessions currently running- but in general we have:
Forest School Kindergarten (3-6year olds)
Early Years Stay and Play Forest School (0-5 year olds with attending adult)
Home Ed Forest School (5+ year olds)
After School Forest School (5-11 year olds)
Youth Group Forest School (12+ year olds)
Wild Well-Being (adults)
Forest Gym (adults)
Saturday Family Sessions (all ages)
School Holiday Camps (5-11 year olds and 10+ year olds)
Childminder Sessions (all ages)
Home Ed Family Sessions (all ages)
Schools Groups (primary and secondary)
1:1 Forest School Sessions (all ages)
Beautifully wild! But with lots of home comforts. We are totally off-grid, so we bring our water on site everyday.
When you come through the gate, you’ll see a path through lots of native species of plants. This leads you past our large chicken run on the left, usually complete with lots of hungry hens waiting for little- and big- hands to feed them and pinch their eggs for lunch, though they are currently on holiday while the risk of bird flu is still high. (Our chicken coop is a favourite place for Forest School Kindergarten to explore inside!) And to your right you’ll see a large re-wilding meadow, which grows very tall in the summer, providing cover for all kinds of fun.
The path then takes you all the way to The Round House, a big wooden shelter where we gather together around the fire. This is often our base; we sing together and cook together here. Off to one side we have The Tool Area, where we especially love to craft with natural materials and chop kindling for the fire.
Walking further you’ll reach The Dyke, tucked at the back of the site in The Wild Willows. In summer, we paddle and splash, and sometimes make rafts, and in winter we explore the ice. Beside The Dyke grow the sturdy trees that we use for rope swings, slack lines and some serious tree climbing, which is a ceaseless source of entertainment for all ages! These trees provide a cosy sheltered area in winter and shade in summer. A short distance from here are our incredible Wee Hooses, our beautiful shed-like composting toilets.
Close to The Round House, we also have The Early Years Area, which is the perfect place our youngest people to explore The Mud Kitchen, swing in The Grey Willows or curl up on a pile of pillows to read a book in The Hygge Shed. The Early Years Area centres around The Gazebo, under which we have all kinds of natural play opportunities. The Early Years Area is enclosed by a willow “fedge”, creating a safe space for our youngest attendees to explore.
Although we are totally off-grid, we have some pretty wonderful facilities.
Look out for our gorgeous Wee Hooses! These toilets, resembling rather pretty sheds, use a composting system, with a familiar toilet seat which you sit on! They are emptied each day by our wonderful staff and the ‘humanure’ rots down to be used (offsite) as compost!
And, if you’re brave, we have a Wild Wee area too!
