Who we Are
Our Mission
The mission of Moat Barn Forest School is to connect children to themselves, their communities, and the natural world through (EYFS linked) free play, place-based curriculum, and nature immersion.
Our Vision
We envision a modern world of confident, creative, and engaged citizens who live in a relationship with nature and in awareness of the global community.
Our Objectives
We seek to fulfill our mission and vision through the following objectives:
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- Provide a safe environment for children to freely explore the outdoors and participate in risky play.
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- Support each child’s developmental and emotional needs through trust-based mentorship, growth-mindset language, and positive discipline.
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- Help children build knowledge of various concepts across the curriculum including science, math, history, and language arts.
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- Facilitate deep connections with the local natural and human communities through immersive play and place-based learning.
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- Build resiliency, independence, and confidence in students by enabling experiences outdoors in all weather.
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- Create positive associations with the natural world by allowing children time to slow down, observe, and directly engage with the environment.
Our Values
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- Children Are Powerful: We believe that youth are intelligent, capable, and curious. We create programs that honour their intellect and autonomy and allow them to be the experts of their own learning journey.
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- Belonging Builds The Foundation: We believe that a strong sense of place sets a solid foundation from which children can grow into independent and secure individuals. Our program connects children to the local communities to develop deep roots from which to bloom.
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- Global Community: We focus on the commonalities that bring us together in this human experience, especially our shared responsibility as stewards of the Earth. Our programs prioritize empathy, respect, and understanding, regardless of differences in schools of thought, orientations, cultures, or creeds.
Our Philosophy
Our teaching philosophy draws on knowledge of Scandinavian Forest Schools, and most importantly, are guided by the unique culture that is created by the learning community and the individuality of each class. We observe, listen and respond to our learner’s needs as they engage in free play, nature exploration, and teamwork.
Our outdoor learning environment is inspired by a holistic academic model that all children like “plants in a garden,” require nurturing with a focus on individual learning needs, resilience, and emotional development. We believe that serves as the primary foundation for inquiry-based teaching styles.
At Moat Barn Forest School, we aim to support a love of learning, foster a healthy sense of self-esteem and develop the confidence for al children to feel and act as free-thinkers. We focus on the holistic needs of all children: their social skills, resilience, creativity, and self-esteem, to help them succeed, in any setting, throughout their lives. We ensure that play and risk taking is as safe as necessary— instead of as safe as possible, which is aligned with the forest school philosophy.
