How to Run a Forest School Session Without a Forest School Qualification (And When You Actually Need One)

There's a lot of confusion about this. I've spoken to childminders who won't take children into their local woodland because they think they need a certificate, and I've seen nursery managers invest thousands in Level 3 training before they've even let a child touch a stick. On the other side, I've watched practitioners run what they're calling "forest school" when it's really just forty minutes of unstructured time in a field with no risk assessment in sight.

Both ends of that spectrum cause problems. So let me try to clear it up, practically and honestly, based on what actually happens in settings like yours.

The distinction that actually matters

Forest school is a specific pedagogical approach. It has a defined ethos, a structured progression model, child-led learning at its centre, and yes, a qualification framework behind it. The Forest School Association in the UK is pretty clear on this: to deliver forest school as a programme, you need a Level 3 qualification at minimum.

But outdoor learning is not the same thing as forest school.

You do not need any specialist qualification to take children outside, explore nature, build dens, splash in puddles, dig for worms, or sit around a supervised fire pit (more on that last one in a moment). The EYFS actively expects you to provide outdoor experiences. Development Matters talks about children experiencing the natural world, noticing seasonal change, and engaging with outdoor environments. None of that requires a certificate. It requires planning, risk-benefit assessment, and common sense.

The problem arises when settings label their outdoor sessions "forest school" without the training behind it. That's not just a branding issue. It shapes how staff approach the session, how risks are managed, and what children actually get out of it. Call it what it is: nature play, outdoor learning, or wild time. Those are legitimate, valuable things in their own right.

What you can run without a qualification

Honestly, quite a lot. I'd say the vast majority of meaningful outdoor learning that happens in early years settings doesn't require any specialist training beyond your existing childcare qualification and a sensible approach to risk.

Nature walks and sensory exploration are the obvious starting point. Taking a group to a local park, a woodland edge, or even a scrubby bit of green space and letting them observe, collect, touch, and talk. You don't need Level 3 Forest School to notice a spider's web with a three-year-old. You just need to slow down and look.

Mud kitchens, digging areas, and loose parts play in outdoor environments are well within normal practice. So is planting, growing, seasonal crafts with natural materials, minibeast hunts, puddle jumping, and den-building with fallen sticks. I've seen incredible outdoor provision from childminders who've never done a day of forest school training, because they understand children and they know their local environment well.

Weather-based learning is something I'd encourage every practitioner to lean into more. A frosty morning in January is a science lesson. A heavy rainstorm followed by bright sunshine is an invitation to investigate. You don't need a qualification to put wellies on children and go and look at what happened to the soil overnight.

What you do need, for any of this, is a proper written risk-benefit assessment for each environment and activity, appropriate staff-to-child ratios for your setting type, parental consent if you're leaving your usual premises, and a good understanding of the specific hazards of your outdoor space. That's not bureaucracy for its own sake. That's just being a responsible practitioner. Ofsted will expect to see it, and more to the point, it keeps children safe.

The campfire question

Fire is where people get most anxious, and I understand why. The short answer is that you don't need a forest school qualification to introduce fire safely with young children, but you do need to have received specific fire safety training, and you need to be genuinely confident managing it with the age group you're working with.

I've done fire activities with reception-age children using a small contained fire pit. It was one of the most memorable experiences those children had that year. The key was preparation: a detailed risk assessment, a clear set of expectations for the children (one stick rule, arms length distance, sit when watching), a second adult present, water and first aid kit to hand, and a site that was checked for dry conditions and wind beforehand. None of that required Level 3. It required experience, planning, and professional judgement.

That said, if you're not comfortable, don't do it. Fire is not something to muddle through. If it's something you want to incorporate properly, look at a short fire safety course or a forest school taster day. The Forest School Association's website has a directory of providers, and many run one or two-day introductory training that gives you a solid foundation for fire activities without committing to the full Level 3 programme.

When you actually need the qualification

You need a Level 3 Forest School qualification if you want to call what you're doing "forest school" and deliver it with integrity. Not just the name, but the whole approach: the sustained programme over a term or a year, the child-led planning cycles, the reflective observation, the detailed individual learning journals, the specific forest school risk management framework.

If you're a childminder who wants to make outdoor learning a central part of your offer and build a genuine forest school programme for the families you work with, training is worth the investment. Several providers now offer flexible routes, including blended online and practical assessment models that are much more accessible than they were five years ago.

If you're a nursery wanting to appoint a forest school lead, that person needs the full Level 3. Other staff can support sessions, but the person planning and leading them should have the qualification. Some nurseries try to get around this by having a Level 3 practitioner plan everything and then sending in unqualified staff to run the session. That's not good practice. Forest school depends on skilled facilitation and observation in the moment, not just a pre-written plan.

Schools considering integrating forest school into their curriculum are in a slightly different position. You'll often find that one or two members of staff get trained, and then deliver sessions to multiple classes. That works, as long as the trained practitioner is actually present and leading. Forest school doesn't scale well as a lesson plan that any teacher can pick up and deliver.

There's also a safeguarding and insurance dimension to this. Check your insurance policy carefully before running any outdoor sessions off-site. Most childminder and nursery policies cover routine outdoor activities, but some have specific exclusions or requirements around activities like open fire use. If you're ever unsure, phone your insurer and ask. Keep a record of that conversation.

Building a genuinely good outdoor programme without going the full forest school route

You don't need to invest in a Level 3 qualification to improve the quality of your outdoor provision significantly. There are shorter, more accessible routes that make a real difference.

The Muddy Faces website is a genuinely useful resource. They sell equipment but also publish free guides on loose parts, natural play, and outdoor learning approaches that are grounded in good early years practice. Learning Through Landscapes is another organisation worth knowing about, particularly if you're working in a school or nursery with a fixed outdoor space you're trying to improve.

Reading helps too. I'd recommend "Outdoor Provision in the Early Years" edited by Helen Bilton as a solid, practical starting point. Jan White's work on outdoor play in the early years is also excellent, and it doesn't assume you have a forest on your doorstep. A community garden, a tree-lined street, a local park visited regularly enough that children start to know it, all of that counts.

The regularity of outdoor experiences matters more than their complexity. Children who go outside every single day, whatever the weather, build a relationship with the natural world that children who only go out on "nice days" don't. That consistency is something you can start tomorrow, regardless of your training level or your setting's budget. It just takes a decision to prioritise it, some decent waterproofs, and the willingness to rethink what outdoor time is actually for.

One thing I've found makes a big difference is having a fixed outdoor space that stays accessible to children without it being a "special event." When children can choose to go outside during free flow, they use the space very differently than when they're taken out as a group for twenty minutes. That shift in access is often more significant than any individual activity you plan.

If you're running outdoor sessions as a childminder with one or two children, you have a real advantage: you can follow their lead in a way that a group nursery session never quite manages. Notice what they're drawn to. A child who keeps returning to the same tree stump or the same patch of ground has something to tell you about what interests them. That observation, that following of the child's curiosity, is the heart of what makes forest school powerful. You can do that without the qualification. You just have to be paying attention.

The practical takeaway is this: audit what you're already doing outdoors, be honest about what you're calling it, and then decide what gap you actually want to fill. If you want to deliver genuine forest school, get trained. If you want to significantly improve the quality and regularity of outdoor learning in your setting, start with what you have, get outside more often, and invest in a short course or some good reading before you spend thousands on a Level 3 you might not yet need.