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Join thousands who've already started their Forest School journey
Ofqual regulated · Practised and taught since 2000
The world is our classroom.
Forest Schools training for people who want to understand children, not just supervise them. Every course is an online, self guided qualification. What changes is how much of us you get with it.
- Since 2000Twenty five years
- Six countriesTeaching this year
- OfqualRegulated qualifications
- 25,000+Qualified with us
“I have to say that it is the best course I have ever been on to date.”
Darren PopplewellWhat makes it Archimedes
Learning begins with being.
Every Forest School has fires, tools and dens. What no one else has is a named developmental model with instruments behind every part of it, sources declared openly, and a standard a trainer can be refused against.
Twelve principles govern everything we teach. They rest on the Blackwell Growth Cycle: six movements, each one resting on the one before it. A child cannot be asked for Brilliance while Biology is unmet.
- BiologyCertainty, safety, stability. Permission to be.
- BoundariesHeld, explained, repairable.
- BelongingUnconditional. Never earned.
- BeliefDignity and choice, until confidence comes.
- BuildingSkill through time. Unhurried.
- BrillianceContribution that costs the child nothing.
Four levels
Start where you actually are.
Every level is an online course you take at your own pace. Add two days or five in the woods with a trainer if you want them.
The day you start noticing differently
For parents, carers and anyone who spends their days with children. No experience needed. It qualifies you to lead nothing, and that is rather the point.
From £197
Step into the work properly
The accredited qualification to assist in the leadership of sessions alongside a qualified Leader. Open Awards accredited, RQF.
From £797
Run your own Forest School
The flagship qualification for Forest School Leaders, internationally. Recognised by Ofsted and the Department for Education. Ofqual regulated, 601/1727/8.
From £997
Qualify other people
For experienced practitioners who want to train others as well. By application, and not everyone who applies is accepted.
£3,997The course is the same on every route. The support is what changes. Email, WhatsApp, video calls and a trainer support session each week on all of them. On two of them, a trainer standing next to you for two days or five. There is no prerequisite between levels: you do not need Level 1 to take Level 2, or Level 2 to take Level 3.
How it works
Three steps, and you are leading.
- Step oneBook and attend your trainingSecure checkout, then your training week, either online at your own pace or with a trainer beside you outdoors.
- Step twoFill out your portfolioLead six sessions in your own setting and build your evidence there, not at a desk in ours.
- Step threeEnjoy a career you loveMost people are qualified in six to twelve months, without the paperwork, the politics or the pressure.
- Internationally recognisedThe Level 3 credential that unlocks insurance, site access and employment.
- Train while still employedBuilt to fit around school holidays, so you do not have to leave your job to start.
- Work that feels like purposeChildren who struggle in classrooms come alive outdoors, and you are the reason.
- A different kind of MondaySessions that restore your energy rather than draining it.
The diary
Where you can train with us.
Seven venues across Britain, courses in five countries, and an online start on the first of every month. Everything below is open for booking today.
United Kingdom
- Guildford, SurreyLevels 1, 2 and 3 · Supported
- Sheffield, South YorkshireLevels 2 and 3 · Full immersion · accommodation available
- Berkhamsted, HertfordshireLevels 1, 2 and 3 · Supported · 40 minutes from London Euston
- Ormskirk, LancashireLevels 2 and 3 · Supported · 40 minutes from Liverpool
- Blidworth, NottinghamshireLevels 2 and 3 · Full immersion · 30 minutes from Nottingham
- Romford, EssexLevels 1, 2 and 3 · Supported · East London
- Pettypool, CheshireLevels 2 and 3 · Supported · near Northwich
Internationally
- SingaporeLevels 1, 2 and 3
- South Korea, SeoulLevels 1, 2 and 3 · two date windows
- Thailand, PattayaLevels 1, 2 and 3
- India, NashikLevels 1, 2 and 3
- Hong KongLevels 1, 2 and 3 · Perma Club
Online, every month. Level 1 and Level 3 start on the first of each month, and Beach Schools too. Start whenever you are ready and work at your own pace.
Why we cost a little more
We are not a training factory.
There are cheaper qualifications. There are faster ones. There is nobody who has been doing this longer, or who will still be answering your emails a year after you finish.
- Taught by practitioners. Every trainer still works with children in woods. Nobody here teaches from a manual they did not write.
- Our own body of work. The Growth Cycle, the Biophilia Lexicon, the Five C's, the Seven P's of Play. Developed here, taught here, and the reason an Archimedes qualification is not interchangeable with any other.
- Support that does not end. Your tutor stays reachable after you qualify. People come back to us years later and we still answer.
- Ofqual regulated. A real qualification on a real framework, recognised wherever you go.
- Small enough to know you. You will speak to the people who built the course, not a call centre.
In their own words
People who trained with us.
Not written by us and not read from a script. These are learners talking about their own training, and Sarah talking about why any of this exists.
A word from Sarah Blackwell
Twenty five years of this, and she still teaches it herself.
Sarah wrote the model this organisation runs on and has been in the woods with children since 2000. More than twenty five thousand people now hold a Level 3 that came through this work.
Questions
The things people ask before they book.
- What makes your training different from other providers?
- We have been training Forest School leaders since 2000, and more than twenty five thousand people now hold a qualification that came through us. The training leads to an Open Awards certificate regulated by Ofqual. Beyond the certificate you get a tutor who stays reachable after you qualify, and our own body of work, the Archimedes principles and the Blackwell Growth Cycle, which no other provider teaches.
- How soon can I start?
- Online courses start on the first of every month, and Level 2 self guided starts the day you enrol. In person courses run through the year at seven venues in Britain and in five countries. Every date that is open is listed on this page.
- How quickly will I be qualified?
- Most people complete Level 3 within six to twelve months, depending on their circumstances. It includes the taught sessions, a six week programme delivered with children, and your portfolio. Many people do it while still teaching, using school holidays for the days outdoors.
- Is the qualification officially recognised?
- Yes. Level 3 is the Open Awards Certificate in Forest School Programme Leadership, regulated by Ofqual and on the Regulated Qualifications Framework. It is recognised by Ofsted and the Department for Education, and internationally. Our face to face training meets the requirements insurers and employers look for.
- What if it turns out not to be for me?
- Write or ring before you book and we will tell you honestly whether it suits you, including when the answer is no. If you have already enrolled, there is a full refund within fourteen days.
- Do I need Level 1 before Level 2, or Level 2 before Level 3?
- No. There is no prerequisite between the levels. Many people find Level 1 helps, but nothing stops you starting where you actually are.
Learning begins with being. Where being is enough.
