Planning a school trip to the forest opens the door to memorable outdoor learning experiences.
Our forests provide an inspiring setting where young people can build real‑life skills, explore the natural world, connect with nature, and learn through hands‑on activities. Whether you’re joining us for a guided session or organising your own self-led visit, this page will walk you through everything you need to know before you arrive—plus plenty of ideas to help you make the most of learning outdoors.
Planning
Contact the site and book in
Our staff can advise on availability, what activities are on offer in addition to our free downloadable resources, and where in the forest might be best to carry out your self-led activities. Booking your visit also means our staff will be able to make contact if the weather or any other events may impact your visit. You can find the details of your local forest here.
Coach and parking
Once you have arranged transport, find out if they know how to get to the site and if they will stay on site for the duration of your visit. Are there parking charges, if so, who is responsible for paying, and how will they be paid?
Pre-visit
A pre-visit is essential for planning your trip and writing your risk assessment – most sites will offer free parking for your pre-visit if pre-arranged. If you plan to use any Forestry England resources, a staff member may be able to meet you to go through these. On your pre-visit:
- Check your route - where will you park/do different activities/have lunch/toilets/handwashing/water points and other facilities?
- Is there any shelter available if it’s very wet or for shade?
- Check mobile phone signal or where you can call for help.
- Check what you're going to do if a group member becomes ill or is hurt. Quickest routes back to the coach, where is the nearest hospital / first aid facility?
- Record the hazards for your risk assessment.
Write the itinerary
Work out your schedule for the day, including your journey time to and from school. Think carefully about how much time to allow for each element and be prepared to be adaptable on the day. Think about whether you will remain as one larger group or split into smaller groups.
Risk assessment
This will make sure you are aware of any potential hazards of the journey, site and activities including those that are specific to your group, so that you can put measures in place to minimise the risk. We’ve written a guidance document to help you here.
Paperwork
Ensure you follow all of your school's/organisations' policies and required paperwork. This includes having valid insurance, obtaining consent forms, organising correct staff ratios and ensuring that staff and helpers understand their responsibilities.
Before you visit
Help your class to find out about the forest they are visiting and prepare for their trip by:
- Using our forest cycle PowerPoint to tell the story from seed, to tree, to objects made of wood - an incredible renewable resource!
- Checking out the Forest Code to ensure that you will be responsible forest visitors.
- Using our pre-visit resources - we have a big selection, including activities that help students to think about what they need to take with them, how to keep safe, and what they might expect to see and feel in the forest.
These great resources will help you and your group prepare for their visit, helping to join up classroom work with your experiences in the forest.
On the day
- Ensure that everyone is appropriately dressed to protect them from the weather. To help protect our forests please ensure footwear is clean and try to clean them before leaving the forest. You can find out more about forest biosecurity here.
- Make sure you take any medication and first aid equipment with you and that, those that need to, know where it will be.
- Make sure everyone has sufficient food and water.
- Ensure you have updated paperwork with any absences.
- Take any equipment that you need for activities.
- Check hands are washed/sanitised before eating.
- Keep to your risk assessment.
- Keep to the Forest Code.
- Enjoy spending time in the forest and seeing how your class respond to being in the forest environment.
After the visit
You may have work that you started in the forest to finish up in the classroom, but it can also be valuable to ask students to reflect on their visit. Was it as they expected? Did they enjoy any particular elements? What made them go ‘Wow’? What new thing did they learn?
Please send us feedback about your visit – we'd love to hear what went well and how you think we could help to improve your visit. Email the site you booked through or learning.england@forestryengland.uk.
