With the fantastic resource of our own woodland and pond, we are able to offer Forest School.
Forest School is an outdoor based, child-led experience offering the opportunity for children to develop their confidence, self-esteem and social skills, as well as learn new skills and increase their knowledge of the natural environment.
The outdoors provides an inclusive and stimulating environment and may involve the use of tools such as saws, loppers/secateurs and fire lighting/cooking skills. The sessions are run by a qualified Forest School leader and take place on school property, which may be within the main school grounds or in our wildlife areas.
All children take part in Forest School sessions. These sessions are spread through the school year in class blocks.
To take part in a Forest School session, your child should wear long trousers and a long sleeved top. A waterproof jacket, waterproof trousers and appropriate footwear such as walking boots or wellies are essential. Sun cream and a sun hat should be provided during the summer months, and warm layers, hat and gloves in the winter. If your child does not have the appropriate clothing, they may not be able to participate in the sessions.
To maximise the time your child has for their session, they may come to school in their Forest School clothing, but don't forget to bring spare shoes for wearing in the classroom.
Please see the document list at the bottom of the page for some useful information about ticks.
Our Scrapstore Playpod provides materials and equipment to stimulate, facilitate and enhance children’s play. All children can use the Playpod during lunchtime. The Playpod provides an accessible and controllable environment for children to play how they want to. The high level of ownership is a powerful ingredient in providing a positive play and learning experience for a child.
There are a great many extra-curricular opportunities for the children at the school, provided through a mixture of free and paid clubs before and after school. These change each term, however amongst our most popular are: football, netball, active club and choir.
Club Information
We believe that children learn best through first hand experiences, therefore educational visits and visitors to school play an important part in supporting children’s learning and are an important and very enjoyable part of the curriculum. Highlights from previous years include visits from theatre productions, authors and trips to ‘We The Curious’, Glastonbury Abbey, Bristol Zoo and London where we have seen some West End shows.
The school recognises the value that residential trips have on a child and therefore organises a residential trip for children in Year 4 to Charterhouse and Year 6 to Plas Pencelli. The experience of living and learning together alongside friends away from home is invaluable. On residential trips, children take part in a wide range of activities, such as abseiling, canoeing and climbing. On their return all of the children talk very fondly about their residential visits and remember it for years to come.
Fitzmaurice is registered with the Eco-Schools programme which provides a simple framework to integrate environmental education and improvements into the running of the whole school. The Eco-Schools programme covers nine topic areas: Litter, Waste, Transport, Healthy Living, Energy, Water, Biodiversity, School Grounds and Global Citizenship. We have embraced the eco-schools programme whole heartedly and have successfully just been awarded highest award, the Green Flag.
As part of the Eco-Schools programme, we have an Eco-Club which are very proactive and meet regularly. They have lots of great ideas on recycling, energy conservation, litter and gardening, to name but a few.
