Hawthorns farm is a unique environment where students can learn and develop with nature

The centre is run and managed by Rob Morris and is a unique environment that encourages outdoor learning and self development for students that would normally struggle in a traditional classroom setting.

All our students thrive in the farm environment and have opportunity to learn a variety of skills and be responsible for tasks including animal care, site maintenance, growing vegetables, as well as bushcraft and living off the land.

Rob uses day-to-day farm tasks to help the students learn, quite often tasks involve working out the amount of materials required for site maintenance. This helps students use maths to ensure the day-to-day task is completed with all necessary resources.

Students also enjoy and grow in confidence especially when taking care of the animals as we have ducks, sheep and horses on the farm.

Rob Morris is the Forest School Leader and is a guide for young people to get them immersed in new experiences that you share with them not a dictating style of teaching.

Its about getting students involved for example starting an activity that will make them really look at the world around them touching it getting dirty feeling and listening and looking at nature.

A key factor in the forest school approach to learning is the use of a term called “scaffolding”. This is the process of supporting the learner in the acquisition of a new skill. Its versatility and efficacy mean that it can be applied across a broad range of different skills and age ranges with success.

Scaffolding identifies that when learning a new skill, enough support is given in the initial stages if the learner is to make progress and that support is then removed as the student becomes more competent in their own ability and gradually becomes an independent master of that skill.

Six Principles of the Forest School

Outdoor Learning & Animal Care

Personal Skills