Led by Jo Dainty, we are a team of freelance Forest School practitioners and Playworkers in Ceredigion, Powys and Herefordshire.
We offer:
We're passionate about creating a community of outdoor play and fun for children, for families and for parents who'd like support outdoors. We have even created out own Forest School practitioner community because we want to share our love for the natural environment as far as possible!
We love to share our knowledge, experience and enthusiasm for the natural environment with others in a relaxed space, making the most of every space we find ourselves playing in!
Everyday PLAY! formed in Herefordshire in 2019 with the main aim to promote active, risky play to children and families in local natural green spaces. Jo and Amy were the original dynamic duo playing in a variety of different settings, Villa Street Gardens in Hunderton, Haygrove Community Garden, working in partnership with Ross Children's Projects, and Abergavenny Community Centre. Jo and Amy spent happy days delivering outdoor play and Forest School sessions together in these local communities. Along the way we gathered more fabulous practitioners and now we have a big team across 3 counties!
In 2021, Jo moved to Ceredigion and has now started running family sessions at Cors Ian in Lledrod as well as delivering Forest School sessions for Rooted Forest School and Forest School training with Cambium Sustainable and Playwork training with Ray Ceredigion! Amy remains in Hereford and continues to deliver outdoor community play and Forest School for Everyday PLAY! with Hunderton Community Gardens Association and various schools delivering THRIVE sessions with children with additional needs.
Since 2019 Jo has been delivering bespoke informal training in outdoor skills including fire skills, outdoor cooking, risky play/ ropes and nets and tool use.
In 2022 Jo started working as an Associate Trainer for Cambium Sustainable to deliver Level 3 Forest School Leader and Level 2 Forest School Assistant.
In 2023 Jo also started to deliver level 1 outdoor learning and play with Ray Ceredigion. This is a great introduction to working with children outdoors.
Level 3 Forest School Leader training is delivered in Ceredigion utilising a variety of local sites through the year. We often use Longwood near Lampeter, Cors Ian near Lledrod but try to mix it up a bit for each group so that we can see sites near to where the learners are based. Level 3 training dates start in March/ April each year but if you're interested please book sooner rather than later to ensure a place, and to ensure the the course runs!
To apply for the Level 3 you need to be over 18 and have a level 2 qualification or experience working outdoors with groups.
There are eight days face to face delivery between April and July and an additional portfolio building session in later in the year.
You need to have access to a group and site where you can run a series of 6 sessions with the same group of between 5-16 children.
There are various ways that you are assessed through the course: firstly a practical skills assessment with your peers during two of the training days; secondly a work based assessment of a Forest School session that you run as part of your programme of 6 sessions; and lastly producing a portfolio of work, meeting the criteria. Within this you will create all the paperwork and gain a great understanding of everything you need to know to run your own Forest School in the future!
Forest School is long term, regular sessions, run by qualified practitioners in a green space preferably with trees and a variety of flora and fauna. There must be less than 16 children, although 10 is a fabulous number, allowing the practitioner to support all the children in the group to realise their outdoor play fantasies! We always offer an element of risk in our sessions, this will be focused on the children attending, their interests, the abilities and what the environment offers.
For practitioners at Everyday PLAY! Forest School is about facilitating Play in a woodland environment. Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. That is, children and young people determine and control the content and intent of their play, by following their own instincts, ideas and interests, in their own way for their own reasons.
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