---
title: "Forest school near Chepstow and the Wye Valley · Footprints in the Forest"
description: "Forest school for children aged two to five in woodland near Chepstow and the Wye Valley, led by a qualified teacher. Join the founding families to hear first."
url: https://www.forestschool.wales/
updated: 2026-10-10
---

# Forest school near Chepstow and the Wye Valley: Little footprints, big woods.

Footprints in the Forest is a new forest school for children aged two to five, led by a qualified teacher. Small groups, real woodland and every season, with mud, fires, dens and stories along the way.

[Join the founding families](https://www.forestschool.wales/join)

[A day in the woods](https://www.forestschool.wales/#day)

![A loose ink drawing of a forest school outing in autumn: three leaders and twelve small children along a muddy path under a golden oak, one leader kneeling at a puddle with a huddle of children, two children holding leaves up high.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/hero-autumn.80b6561e-800.jpg)

## What makes Footprints different

### Led by a teacher

Elle is a qualified teacher with the highest Forest School and childcare qualifications, so play and learning go hand in hand.

### Small groups

Plenty of grown-ups for every child, so each one is known and heard, and kept safe.

### Every season

Out in sun, wind and drizzle, with a shelter, a fire and a warm drink on the cold days.

The rhythm of a session

## A day in the woods

Every session follows a gentle rhythm, so children know what comes next and soon feel at home.

![A leader and a ring of small children sitting on logs in a clearing, one child running to find a space.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/day-1-welcome.b52acf66-800.jpg)

everyone gets a log

### Welcome circle

We gather round, say hello and wonder what the wood will show us today.

![Two children crouched at the foot of a tree with a hand lens, a leader kneeling beside them pointing.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/day-2-explore.c258a2b3-800.jpg)

look closer

### Explore

Bugs, mushrooms, puddles and trees to climb. Children follow whatever makes them curious.

![Children on logs round a small fire holding mugs in both hands, while a leader toasts bread on a stick.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/day-3-fire.79140572-800.jpg)

the kettle is always on

### Snack by the fire

A warm drink and something to toast, with simple fire rules that everyone learns.

![Children building a den of long sticks against a tree, one dragging a big branch, with a mud kitchen beside them.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/day-4-make.e658e28f-800.jpg)

mud pie, anyone?

### Make and do

Dens, mud kitchens, and making things from whatever the wood gives us.

![A leader reading from a book on her knees to a huddle of children on a blanket under the oak.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/day-5-story.5e02deab-800.jpg)

just one more

### Story time

A story or a song under the trees, often about something we found that day.

![A row of muddy wellies on a log, and the children walking up the path to the gate with a leader, one waving back.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/day-6-home.1017852f-800.jpg)

wellies off at the door

### Home time

Muddy boots, rosy cheeks and plenty to tell you on the way home.

Sessions

## Four ways into the woods

For children from two to five, with something for younger brothers and sisters too.

### [Forest School (two to five)](https://www.forestschool.wales/sessions/forest-school)

Term-time sessions for children from two to five, at least two days a week. The heart of Footprints.

### [Parent and toddler (with their grown-up)](https://www.forestschool.wales/sessions/parent-and-toddler)

For little ones under two, with you beside them the whole time.

### [Holiday days (in the school holidays)](https://www.forestschool.wales/sessions/holiday-days)

Forest days in the school holidays for children from two to five.

### [Birthday parties (turning two to five)](https://www.forestschool.wales/sessions/birthday-parties)

A forest party for a child turning two, three, four or five, with their friends.

All year round

## Through the seasons

We're out all year, because every season has something new to find.

![A child crouched among bluebells, nose to nose with a snail, with a hare sitting up behind.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/season-spring.910e9c57-800.jpg)

### Spring

Bluebells, birdsong and new green leaves.

![A child lying in long grass looking up at the sky, with foxgloves leaning over and a bee.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/season-summer.97256e2c-800.jpg)

### Summer

Dappled shade, hammocks and long sunny mornings.

![A child throwing an armful of fallen leaves into the air, with a squirrel on a branch above.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/season-autumn.9b395eb9-800.jpg)

### Autumn

Conkers, crunchy leaves and the first fires.

![A child in a scarf holding out a mitten to a robin on a holly twig in the snow.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/season-winter.20f73c3d-800.jpg)

### Winter

Frosty tracks, warm mittens and hot chocolate.

Why it matters

## Why forest school?

Forest school means regular time in the same woodland, where children lead their own play and learning with a trained leader beside them.

Small risks, taken safely, build confidence. Muddy hands build curiosity. Friendships grow round the fire. And it all fits naturally with the Curriculum for Wales.

![A small child in a yellow rain suit crouches at a puddle with both hands in the mud, a robin watching from a twig.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/why-puddle.25873c0a-800.jpg)

![A trail of small bare footprints wanders across the page.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/prints-across-3.d545bbd4-800.jpg)

Clean air

## Fires without the smoke

Most forest schools light open fires, and the smoke that drifts off them is no good for small lungs. We love a fire as much as anyone, so we do it differently.

![Children sitting on logs well back from a low smokeless fire pit with a clear flame and glowing embers, while a leader kneels to toast something over it.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/fire-pit.7cf265c0-800.jpg)

glow, not smoke

### Smokeless fire pits

Our fires burn in smokeless fire pits, which feed the flames with air twice over, so the wood burns clean and hot. All the crackle and glow, none of the smoke in your eyes.

![A neat stack of split, seasoned logs under a little roof, with a basket of kindling and a robin on top.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/log-store.ca83cb52-800.jpg)

seasoned and untreated

### Cooked on the embers

Food goes over glowing embers, never over flames. Only natural firewood goes on: seasoned, untreated, and never painted, glued or salvaged.

![A canvas shelter among trees with a small wood burner inside and a tall flue rising far above the treetops, with no smoke.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/stove-flue.f1fcf658-800.jpg)

high above the canopy

### A proper stove under cover

Under our shelter, warmth comes from a wood burner with a tall flue that carries everything high above the canopy. Its particulate rating is cleaner than the standard stoves have to meet inside homes.

Fire safety is taught and practised at every session: the fire circle, how to sit, how to move around it. We'll show you on your first visit.

![A loose ink-and-wash sketch of Elle Peate, smiling, with her long hair down.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/elle.89c9a3cc-800.jpg)

Elle

Meet Elle

## Led by Elle Peate

Elle is a qualified teacher who spent fifteen years in Welsh classrooms before founding Cultivate, where she helps schools across Wales with the Curriculum for Wales. Forest school is her lifelong dream, and she holds the highest Forest School and childcare qualifications.

Footprints is small on purpose, so every child is known by name and every parent knows exactly who is looking after them.

- Qualified teacher (QTS)
- Fifteen years in Welsh classrooms
- Forest School and childcare qualified
- Founder of Cultivate

Elle also runs [Cultivate Education Consultancy](https://cultivate.wales).

[Meet the team](https://www.forestschool.wales/our-team)

Credentials

## Qualified, checked and ready

Elle is a qualified teacher and holds the highest forest school qualification, along with everything else a forest school must have before it opens its gate.

![An open book with an oak leaf for a bookmark, in a wreath of oak.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/emblem-teacher.80ecac67-480.jpg)

### Qualified Teacher

Fifteen years in Welsh classrooms.

![A brass compass beside a sprig of oak, in a wreath of oak.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/emblem-leader.8dccc69a-480.jpg)

### Forest School Leader

The highest forest school qualification.

![A knitted bobble hat and a pair of mittens, in a wreath of oak.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/emblem-childcare.08a1850f-480.jpg)

### Childcare

The highest childcare qualification.

![A green first-aid tin and a rolled bandage, in a wreath of oak.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/emblem-firstaid.8da82992-480.jpg)

### Outdoor First Aid

The outdoor course, kept up to date.

![A letter tied with string and closed with a wax seal, in a wreath of oak.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/emblem-dbs.06aa3915-480.jpg)

### Enhanced DBS

The fullest check for working with children.

![A nest holding three speckled eggs under an oak twig, in a wreath of oak.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/emblem-safeguarding.d7b35c87-480.jpg)

### Safeguarding

Trained to notice, and to act.

Ask, and we will show you the certificates.

Two promises

## Private, and not on social media

### [Your child's day, for you alone](https://www.forestschool.wales/den)

A few photographs the same evening, the week ahead, what to bring: in the Den, private to each family, with a two-step sign-in and nothing ever public.

### [You will not find us on social media](https://www.forestschool.wales/no-social-media)

We will never post a picture of your child, and we will never ask to. We would rather be found by people who have been, telling people who have not.

![The Footprints in the Forest wreath of a barn owl, hare, red squirrel, robin and fox.](https://www.forestschool.wales/art/wreath.4a32ea8b-800.jpg)

Founding families

## Be first to hear when places open

Join the founding families for first choice of places, opening dates and news from the woods.

- First choice of places
- One email a month at most
- Leave at any time

[Join the founding families](https://www.forestschool.wales/join)

takes a minute, no commitment