It is important that you consider your lines of communications with other stakeholders at your Forest School, especially as it starts to grow. Below you will find my current communications and how I would plan to expand them in the future.
Communicating with Landowners, Site Management, grounds people etc:
Communicating changes to areas, activities running and checking these areas are available and safe to use is essential. It is best practice to discuss the most efficient form of communication with the individual you have to contact. With my site it was best to contact the site manager via email or mobile phone depending on time allowance.
Communicating with my assistants:
- In person through direct communication at school.
- Via email ensuring I provide them with essential documents beforehand.
- Via telephone usually as a last resort.
Communicating with parents:
- Via written letters sent out from school containing essential information.
- Follow up reminders to parents via school text and email system.
- Important information on school website.
- Ensure I have access to emergency contact details during the session – In my situation these are held by the school office.
- Updates on what we have done or achieved via Facebook and Twitter Feeds
Communicating with other practitioners:
- As a Forest School practitioner it is essential to keep your skills up-to-date. One way to do this is to share your experiences with other practitioners. There are a variety of local/national associations which you can join e.g. The Forest School Association (Click Here).
- Visit refreshers and new training courses. Refresher training courser will keep your skills fresh but also ensure that you learn new methods and idea to keep your own program fresh. This is also an ideal opportunity to network with other Forest School Practitioners
Expanding business:
- As a forest school grows and expands it is important to consider how you will create a public face. To gain extra business you need to have a website with up to date content and information. You need to make significant use of Social Media using it as a location for advertising and promoting your activities.
- Ensure you have all the essential contact details and they are monitored daily e.g. a dedicated phone line and email.
- You could also consider communicating with potential clients directly. This could be via a mail or email shot to the clients e.g. schools. Research shows however that this isn’t effective unless you email a significant number of groups as you would only expect about a 2% return.