Forest School Leader (March 2026) - Level 3 E4P 2806

A ten day course certified by AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group, aimed at individuals who wish to lead a Forest School programme.

Our Level 2 and Level 3 Forest School courses are facilitated by our Forest School Association (FSA) Registered Forest School Trainers who have passed the stage 1 process set out by the FSA and demonstrated that they meet a variety of standards associated with providing high quality training experiences.

Location: Foxburrow Nature Reserve, IP12 1NA

Course dates:

9th - 13th March 2026
11th - 13th May 2026 (with option of overnight stay in the woods)
8th - 9th June 2026

Time: 9:30am - 5:30pm each day

Entry criteria:

• Participants should be over 21 and hold a qualification at Level 2 or above in teaching or youth work OR have significant experience of working with young people.
• All participants must demonstrate that they are in a position to deliver a six session Forest School pilot programme during their training.
• All participants must hold a First Aid certificate before delivering Forest School. A 16-hour First Aid with an outdoor element is recommended.
• Please note that you do not require Level 1 Forest School Ethos and principles, or Level 2 Forest school Assistant before undertaking this Level 3 Forest School Leader training course
• If you have undertaken AIM accredited Level 2 Forest School training within 18 months of the start of the Level 3 course you can top up to a Level 3. You will need to attend days 6-10 of this course (11th - 13th May and 8th - 9th June 2026). Click here to book. If you have completed your Level 2 with Suffolk Wildlife Trust within 18 months of the start of this course, you will benefit from an exclusive discount.

Cost: £1199, including a £200 non-refundable deposit (option to pay in instalments available, but the course must be paid for in full before the start date)

If you are a school or other organisation wishing to book your place via invoice please contact us.

Course layout:

-Course overview: AIM Qualifications Level 3 Certificate for Forest School Leaders

-Ten days of face to face training to cover Forest School programme delivery, learning and development, planning and preparation, practical skills and the woodland environment. This is an outdoor course.

-A coursework portfolio should be completed within 12 months of the start of the course, this will involve a lot of additional study*. This portfolio is split into 5 units (details of which can be found below), hand in dates for these units will be given out on the course and will be spread over a 12 month period from the start of the course.

-As part of the course you will be required to plan and deliver a six week Forest School programme during which one of your tutors will perform a support visit (an in-person support visit will be provided for participants based in Suffolk. Out of county learners will be required to provide video evidence of their pilot study).

-We also offer mentoring days to our students. Dates for these will be set on the course.

-Please note that you will not be qualified to run Forest school sessions until receipt of your certificate and you should allow at least 12 months from the start date of the course for this.

-Practicing Forest School leaders require 16 hour first aid (this corresponds to Forest School Association guidance for Forest School Leaders). We offer this training for an additional £200.

Upcoming Forest School and Paediatric First Aid courses:
-May - TBC
-October - TBC

*Guided learning hours for the qualification: 155. Total qualification time: 180 hours.

Course content:

The Level 3 course is designed to develop leadership, facilitation, practical and teaching skills to enable participants to understand the principles and ethos of Forest School and to plan and deliver Forest School programmes. It is designed to meet the needs of early years practitioners, teachers and teaching assistants, youth workers, adults and professionals in training to become a Forest School Leader.

The course consists of five units, click links below to download the assessment criteria and learning outcomes for each unit. Hand in dates are set at regular intervals throughout the 12 month following the teaching days (as detailed below).

Practical Skills (hand in date: TBC)
Planning and Preparation (hand in date: TBC)
Woodland Environment (hand in date: TBC)
Delivery (hand in date: TBC)
Learning and Development (hand in date: TBC)

We use a platform called Moodle to submit and mark all coursework, you will be given details of this at the start of the course.

Please ensure you have read and agree to the terms and conditions and Learner Agreement before booking. Our Diversity and Inclusion policy, Students complaints and appeals procedures are also available as links within the Terms & Conditions.

For more conservation jobs and courses please see www.environmentjob.co.uk