Why Forest Schooling UK Exists And What Happened When We Met Ben

There’s a quiet crisis in education that too many are still overlooking. Every year, more children are falling out of the system, not because they don’t want to learn, but because the system isn’t built to hold them.

Children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. Children living with trauma. Neurodivergent children. Young people in care or on the edge of it, whose lives are shaped by instability, fear and unmet needs. These children aren’t being “difficult”, they’re doing their best to survive in environments that don’t make space for them.

That’s why we started Forest Schooling UK.

Our work is based on a simple belief: no child is unreachable. And when we meet them with consistency, curiosity and care, when we make space for them to feel safe - something begins to shift.

Let me tell you about Ben.

Ben was six when he was referred to us. His mainstream school placement had broken down after repeated incidents of unsafe behaviour. Despite a 2:1 staffing ratio, he was regularly dysregulated, physically aggressive, verbally explosive and sometimes in real danger, like the time he climbed onto the school roof. His school could no longer manage, and by the time we met him, he was out of school entirely.

A fragile arrangement was set up: two mornings a week at Forest School, with the school funding transport. From the start, it was clear that Ben responded well to the environment. The space, the movement, the lack of pressure - it suited him. But that didn’t mean things were easy. Ben arrived with big emotions and a limited toolbox for managing them. There were aggressive outbursts, moments where positive handling was needed and times when other children and staff were at risk.

But here’s the difference: Ben was never punished for being in distress. He was supported through it.

We focused on building a relationship. Making him feel seen, safe and respected. Emotional coaching, reflective conversations and consistent routines helped build mutual trust. Gradually, things began to change. Ben started to engage. His outbursts lessened. The dangerous behaviours faded. And - perhaps most importantly, he started to feel that he belonged.

As he progressed, his placement increased to four days a week. He received his Local Authority tutoring on-site with us, in a place where he felt secure. But his home life was becoming more complicated. Ben was now a child protection case and ongoing involvement from social services made his world even more unstable. When school-funded transport stopped, his attendance suffered, but we pushed for support, and eventually it was reinstated.

Then, a new specialist setting was identified. Together, with the Local Authority and the school, we created a gentle, gradual transition plan. We shared staff, visited each other’s settings and wrapped Ben in a web of continuity. He transitioned and at first, he seemed to succeed.

But healing isn’t linear.

Ben’s home life continued to deteriorate. Violence returned. So did fear. Eventually, the new school placement broke down. He came back to Forest School - his safe space.

It wasn’t without a few wobbles. The dysregulation returned, as did the instinct to protect himself by pushing others away. But the trust we’d built didn’t disappear. It just needed dusting off. And slowly, Ben is beginning to succeed again.

Ben’s story is not unusual. He is one of thousands of children in the UK who are navigating complex trauma and being failed by systems that can’t adapt quickly enough. Persistent school absence is now affecting one in five children. Mental health needs among children have doubled in a decade. Children with SEND, care experience, or unstable home lives are the most likely to be excluded or informally removed from education.

We created Forest Schooling UK for these children.

Our provision is nature-based, trauma-informed and relational at its core. We don’t rush. We don’t rescue. We walk alongside children, through the good days, the bad days and everything in between. We draw on evidence that time in nature regulates the nervous system and supports wellbeing. We use attachment-aware and emotionally literate approaches. But above all, we build safety. Because children like Ben don’t need stricter rules or shorter leashes. They need to be understood. And held. And remembered, even when they leave.

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