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The New Forest Small School

The School's Philosophy

'Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.' W. B. Yeats

Our educational philosophy is founded upon the belief that the full potential of children may only be realised when their sense of well being and belonging is at its optimum.

Although the school originally adhered to the educational methods of Maria Montessori, as we have grown and developed our approach has been influenced by numerous educationalists and educational psychologists. These include the works of Jean Piaget, John Holt, Carol Dweck, Daniel Willingham, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Ivan Illich, Abhijit Naskar and A. S. Neill, to name but a few.

However our educational approach is mainly influenced by the children at our school. This requires an educational method that can be flexible and adapted to each unique individual.

Human Scale Education

We believe that the educational, social and emotional needs of each child are best served in a small-scale environment. We operate our school along the lines of a caring, extended ‘family’ where the classes...

Developing Strong Foundations

Life, as we all know, requires many different skills. Therefore our school day is designed to give time for the children to develop not just academic skills but also the many vital personal and social skills...

Working with Children's Natural Skills

'If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn.' Ignacio Estrada. At the New Forest Small School we work with children's natural skills rather than against them...

Freedom & Discipline

One of the most outstanding features of our school is the excellent behaviour of the children. We very rarely have any disciplinary issues. Why is this? At our school we focus on creating an environment...

Also See

Optimizing Education

At The New Forest Small School we have tried to rethink what we want to nurture in our children so that they can attain academic success, and secondly what is the most effective way to achieve this?

Teaching Methods

Academic subjects are taught to in a way that helps them to see the connections between other subjects and most importantly their everyday lives. Subjects are taught both in the context of...

Framework of Aims

These include fostering in each student self-confidence, self-awareness, mental well-being, social awareness, emotional intelligence, self-motivation, self-discipline, free thinking, academic and physical skills...

Assessments

At the New Forest Small School we assess all aspects of each child’s development, from the personal, social and emotional, to the academic. At staff meetings each child is discussed from a holistic perspective...

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