The Forest School Outdoor Classroom Pod

So many schools nowadays have a forest school set up which they either run and operate within their own grounds or they share with another location or facility. It is a great initiative and one I am sure which will only but gain in popularity.

Hence the reason why we have enjoyed recently a significant increase in enquiries for some sort of outdoor shelter and classroom provision for these forest school settings. And we found that a lot of schools want something that is a little bit different….and even mysterious especially if it is going to be sited in an actual woodland. So, as always, we went out to quite a few schools to ask the children what they would like to see in such a building. The Hobbit seemed to come up quite a lot and the ability to be able to move it ultimately.

So we have now supplied our first forest school outdoor classroom pod. In keeping with the mysterious and the Hobbit theme, the pod has some large circular doors to the front and a round circular window to the back. It can also come with two roof types – namely an artificial grass roof (preferable if you want to site the outdoor classroom pod in a green, forest or wood setting) or a more traditional timber closeboard roof.

It can either come as a pre-manufactured unit which is delivered to the school on the back of a low-loader truck and is then either winched or craned into position. The greatest advantage of this method is that the unit can be up and running in the same day. However, if access for the lorry is a problem, then there is the option to build it on site in a modular format. Other options include insulation to the floor, walls and roof and an electrical package if supply is easy enough to get out to the pod (the electrical pack includes lights, heating and power sockets). However ,we are also looking at an “off-grid” system with solar energy providing the power and also having a wood-burning stove in the unit to heat it (the children can do themselves as this is very much part of the whole forest schools ethos and they can collect wood and logs). We are also looking at the feasibility of having some sort of wheels underneath so that it can be literally moved around the school if so required.

For further details on the outdoor classroom pod, please call the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com

www.hideouthouse.com