Newbattle Abbey College Forest Outdoor Learning Award (FOLA)

Why this award?

Newbattle Abbey College runs (and supports approved delivery partners to run) a Forest and Outdoor Learning Awards (FOLAs) SCQF Skills levels 2 – 5 for children, young people and adults in schools and community groups. These are most suitable for those is upper primary, secondary and schools supporting ASN. They are also relevant for adults with few or no formal qualifications.

They have been developed for the Scottish educational context, but have been designed to apply to all forest and outdoor situations. The awards are credit rated to SCQF levels which are recognised internationally. At their heart, the awards help people learn about how to be in forest and outdoor environments in sustainable ways. The awards are grounded in the ethos of ‘Forest School’ that places the human within the natural environment and supports active
and person centred approaches to learning. They support Curriculum for Excellence and the Attainment Challenge in Scotland. The awards seek to support the development of skills for Learning, Life and Work.

Who is it for?

These are most suitable for those is upper primary, secondary and schools supporting ASN. They are also relevant for adults with few or no formal qualifications.

We cover nature connection, responsible access in the outdoors (SOAC), species identification, conservation, working with tools and fire safely as well as woodcraft, storytelling and other creative elements. Awards are inclusive and accessible for all – there are no tests and no written requirements for levels 2 -4. All assessment is flexible and appropriate for participants making them particularly relevant for those who find traditional classroom learning challenging.

What time commitment is required?

A minimum of 6 weekly sessions for a condensed programme, or over an academic term (10 weeks) but can be delivered over a full academic year as part of a wider education programme.

The programmes are funding dependent so there is no set schedule of dates. We can organise a programme for organisations who can self-fund on request (4 min – 15 max group size.) Periodically we receive funding for such programmes and can offer these to local organisations, schools or community groups. We can deliver the FOLA Skills Awards in our woodland here at Newbattle or on your own site. There are also approved providers delivering this course in different localities. 

Is the award externally accredited?

Yes, SCQF