Risk is one of the key principles of Forest School. If you’ve completed your training, you will have focused on the benefits of supported risk for your participants and your role as the leader in ensuring that the risks are appropriate to the individual and the environment.

Wherever you are in your practice, it is worth reminding yourself that the end goal is not a document (or a folder full of documents). It is a well-planned session where children can experience appropriate challenges and develop their understanding of risk. Your written assessments record the planning and thinking behind your decisions, and your wider documentation will capture not just your processes but your values and experience as a leader.

Does an “off the shelf” generic risk assessment exist for Forest School?

If you type “Forest School Risk Assessment” into a search engine, you will bring up hundreds of results. It could be tempting to think “why reinvent the wheel?” and use a pre-existing assessment. However, if you simply copy a template and put your company name on it, you miss the purpose. Risk assessment is about the journey, not the destination. When you produce a risk assessment document, you engage creatively and picture scenarios, deciding what could realistically happen and how you would respond. You can’t imagine every possibility, but the habit of thinking things through makes you more prepared in the woods.

If you are searching for anything, it should be a risk assessment template that really works for you. Risk assessments should contain a number of basic elements including: what could cause harm; who could be affected; what you will do to control the risk; and who is responsible. Forest School risk assessments can also include the benefits of the activity. If you find a layout or way of recording that works for you (some people love a matrix, others, not so much…) then there’s no harm in taking inspiration!

Do I need to create a new risk assessment for every session?

You need to review risk for every session, but that may mean updating a strong existing assessment rather than starting again from scratch.

Forest School is about growth and change. Your participants, activities and seasons evolve, and so do the risks. Your own personal feelings about risk may also change. Keeping your assessments and daily checks under regular review is what keeps them meaningful in practice.

Professional guidance from the Forest School Association recommends several connected documents and processes, including a site risk assessment, daily checks, activity risk-benefit assessments, a stated approach to dynamic risk assessment, a Health and Safety policy and emergency plans.

So in reality, your written risk assessment is only part of a wider toolkit that sets out your processes and approach. It may seem contradictory that more documents means less time spent on paperwork but most of these core documents will only need to be altered when something significant changes, so once they’re in place, they make routine reviews quicker.

How can you keep your processes manageable?

Having a strong, documented approach to risk is key to a thriving Forest School, but you also want to keep a balance between the time spent in the woods doing what you love and the amount of time you spend at a desk.

Build good systems: Get your foundational documents right and use tools and technology that make life easier for you. Eequ can help with the administration around your sessions by collecting bookings, medical information and allergy details in advance.

Stay concise: Aim for short and readable, linking to longer more detailed policy approaches where needed. When you update an assessment, reword it rather than simply adding another paragraph. A shorter document that describes what you really do is more useful than a long document that nobody reads.

Keep on top of it: Regular reviews and updates mean that you won’t have to spend hours on massive overhauls.

Create what works for you: What matters is that the format fits your practice. For example, waterproof paper or voice notes on your phone may help you complete observations in the field to reduce desk time.

FAQs

I’m not Forest School trained but I lead outdoor activities. What can I learn from the Forest School approach?

Whether you are leading Forest School or other kinds of outdoor activities, you need to consider the risks at your sessions and take steps to manage them. A particularly useful principle championed by Forest School is a risk-benefit approach, meaning that as well as considering potential harms and mitigations, you also document what benefits the participants are likely to get from the activities. This could include confidence, problem solving, critical thinking, or a connection to the natural world for example. This helps you to judge whether the perceived benefits justify the possible risks. It can also provide a bit of an antidote to only thinking about what might go wrong!

How can I demonstrate my dynamic risk assessment processes?

Dynamic risk assessment is the term for how you’re responding to the actual conditions on the day. You should explain how you do this within your documentation and creating custom templates may help you with consistency in carrying this out. Having a checklist that is specific to the site and group shows you’ve considered in advance what the potential changing factors might be, for example the weather conditions, hung up tree branches or litter. It also reduces the likelihood that you’ll forget something! As well as acting as a prompt and showing your prior planning, it also records that you’ve addressed them on the day.

What about “near misses”? Do I need to document it if no-one was injured?

You should document any incidents or “near misses”, i.e. something that happened that could have caused harm but didn’t. Having a template with you (paper or digital) is useful to make sure you don’t forget to record any essential information, which could happen when you’re occupied with responding to the incident itself. Documenting near misses at your sessions is evidence that you are a reflective practitioner, who is responsive to risk, rather than simply being reactive.

Source Links

Health and Safety Executive - Managing Risks and Risk Assessment at work

Forest School Association Principles (see Risk)

Conclusion

Getting your approach to risk assessment right protects the children in your care and gives you the confidence to run great sessions, without getting bogged down. Shifting your mindset from viewing your risk assessment documents as paperwork to part of your reflective practice and continued development may help with your motivation. If you use a booking system that automatically flags allergies or medical needs from the point of booking, that's one less thing to check manually before your session starts. Use Eequ, and have one less thing to worry about whilst you focus on delivering great sessions.

Disclaimer: This is practical sector guidance, not legal advice. You remain responsible for your own risk management, policies, insurance requirements and compliance. Always check current Health and Safety Executive guidance. Accurate as of September 2026.

Learning to Love Your Risk Assessments: Keeping Forest School planning practical, reflective and rooted in its ethos