A Christian, Self-Directed, Nature-Based Learning Community
Wildwood Forest School exists to provide children with rich, earthy experiences that cultivate strength of character, internal motivation, and preparedness for an uncertain world.
We operate within an explicitly Christian environment, grounded in the belief that every child is created with inherent dignity, value, and purpose. Our work is shaped by a conviction that education is not primarily about control, compliance, or standardisation, but about forming whole people who are capable, resilient, curious, and deeply human.
Wildwood is not a school in the conventional sense. It is a learning community.
Our Philosophy
Wildwood is guided by three foundational frameworks that shape how we design environments, make decisions, and relate to children.
Imago Dei
We believe each child is created in the image of God.
This conviction places inherent worth, agency, and moral significance at the centre of our work. Children are not problems to be managed or vessels to be filled, but persons to be respected, entrusted, and formed.
Self-Determination Theory
Human beings flourish when three core needs are supported:
- Autonomy — meaningful choice and ownership
- Competence — growing real skill and capability
- Relatedness — connection to others, place, and purpose
Rather than relying on coercion, rewards, or punishment, we seek to create environments that naturally support these needs.
Flow State
Deep learning emerges when children are fully engaged in meaningful activity — when challenge and skill are well matched, attention becomes focused, and motivation comes from within. We prioritise conditions that allow this kind of engagement to arise naturally.
Our Approach to Learning
Wildwood does not follow a rigid curriculum or timetable. Instead, we provide conditions that allow learning to emerge organically.
Our programs are unstructured yet supported. Children are free to choose how they engage, while adults remain present, attentive, and responsive — offering guidance, boundaries, and care where needed, without directing or controlling outcomes.
We emphasise:
- Time — unhurried, uninterrupted time for deep engagement
- Place — natural environments that invite responsibility and exploration
- Adults — calm, observant guides rather than instructors or enforcers
Learning at Wildwood is inseparable from life. Children learn through doing, through trial and error, through observation, conversation, and responsibility. Growth is gradual, embodied, and deeply personal.
Faith and Culture
Wildwood operates explicitly within a Christian worldview.
All our staff are Christians, and we understand our work at Wildwood as a form of ministry. Our role is not only to supervise or facilitate activities, but to care for children with seriousness, humility, and love.
The Bible is opened and read at all Wildwood programs.
We do not compel belief, but we are honest about the foundations that shape our work. Families who join Wildwood understand that our culture, language, and values are shaped by Christian convictions about human dignity, work, responsibility, forgiveness, and hope.
Who Wildwood Is For
Wildwood is for families seeking something different from conventional, compliance-driven education.
It is suited to those who value:
- environments that respect children as moral agents
- learning that is embodied, relational, and meaningful
- freedom paired with responsibility
- a Christian cultural foundation
- preparation for a world that cannot be fully predicted or standardised
Wildwood is intentionally small, relational, and grounded. We are not trying to be everything for everyone.
Childhood is brief.
The days are long, but the years are short.
At Wildwood, we seek to honour this fleeting season — to give children time, space, and care to grow into themselves, to experience joy, wonder, and meaningful work, and to be known and cherished.