Many interviewers will ask why you want a particular job role. For a forest school leader position more simplistic answers won’t do, you will need to show genuine passion for both childcare and the environment. Your personal experiences relating to forest schools or learning in natural environments are ideal things to mention as they can help to explain your motivations for the role.
You will often be asked by an interviewer why do you want to work at that organisation in particular. This is a much more important question if you are applying to be a forest school leader. This is because the ideas around forest schools are related to environmental concerns alongside the development of children so outlining why you are a good match for this forest school is important. Try talking about local environmental concerns and how you would maintain an awareness of them in the role.
Knowing the ethos of the forest school you are applying to and outlining how your personal thoughts compliment it well could be a good start when answering this question. Also mentioning any personal ties you have to the school or surrounding area would also be a great inclusion.
Interviewers are looking for you to talk about how a forest school can impact the environment and your attitudes towards these impacts. This could be answered by you discussing which typical forest school activities cause environmental harm and how you plan to respond to the harms caused.
Some questions you could consider are:
If you have previous experience working in a forest school environment recalling a time when you have had to make these judgements will really impress the interviewer. But be careful when answering questions with examples it can be easy to become side-tracked. Using the STAR method can be a good way to structure your answers.
Forest schools lean towards more learner led experiences by design and deciding how much impact adults should have on this can be a difficult balancing act. Interviewers are looking for you to outline how much input you think adults should have when supporting leaners, also mention why you think this. Try researching typical activities in-depth so you can bring up examples.
This is a great opportunity for you to flex your knowledge and experience in areas you think are relevant to the role but you might not have talked about yet. If you have, mentioning experience with SEN children is a good idea as well as experience with working in outdoor environments.
This doesn’t have to be experience just through work though, relevant hobbies can sometimes be even more valuable as they show your dedication to the area.
Employers usually are going to favour those who have been qualified for longer but this is not always the case. The employer could be looking for someone recently qualified as they wish to mould you to fit their more niche requirements. Also courses could have been recently changed, your more up-to-date knowledge could be an asset. Either way, just be honest! You won’t be judged for not being qualified for long.
