Learning, Growing, and Belonging in Nature
We believe every child deserves meaningful time outdoors. Elements is built to make that possible - for home-educated families, schools, and anyone who believes the wild is the best classroom.
More Than an Activity. A Way of Learning.
Elements Outdoor Learning was founded on a simple belief: children learn best when they are engaged, trusted, and connected to the world around them. In an age of screens, packed schedules, and ever-shrinking childhood freedoms, we exist to give children back something essential - real time in wild places, doing meaningful things with their hands.
But we are not just another forest school or holiday camp. Elements is a deliberately structured learning environment where outdoor skills, social development, and academic curiosity meet. Our weekly sessions, holiday clubs, adventure days, and school programmes are all designed around the same principles: child-led exploration, age-appropriate challenge, and the quiet confidence that builds when a child learns to light a fire, identify a bird, or help a younger friend across a stream.
We operate at Hengistbury Head Nature Reserve, one of the most ecologically rich sites in Dorset. The salt marsh, woodland, heath, and shoreline give us a living curriculum that changes with every season. No two weeks are ever the same, because nature does not repeat itself.
Where We Are Heading
Elements is growing, but our ambition is not simply to get bigger. It is to get deeper.
A Year-Round Home Education Community
We want Earth and Fire to be the steady heartbeat of a home-education community that runs through every term of the year. That means more session days, stronger peer networks for children, and a support system for parents who are navigating the home-education journey themselves.
Wilder and More Diverse Programmes
We are expanding Drift, our holiday club, to include residential camps and multi-day adventures for older children. We are also developing new Adventure formats - family wild weekends, Duke of Edinburgh support, and specialist skills days in things like foraging, navigation, and outdoor cooking.
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Schools That Take Learning Outside
Our In-School programme exists because we know teachers want to do this, but time and capacity often stop them. We want to become the trusted partner for primary and secondary schools across Bournemouth, Poole, Christchurch, and the New Forest who believe outdoor learning should be part of the curriculum, not an afterthought.
A Team That Reflects Our Community
As we grow, we are building a team of practitioners who bring different skills, backgrounds, and perspectives to the woods. We are actively investing in training, fair employment, and a culture that values the wellbeing of our staff as much as the children we work with. We do not believe in burning out passionate people. We believe in keeping them.
The People Behind the Elements
Elements is only as good as the people who show up every week, in all weathers, with the right energy and the right intentions.
Saira Court - Founder and Lead Practitioner
Saira is a qualified primary teacher, a home-educating parent of three, and the person who started Elements from a belief that her own children - and many others - needed more than classrooms could offer. She holds full forest school qualifications, first aid certification, and a DBS. Before founding Elements, she taught in primary schools across Dorset and developed a specialism in outdoor and experiential learning.
At Elements, Saira leads the design of all programmes, manages safeguarding and quality, and still spends most of her week in the woods with the children. She is the one who remembers which child is afraid of dogs, which one is working on their fire-lighting badge, and which family needs a bit of extra flexibility this term.
Favourite Elements moment: "Watching a child who arrived terrified of mud spend their third week building a den in the rain, laughing."
Becky
Note: If the team is currently just Saira, keep the section focused on her with a line: "We are a small but growing team. As Elements expands, we are actively recruiting passionate outdoor practitioners. See below if you are interested in joining us."
Favourite Elements moment: "Watching a child who arrived terrified of mud spend their third week building a den in the rain, laughing."
Paul
Note: If the team is currently just Saira, keep the section focused on her with a line: "We are a small but growing team. As Elements expands, we are actively recruiting passionate outdoor practitioners. See below if you are interested in joining us."
Favourite Elements moment: "Watching a child who arrived terrified of mud spend their third week building a den in the rain, laughing."
Lacey
Note: If the team is currently just Saira, keep the section focused on her with a line: "We are a small but growing team. As Elements expands, we are actively recruiting passionate outdoor practitioners. See below if you are interested in joining us."
Favourite Elements moment: "Watching a child who arrived terrified of mud spend their third week building a den in the rain, laughing."
Our Home in the Wild
Hengistbury Head is not just a convenient location. It is a teaching partner.
This nature reserve sits at the meeting point of salt marsh, woodland, heathland, and beach. In a single morning, children can track deer through the pines, study crabs in the salt pools, and watch kestrels hunt over the dunes. The landscape changes dramatically with the seasons - winter brings mud, bare branches, and the sharp smell of salt; summer brings wildflowers, butterflies, and shaded woodland dens.
Being in a nature reserve rather than a managed forest school site means children encounter real unpredictability: changing tides, weather fronts, shifting wildlife, and terrain that requires actual navigation. It is not sanitised. That is precisely the point.
How We Work
Every session at Elements is built on four principles. They are not marketing words. They are the filter we run every decision through.
Child-Led, Adult-Supported
We plan the framework and the boundaries. The children fill the space.
Challenge, Not Risk
We believe children need to feel stretched. Managed risks build judgement, not recklessness.
Community Over Competition
Deliberately mixed-age. No races, no points, no certificates. The reward is the work itself.
The Wild Is for Everyone
Flexible booking, sibling support, SEND integration. Nature belongs to every child.
Work With Us
We are always interested in hearing from people who share our belief that the outdoors is the best classroom.
Whether you are a qualified teacher looking to move outside the school system, a forest school leader with years of experience, or someone at the beginning of their outdoor education journey, we would like to hear from you.
What We Look For:
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Relevant qualifications (forest school, teaching, outdoor education, or equivalent experience)
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A genuine love of working with children outdoors, in all weathers
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A collaborative mindset - no lone wolves
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Reliability and professionalism, matched with warmth and playfulness
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First aid certification (or willingness to obtain it)
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DBS clearance (or willingness to obtain it)
What We Offer:
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Fair, reliable employment with competitive rates
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A supportive team culture that values your wellbeing
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Ongoing training and development in outdoor skills and teaching practice
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The chance to work in one of the most beautiful natural environments in the South West
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A job that genuinely makes a difference to children and families
Current Roles:
If we have specific vacancies open, they will be listed here. If there are none listed right now, we still welcome expressions of interest
Note: Please include a short paragraph telling us why outdoor education matters to you, and what experience you bring - formal or informal. We read every message.
Keeping Children Safe
Parents and schools trust us with their children. That is a responsibility we take seriously.
Ofsted Registered - Full childcare provider registration
Fully Insured - 5 million public liability and professional indemnity
Qualified Leadership - All leads hold teaching or forest school qualifications
First Aid - Paediatric outdoor first aid certification for all staff
DBS Checked - Enhanced checks for every team member
Risk Assessed - Every session, site, and activity. Available on request.
Safeguarding - Clear policy with designated safeguarding leads
