13 Outdoor Play & Forest School Programmes In Singapore

If you want your child to grow in confidence and resilience and benefit from the great outdoors, check out these outdoor learning concepts and forest schools in Singapore!

Looking for a forest school in Singapore to get your kids in touch with nature? The Forest School movement has become really popular in Singapore and offers kiddos a chance to go climbing, trekking in the wild, learn ‘survival skills’ and do woodwork all under the guidance of specially trained Forest School Leaders. It’s an outdoor-style learning concept that is holistic and learner-led, with loads of benefits for your child’s physical and mental well-being. A few schools offer Forest School programmes or extended outdoor learning. Plus, there are lots of after-school programmes/enrichment centres offering forest school programmes too.

Read more: Preschools With Outdoor Spaces In Singapore

Jump to:
– What is a Forest School?
– What is an FSA-recognised Forest School Provider?
– Outdoor Play & Forest School programmes in Singapore

What is a Forest School?

Forest Schools in Singapore can be defined as nature-based communities where trained Forest School practitioners nurture child-led exploration and discovery. Teachers prioritise children’s well-being and recognise that every child’s social, emotional and physical needs can lead them to provide the best guidance in nature.

The aim is to create child-led experiences to mentor holistic growth and nurture kids into becoming confident, risk-taking individuals who value and care for the environment. The Forest School Association (the professional body and UK-wide voice for Forest Schools) defines Forest Schools as any setting, from nursery to school or organisation (including sole-trading freelancers), but the key to being an official Forest School is having at least one Level 3 trained FS practitioner on staff.

The history of Forest Schools goes way back to the early 19th Century in Scandinavia. The open-air culture (a Nordic concept often referred to as ‘friluftsliv’) has always been seen as a way of life in Scandinavia and even influenced early years education methods. Eventually, the pedagogical practice was established in countries like Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, before becoming more popular in the UK by the 1990s.

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What is an FSA-recognised Forest School Provider?

The Forest School Association has a list of FSA-recognised providers that undergo a regular evaluation process to ensure that they meet the minimum benchmarks of a quality Forest School. One of the main requirements of an FSA recognised Forest School of any nursery, school or organisation is to have at least one Level 3 trained Forest School practitioner on staff, so always ask to be sure.

Other FSA-recognised requirements include rigorous safety policies, risk assessments, and first aid training, among many other criteria – find out more here.

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Outdoor Play & Forest Schools in Singapore

Forest School programmes in Singapore within preschools or international schools offer plenty of outdoor play and forest exploration. Some are weekly drop-off Forest School enrichment programmes. Some schools may not be Forest School accredited but offer significant outdoor learning as part of their curriculum. If you want to get your kids into nature, why not consider one of these outdoor play programmes or Forest Schools in Singapore?

1. German European School Singapore (GESS): Certified Forest School Programme

At the German European School Singapore (GESS), some of the most meaningful learning happens outside the classroom. It takes place among the trees, streams and undergrowth of Dairy Farm Nature Reserve, right next to the campus. Because the reserve is protected land that will never be developed, the school’s youngest students get guaranteed, lifelong access to real wilderness just steps from their playground. That closeness to nature is what shapes the Certified Forest School Programme offered at Preschool level. Rather than being an occasional field trip, time outdoors is woven into everyday learning here. Children head into the nearby Dairy Farm Nature Park on a regular basis to explore and discover at their own pace, whether that’s chasing a trail of ants, poking around a fallen log, or getting lost in a patch of undergrowth. It’s a classroom without walls, one where curiosity gets to lead.

There’s more to it than just getting fresh air. This kind of hands-on time outdoors also gives kids a chance to build resilience, coordination and confidence, along with a sense of wonder that’s hard to replicate indoors. There’s also a dedicated Forest School Jungle Garden right on campus, tucked beside the playground, so kids get their hands in the dirt without ever leaving school grounds. Logs turn into balance beams, mud puddles turn into makeshift labs, rain or shine. Forest School Leader James Fox, better known to the kids as “Jungle James,” runs sessions that rotate between this garden and Dairy Farm Nature Park, giving children a familiar spot on campus, with the wider forest just a short trip away. For families looking for an early years programme (IB PYP) where nature plays a real role in how kids learn, this is worth checking out. If you’re keen to check it out in person, you can book a tour here.

German European School Singapore, 2 Dairy Farm Lane, Singapore 677621, Tel: (+65) 6461 0881, www.gess.edu.sg

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2. UWC South East Asia: Outdoor Education programme

At UWC South East Asia (UWCSEA), Forest School is part of the school’s Outdoor Education programme, one of the core elements of how they approach learning. Kids get to explore nature, see how different systems work together, and build a real respect for the environment along the way. On the Dover Campus, K1 and K2 students go through a six-week Forest School programme, spending two hours a week outdoors. They do everything from sensory activities to physical challenges, and in the process, learn how to look after the environment around them. They also get hands-on time at the campus tree nursery, where they learn about different plants and grow their own microgreens. Plus, they visit the water catchment area to see firsthand how rain actually affects the environment.

Over at East Campus, outdoor learning is built into the curriculum from K1 onwards, led by educators trained in Forest School methods. One highlight is the Perimeter Permaculture Food Forest, a kind of living classroom where kids learn about ecology and permaculture and get to plant things themselves. They also help take care of chickens as part of learning about sustainable food systems. In Grade 3, kids get to experience Beach School too, and composting is part of the curriculum at both campuses. If you’d like to see all this in person and learn more about the admissions process, UWCSEA’s upcoming open house events is a good place to start. Applications for August 2027 and January 2028 open on 1 September 2026.

UWC South East Asia, 1207 Dover Road, Singapore 139654, Tel: (+65) 6774 2653 & 1 Tampines Street 73, Singapore 528704, Tel: (+65) 6305 5353, www.uwcsea.edu.sg

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3. Tanglin Trust School: Forest School Programme for infants

At Tanglin Trust School, getting kids into nature early on is seen as one of the ways to help them build the social, physical and learning skills they need in their formative years. It starts with Forest School, introduced in Nursery and continuing right through the four years of Infant School. The school’s on-site Forest School gives children regular opportunities to explore and play outdoors, nurturing curiosity, resilience and a genuine love of nature along the way. It’s a fast-paced, technology-driven world today, and Tanglin believes kids need real time outdoors to connect with nature now more than ever. Time outside isn’t just downtime. It’s part of how they grow, physically, emotionally, socially and mentally.

Tanglin’s Forest School provides a unique, nature-based learning environment where children can explore, play and experience the natural world in a safe, secure and hands-on way. The school campus also features an eco-garden and a range of other green spaces designed to enhance outdoor learning opportunities, including the Tanglin duck coop! Together, these spaces give children the chance to learn in and from nature, while developing an understanding of sustainability and their role in caring for the environment. Outdoor learning isn’t just an Infant School thing either, it runs across the school, with Senior School students helping out with Forest School activities for the little ones. That connection to nature, and the habit of thinking about sustainability, carries all the way from Nursery to Sixth Form.

Tanglin Trust School, 95 Portsdown Road, Singapore 139299, Tel: (+65) 6770 3583, www.tts.edu.sg

Read more: Guide To Childcare Centres & Infantcare In Singapore

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4. The Grange Institution: Sustainable development education

At The Grange Institution, students spend about 1.5 to 2 hours a week learning outdoors, split between curriculum lessons and free-roaming exploration. Most of it happens at the school’s on-campus Agroforest Farm, where plant life cycles, biodiversity, and food systems aren’t just textbook topics. They’re right there to touch, grow, and study. That hands-on time builds a deeper understanding of climate resilience and sustainable food production, tied closely to what students are learning through Cambridge Global Perspectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Projects like turning old plastic bottles into irrigation systems or coffee grounds into fertiliser show students how everyday waste can become something useful, sharpening their problem-solving and teamwork along the way. The learning goes beyond the farm itself: students harvest produce for school charity initiatives, handling everything from prepping products to running booths, picking up real entrepreneurial and leadership experience in the process.

The Grange brings the outdoors into its Cambridge curriculum. Through the Green Granger Initiative and the new Agroforest Farm, students turn what they learn about nature into real, practical projects. UNESCO spotlighted the school’s work at World Engineering Day in 2025 and 2026, a nod to the real-world problem-solving skills kids gain from learning outdoors. Through the Grow with The Grange campaign, students have planted over 180 trees in Sumatra and Zambia, each named after a Grange student. Together, those trees have offset more than 4,000 kg of CO₂ and created 45 hours of community employment. The initiative has also supported gender equality, with women making up half the workforce.

Enrol before 30th October and get 50% off enrolment fees.

The Grange Institution, 449 Yio Chu Kang Road, Singapore 805946, Tel: (+65) 6817 3630, www.thegrange.edu.sg

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5. Dulwich College (Singapore): Forest School Programme

At Dulwich College (Singapore), every child from Toddler to Year 2 spends a full season at Forest School each year, out exploring and, more often than not, coming back with happy, muddy hands. The school is accredited by the UK’s Forest School Learning Initiative, and nature-based learning is built right into the kindergarten curriculum. Kids get to explore outdoors, take sensible risks, work through problems, and make their own calls, whether that means climbing, building, investigating, or just following whatever’s caught their interest that day.

Over time, this adds up to more than an appreciation of nature. Kids try things, get them wrong, adjust, and try again. In the process, they build resilience, independence, and the confidence to figure things out on their own. Each season builds on the one before it. By the time they move from Toddler to Year 2, they come out more capable, curious, and more aware of the world around them. Forest School isn’t limited to Dulwich students either. Holiday camps and termly sessions are open to families outside the school too.

Dulwich College (Singapore), 71 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, Singapore 658966, Tel: (+65) 6890 1003, www.singapore.dulwich.org

Read more: Guide To IPC Schools In Singapore

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6. Canadian International School (CIS): Outdoor Discovery Centre

Living up to its name as a “discovery centre”, CIS’s 2,600 square-metre Outdoor Discovery Centre features a bike track, a nature trail, sandpits, a waterfall pond, a mud kitchen, art and music gardens, open lawns, multi-level decks and even a treehouse. All of these spaces have been purposefully designed to support their inquiry and purposeful play-based approach to learning.

Canadian International School, 7 Jurong West Street 41 Singapore 649414, www.cis.edu.sg

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7. Forest Adventure Club: Forest school with holiday nature camps

Forest Adventure Club is a Forest School in Singapore led by trained and experienced Forest School Coaches who are passionate about the Forest School ethos. Children will learn how to identify plants, animals and insects and role-model different activities such as setting up a rope swing, tying knots, den building and more. Forest Adventure Club also runs school holiday camps.

Forest Adventure Club, multiple locations in Sentosa, Wessex Heritage Area, Tampines Eco Green, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Keppel Hill, and Fort Canning Park www.forestadventureclub.com

Read more: Guide To Mandai ZooSchool

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8. Nature Explorers School: Forest School in Singapore

This Forest School programme in Singapore, led by a Level 3 certified Forest School leader, adopts a holistic teaching approach, imparting knowledge of flora, fauna, survival skills and the science of how things work. Safety assessments are completed before each lesson to minimise risks. Forest School coaches are also first aid-certified. Weekly sessions take place at Mount Faber, Clementi Forest and Pasir Ris Park.

Nature Explorers School, Mount Faber, Clementi Forest, and Pasir Ris Park, www.natureexplorersschool.com

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9. Nurtured Nest: Outdoor play programme

This Reggio-inspired preschool in Singapore offers Forest School initiatives that encourage sustainability and plenty of outdoor play. Students use lots of natural materials in their projects and fulfil the Forest School part of the curriculum with weekly forest visits with certified Level 3 Forest School leaders. Their Natural Playscapes at the preschool include an eco-pond, sand pit, outdoor atelier, gravel pit and butterfly trail, as well as logs and rocks for children to climb.

Nurtured Nest, 644 Dunearn Road, Singapore 289627, www.nurtured-nest.com

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10. Outdoor School Singapore: Short-term outdoor adventure programmes

Outdoor School Singapore (OSS) by NTUC First Campus is known for hosting day adventures and camps for children 4 to 9 years old in various schools, allowing them to discover the red dot’s nature parks and reserves. In turn, kids develop their ecological awareness, empathy and intelligence, in order to become risk-takers and responsible, resilient citizens.

Outdoor School Singapore, 229 Mountbatten Road, #02-08, Singapore 398007, www.outdoorschool.sg

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11. Roots and Boots: Outdoor learning and exploration

This urban Forest School in Singapore runs drop-off programmes for 3 to 8-year-olds to teach children through outdoor learning activities. Their two-hour Forest School-inspired programme features exploratory activities within the natural environment. Children enjoy meaningful interactions that encourage self-discovery and character development with their peers and the Forest School guides.

Roots and Boots, www.rootsandboots.sg

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12. Shaws Preschool: Preschool with outdoor play

Shaws Preschool prioritises outdoor play and nature for kids aged 18 months to 6 years. There are tons of spaces for outdoor play at all five of their centres, with butterfly gardens and even vegetable patches! The Shaws Preschool Lorong Chuan Campus has a pool so kids can get water confidence lessons, while Shaws Little League Coaches come to the school twice a week to teach children age-appropriate sports.

Shaws Preschool, multiple locations in Singapore including Braddel Heights, Lorong Chuan and Katong, www.shaws.com.sg

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13. Wildlings: Outdoor adventure camps & excursions

Wildlings Forest School in Singapore offers accompanied Forest School programmes for children from 18 months to 13 years old, drop-off programmes for kids from 3.5 years and up, after-school and weekend sessions (Forest School Club) for older children, bespoke Forest School excursions for schools, and so much more. Wildlings Forest School in Singapore features holistic learning that helps children build confidence, resilience and independence through hands-on learning in nature.

Wildlings, 27A Loewen Road, Dempsey, Singapore 248839 and 40 West Coast Ferry Road, Singapore 129630, www.wildlings.sg

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Forest schools in Singapore that have closed: 

Explorers @ ForestPlay: Outdoor Programme (closed)

ForestPlay used to offer a weekly drop-off outdoor play programme for children aged 4 to 7, children. Lessons were facilitated by the programme’s Nature Rangers who use natural elements as learning opportunities. Sadly, this forest school in Singapore has now closed.

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Forest School Singapore (FSS): Child-led Forest School programme (closed)

Forest School Singapore used to offer outdoor Forest School programmes to empower children and challenge them when they are ready. There is minimal structure, and sessions are almost fully child-led. Forest School Singapore conducts its fun outdoor programmes at the Bukit Timah Forest Basin campus. Sadly, Forest School Singapore have stopped offering forest school programmes for kids. However, they now offer training programmes for educators, trainers and parents here.

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Primus Schoolhouse Phoenix Park: Forest preschool with open-ended play (closed)

At this forest preschool, children had the opportunity to become adventure-seeking individuals who are empowered to manage their own risk and build resilience. Sadly, this forest school in Singapore has now closed.

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