The secrecy around 4+ assessments is weird.
/There I said it.
It is weird.
As a society, we should want to help one another. But that’s not how the story goes.
Sadly.
As a society, many of you are holding this secret so tightly to your chest as though it is your little teddy bear.
It’s weird.
Our Forest results have now all been received. I will share them later. I am of course delighted for our clients. They worked hard. So did we.
But when I speak to parents who contact me to ask me about my results and then I ask them back, the answers I receive are literally 3-4 word answers. They want to keep it a secret. They want to keep it quiet. Sorry, but this is not top secret information.
Parents I’m speaking to have told me personally that their children have passed the Forest School 4+ Assessment. These are parents that I’ve not personally supported. We have no ties. We have no relationship at all. And when I ask them how their children found their 4+ Assessment at Forest, they tell me things like this…
‘They loved it!’
‘They enjoyed it’
‘They came out happy!’
Ok.
And what?
I know exactly what goes down in the Forest 4+ Assessment. So I don’t actually need anyone to divulge information to me. I have the information!
But sadly, devastatingly actually is this… Other parents who have never been through this process will ask this question to friends or even family who have been through this process and they will hear the above and what will they think?
They will think that the assessment at Forest is ‘easy’. Well, it’s not.
They will think that if the child who passed ‘enjoyed themselves’ that it’s no big deal. Well, it is.
There were 48 places available (2027 entry).
It is my opinion that around 200 children attend the Forest 4+ assessment each year. So to pass, your child has a 1:4 chance.
Not everyone will pass.
In fact, I have spoken to many parents whose children have been Waitlisted. Some parents will turn down Forest for Chigwell which means that some more places will open up.
So if you attended this assessment with your 3 or 4 year old, please be completely honest when someone asks you how it went. Let’s help each other out as a Society.
Preparing for Forest for 2028 entry?
