Wayfinders Education CIC

Wayfinders Education CIC We believe every young person deserves an education that helps them grow, explore, and develop confidence, creativity, and resilience.

Child-led learning community on the Isle of Wight 🌊

An alternative to mainstream education through forest school & skills based learning. 🌿

We believe every young person deserves and education where they can thrive 🌟

www.wayfinderseducation.org.uk At Wayfinders, we’re reimagining education for 11–16-year-olds — combining hands-on outdoor learning with life skills that prepare young people for t

he world ahead. That’s why we offer two complementary provisions:

💻 Wayfinders Portal: Accessible, skill based learning online from anywhere, helping young people develop problem-solving, teamwork, and real-world skills.

🌲 Wayfinders Outpost: Immersive Forest School based in the Isle of Wight where students connect with nature, explore challenges, and build autonomy. Whether online or onsite, our approach is future-focused, innovative, and designed to inspire curious minds. We’re here to help young people grow and be ready for the world, equipping them with the skills and confidence they need for life beyond the classroom. 🌏

Join us and discover a new way of learning — where education evolves with the learner, and the future begins. 🌟

How is it September already?....  Apologies for the delay in getting our autumn timetable out but no idea where the time...
03/09/2026

How is it September already?....  Apologies for the delay in getting our autumn timetable out but no idea where the time has gone! ☀️

We have lots to look forward to and some really exciting times ahead. ❤️

✨ Our Learning Community is now fully booked (with a waiting list open).

✨ Our Community Sessions are ready to begin!

✨ Family Sessions are back on Friday afternoons, as well as our monthly Sunday sessions.

We’re really looking forward to welcoming back our wonderful families, reconnecting, learning, playing and making memories together. 🥰

And if you’re a new family and would like to join us, we’d love to welcome you too!

📅 Find out more about our sessions here: www.wayfinderseducation.org.uk/upcomingsessions 

📝 New families can sign up/book here:  wayfinderseducation.oakline.app 

Here’s to a lovely autumn full of connection, community, learning and plenty of fun! 🍂❤️

We can’t wait to see you!

To our families… it’s here! 🍂Our monthly family sessions are starting, with our first one in September, celebrating all ...
27/08/2026

To our families… it’s here! 🍂

Our monthly family sessions are starting, with our first one in September, celebrating all things autumn! 🍁

Booking is essential as we’re keeping it small (max 10 families) so everyone has plenty of time and space to enjoy.

Book through our app! 🤎

New families welcome please sign up to our booking app here: https://wayfinderseducation.oakline.app/

Do you have a 10–13 year old who is looking for a different way to learn?Maybe they thrive outside the traditional class...
24/08/2026

Do you have a 10–13 year old who is looking for a different way to learn?

Maybe they thrive outside the traditional classroom.
Maybe they learn best by doing, creating, exploring and following their interests.
Or maybe you’re simply wondering whether there could be another way.

There is. 🌿

Wayfinders Outpost was created by a parent and teacher who were asking the same question:

What if there was another option for young people who need something a little different?

We’re creating a small, flexible learning community on the Isle of Wight, with no more than 8 young people in a group.

Not to replace school or to say one way of learning is better than another.

Just to create another option.

You don’t need to be ready to make a change.

You might simply be curious.

👉 Discover Wayfinders Outpost: https://www.wayfinderseducation.org.uk/our-learningcommunity

We’re particularly welcoming enquiries for ages 10–13. Younger and older ages are welcome to enquire too, although most spaces are already filled

🌿 A little bit of community input...Wayfinders was set up for the community, and while putting together our autumn timet...
21/08/2026

🌿 A little bit of community input...

Wayfinders was set up for the community, and while putting together our autumn timetable I thought... it would be a bit silly to decide what I think people want without actually asking! 😂

So over the next few days I'm going to put some ideas out for specific sessions and see what you think.

Have you been to a Wayfinders session you've really enjoyed and would like to see back this autumn?

Or is there something completely different you'd love to see happening?

You don't have been to a session before if you've got an idea, I'd genuinely love to hear it. 🌿

19/08/2026

A little moment from the middle of our site 🌿

There's something quite magical about having a stream on site.

The sound of the water is difficult to explain... it's something you really have to experience.

Those who have visited us will know. 💚

Feeling very grateful we get to use this space 

Help us spread the word on the Isle of Wight. We're creating something a little different for young people who aren't al...
18/08/2026

Help us spread the word on the Isle of Wight. We're creating something a little different for young people who aren't always finding school easy. 🌿

Not an alternative, but a permanent, different way of learning.

Since coming out of teaching and setting up Wayfinders, I've seen again and again just how differently young people can learn.

I've seen young people who might struggle to engage in a classroom spend hours completely absorbed in the woods, investigating, building, asking questions, following ideas and learning without even realising it.

And it's reinforced something I felt strongly about when I was teaching:

Sometimes, it's not that a young person can't learn. Sometimes, they need a different environment in which to learn.

We recognise that not every young person thrives in the same environment and we want to create another option.

Wayfinders' Outpost opens in September 2026, two days a week ages 5-16.

Alongside academic and practical learning, we'll help young people build skills, confidence and independence for their future, while connecting them with opportunities across the Isle of Wight and discovering where their interests and strengths could take them.

If you know a family who might be looking for something different, please share this post or send them our way. And if you're that parent yourself, we'd love to have a conversation.

https://www.wayfinderseducation.org.uk/our-learningcommunity

I can't quite believe we've done all this in 3 weeks!There are SO many more photos I could share, but we'd be here all d...
17/08/2026

I can't quite believe we've done all this in 3 weeks!

There are SO many more photos I could share, but we'd be here all day! 😂

I honestly never imagined our first summer would be this busy, with sold-out camps, chilled family days and so many lovely families coming along and supporting what we're building.

It's been a bit of a whirlwind and thank you to everyone for coming along and joining us 💚

But now it's time to switch gears and start getting ready for winter in the woods 🍂🌧️🔥

And... September is bringing some exciting changes for Wayfinders too with our learning community starting... and some new faces 👀

More on that soon. 💚

There's a person hiding in this picture 👀 (I promise!) ...I put this in our story yesterday and people messaged saying I...
12/08/2026

There's a person hiding in this picture 👀 (I promise!) ...

I put this in our story yesterday and people messaged saying I am making it up but there is someone hiding... I knew where they were there and still struggled to find them.

Next level hide and seek in the woods 🤣

Can you spot them?

🍝 How does pasta salad link to learning?Today I put out a load of completely random ingredients and asked the young peop...
11/08/2026

🍝 How does pasta salad link to learning?

Today I put out a load of completely random ingredients and asked the young people to make their own pasta salad.

No recipe. No instructions on what it should look like. Just... see what you can come up with! 😂

There was quite a lot of tasting going on 👀, some very interesting combinations and definitely some "I'm not eating that!" moments!

But actually, there was loads of learning packed into it too and I think that's one of my favourite things about learning this way.

It doesn't always look like learning.

Sometimes it looks like making pasta salad. 💚🌿

04/08/2026

☀️ Summer camps are in full swing!

Our 11–16 drop-off sessions are fully booked 🎉, but we still have spaces available on our Family Drop-In Day this Thursday.

Come and join the fun this summer! 🌿

Take a look and book your place here: www.wayfinderseducation.org.uk/summer-holiday-sessions

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The Water Mill
Calbourne

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