Forest School Training

Do you remember the times you were allowed to play all day in the woods? Times have changed and the safety concerns that surround children have turned us into a society that has become ultra protective, rightly so, you may say. However, forest schools are becoming more prevalent as society recognize the need for children to experience playing in a safe outdoor environment. The aim is, not to become an army of tree huggers, but to enjoy the woodland/forest. Bringing children closer to nature can only have a beneficial result, after all without access to the natural environment we begin visiting upon children the stress of modern day living, before they have the ability to cope with it.

I grew up living on an arable farm, my playground was around 113 acres of farmland, woods, hedgerows and orchards. We picked the fruit that we wanted to eat, straight from the tree not pre-packaged in cellophane and plastic. Our parents grew their own vegetables, kept their own free range chickens and geese. I didn't know what an egg box looked like until I left home! And the range of foods that were available, whilst not of the exotic variety, were both wholesome and nutritious. Sadly, for the vast majority of us, those days have gone, however, the concept of forest schools, aims in part to educate children and help them to appreciate learning in the great outdoors.

Forest schools originated in Scandinavia. The approach was widely adopted in Denmark in the 1980’s as a solution to the lack of indoor facilities for pre-school children.

Benefits of Forest Schools

In 1993 a group of nursery nurses and lecturers from Bridgewater College in Somerset visited Swedish forest based provision and witnessed the benefits to children’s well-being and development.

Research showed that the children were far happier than children in urban kindergartens. The children also demonstrated greater socially capability, fewer days off sick, more ability to concentrate and better co-ordination than the city kindergarten children.

It was recognized that this ‘outdoor’ approach to play and learning can have a huge impact on the normal development of all children.

Having enjoyed a taster day of Forest school training, we have made the bold decision to further our knowledge and provision. Both Mandy and our assistant Alicia will be undertaking Forest school leadership training to a level 3 standard. The training will last for several weeks after which a portfolio will need to be submitted by both trainees. We will then put together a business plan and search for a suitable piece of land. We are hoping to complete this restructuring by the end of October 2018.

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