Introducing Forest School

The positive impact of time spent outdoors supports children’s knowledge and skills across the seven areas of learning and development. Of particular importance is its contribution to their personal, social and emotional development (PSED) which ‘is crucial for children to lead healthy and happy lives and is fundamental to their cognitive development’. (EYFS)

Forest School enables delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage in a fascinating and effective way within an outside space, with regular learning experiences taking place throughout the year.

It offers an approach where the incidental opportunities for learning present themselves rather than being planned. Sessions should not be focused on a particular curriculum outcome as this does not meet the child and environmental led intent of the Forest School approach. However, planning of adult-led activities should take the EYFS educational programmes into consideration and be based on the interests, needs and abilities of the unique child.

As with any activities and experiences that the setting provides, Forest School sessions should be regarded as part of an ambitious curriculum that builds on what children know and can do, as part of their curriculum intent, implementation and impact, for example:

• Intent: What children should know and learn during the Forest School sessions.
  
• Implementation: The characteristics of effective learning are strengthened as children lead their own play and exploration outdoors.
  
• Impact: Incidental learning is observed and aligned with the educational programmes in the EYFS.
  

But not every child is able to play outdoors in a safe, stimulating environment, or to interact with the natural world routinely. Opportunities may be limited for several reasons, including where they live and how their families choose to spend their leisure time together.

Regular Forest School sessions enable children to play and explore outdoors freely with learning opportunities that are further supported by Forest School leaders. Through Forest School, children learn about their environment and the flora and fauna that inhabit it. They experience first-hand ‘the awe and wonder of the world in which they live’, and as they do so, they begin to understand their impact on it, for example, a child discovering woodlice under a fallen branch comes to realise in conversation with the Forest School leader that this is where woodlice like to live, and that they need decaying wood to be left on the ground so that they can make their home. The child is encouraged to replace the fallen branch but then may be inspired to look for other creepy crawly habitats in the area.

Active learning can be observed in the child who has managed to climb the lower branches of a tree that has been previously assessed as suitable for climbing by the Forest School leader. The child assesses for themselves the level of risk they are willing to take as they decide how high to climb and work out for themselves how to navigate the branches safely. For some, the ‘risk’ may involve getting their new wellies muddy or holding a worm in the palm of their hand. For other children, the risk may simply be expressing an idea out loud that they would not normally have the confidence to do.

Forest School provides endless opportunities for new or unusual play and a range of open-ended, problem-solving resources that challenge and evoke questions. Making it enjoyable, instilling a sense of the unknown and wonder ensures it is engaging for every child.

Over time, children develop a sense of this special place through regular sessions and come to develop a connection with nature that will last a lifetime, knowing and understanding what nature needs to thrive. Forest School helps to build firm foundations for children’s outdoor cultural capital which in turn helps to develop empathy for the environmental challenges faced by the planet that they will inherit.