Outside the Classroom
Forest school: a
breath of fresh air
Outdoor learning offers a huge number of
able site. The one that we found meets all our needs in terms of a natural
woodland area that offers diversity and challenges in the form of ditches
opportunities to enrich the curriculum. Jo Skone that often fill with water, trees and uneven terrain. It is a 20-minute mini-
shows the many different ways that the forest
bus ride away, which gives us time to discuss intentions, recall previous
experiences and to practise directional and map skills in a relevant con-
school concept has benefited the early years
text. The group of 12 children visit the same site for at least six weeks.
children in her central London school
This builds confidence, familiarity and ownership.
The boundary of the site is marked by incident tape that, although it
alerts the public to our presence, does not provide total security. How-
F
orest school is a concept that has its origins in Scandinavia. ever, this issue is used as a learning opportunity. For example, the size
It arrived in England in 1995 through Bridgwater College in of the camp can be adjusted, depending on the needs of the particular
Somerset. The key principles of the movement are: group. On one occasion a recently felled tree exposed roots, insects, fresh
n the use of a woodland setting; earth and also a new climbing opportunity. The children wanted the tree
n a high ratio of adults to pupils; to be included within the site, which would not have been possible with-
n learning linked to the national curriculum/EYFS; out a flexible boundary.
n freedom to explore using multiple senses, and
n regular contact for the children with the forest school over a signifi-
cant period of time.
“Play is not interrupted by cries of ‘tidy
The need to have learning outdoors goes back a long way. The great
nineteenth-century German pedagogue Friedrich Froebel voiced his con-
up, lunch or story time’”
cerns when he wrote of ‘failings of the teaching system because of incom-
pleteness and absence of agreement with the outer surrounds and nature’. There are few rules at our forest school and all are connected to the
And more recently, the benefits of outdoor learning are being recognised group’s safety – such as do not cross the boundary line or put anything in
by the Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF): ‘Every your mouth. Forest school is for the whole day, which enables the children
young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an to begin, develop and finish learning experiences in their own time. Play is
essential part of learning, whatever their age, ability or circumstances.’ not interrupted by cries of ‘tidy up, lunch or story time’. Instead the day is
run on the rhythm of nature and body clocks – the children develop a form
The benefits of democratic consensus over the time to eat their packed lunch.
Our 60-place full-time nursery school and children’s centre in central As a result of the overwhelming positive outcomes for children, par-
London serves a local community consisting of families from diverse cul- ents and practitioners, we are now into our third year of delivering forest
tural and socio-economic groups. Over 50% of our families are in receipt school.
of free school meals and English is not their first language. A high propor-
tion of them have little or no access to outdoor spaces and many of the Delivering the curriculum
young parents have been brought up in today’s ‘risk-averse’ culture. Children learn, as they always have, through exploration and experimen-
In March 2007 we ran a six-week pilot study with a group of 12 four- tation. The quality of the learning is enhanced by interested and moti-
year-olds. The catalyst was an attempt to marry our firm commitment vated adults supporting and extending the children’s interests.
to the personal, social and emotional development of children with our The atmosphere of a woodland environment promotes good personal
belief in the value of outdoor play. Our aims were to stay as true to the learning conditions in terms of aesthetically pleasing surroundings, peace
original ethos and key principles of the forest school as possible, while and calm. Both self-esteem and confidence rise, owing to the opportu-
adapting the programme to suit the needs of an inner-city setting. nity to succeed in small achievable steps in a meaningful way. The forest
To achieve this, we undertook a long and thorough search for a suit- school is not governed by timetables or the over-stimulation of busy and
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