Outside the Classroom
PlayStation game characters as examples of frightening or dangerous
experiences.
Although making a connection with the natural world has no direct
bearing on children’s learning in an academic or results-driven system,
in a more holistic and broader sense I believe it has huge implications for
the attitudes, health and wellbeing of our next generation. Empathy and
understanding of the natural world can only be fostered with any real
meaning in the natural world.
One good example is that on one of our weekly forest school sessions,
the children found an old shoe that promoted discussion about how it
could have arrived there and why. Each theory was listened to, thought
about and the likelihood of its occurrence mulled over. The activity
evolved into a wonderful age-appropriate and spontaneous introduc-
tion to conservation issues. The children collected many objects that
‘do not belong in the woods’ and tied them to pieces of string that they
had attached between two trees. The ‘mobile’ ones consisted of a piece
of glass, crisp and sweet wrappers, a rusty tin lid, elastic bands and, of
course, the shoe! The group then went on to produce a second mobile
from ‘things that should be in the woods’, which involved them tying nat-
ural materials on to the string. A discussion developed while they worked
Children from as young as four are able to work together
and all but one of the group said that they preferred the natural objects,
giving their reasons as ‘it is prettier’ or ‘it smells nicer’. One child said
zones in terms of resourcefulness and resilience in an atmosphere void of to me, ‘I like it because all the things are the same colour as all the other
directed tasks. things in the woods’. The children said that the ‘things that do not belong
As educators, is it not our common goal to assist in the process of all in the woods’ were dangerous to the squirrels, foxes and birds.
of our children reaching their full potential? And if we were not to allow At times the whole forest school experience has been difficult and time
such behaviour, how do we or the children know what that potential consuming. The barriers have included finding a suitable site (easy in a
is? The emphasis falls more on the learning processes rather than the rural location but rather more challenging in a city), overcoming fears
performance goals. Any failure is then viewed as a sometimes-necessary and attitudes of parents and other staff members, and the financial impli-
component in learning to master new skills. cations. The very nature of these difficulties is a possible indicator of the
While carrying out some research on risk-taking behaviour, I spoke to absolute need for this type of experience to be introduced into the lives of
children, colleagues and parents. The results were that a staggering 80% these children.
of all of the adults stated that their attitudes had become more positive This article has highlighted the benefits of forest school in an urban
towards allowing their children to participate in risk-taking behaviour early years setting. After a recent presentation to the headteachers of pri-
since they had been attending forest school. The children had no under- mary schools in our London borough, the feedback was that they felt the
standing of the risk discourse and used examples of TV and computer/ learning opportunities are relevant to older children. Forest school is able
to engage children because the challenges they meet are real, thus giving
the learning some relevance. Children as young as four are able to work
together to erect a gazebo from sorting the numbered poles, consulting
the laminated instructions to pushing-in the tent pegs.
Our forest school has evolved and grown and is now embedded with-
“The emphasis falls more on the learning
processes than on the performance goals”
in the curriculum. We also have a transparent and sensible set of poli-
cies. The benefits of forest school are broad and impact positively on all
aspects of children’s lives. Parents report that they are now accessing the
green spaces of London more frequently in their leisure time and that
their children eat and sleep better after attending forest school.
Our head teacher, Pat Logan, has commented: ‘As the forest school
experience has developed, it has impacted on all aspects of the nursery
school. Children have thrived when given the opportunity to explore
meaningful and practical ideas and to negotiate outcomes. This has been
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a whole school commitment and there have been significant development
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in all areas of learning for those involved.’
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Jo Skone is an early years educator and forest school co-ordinator at
Bayonne Nursery School and Children’s Centre in London. She can be
contacted on 020 7385 5366 or through head.bayonne.lbhf@lgfl.net
Jo and her colleagues are available for presentations and consultations
on their first-hand experiences.
Further information on forest schools
For more information on our other
l The Forest Education Initiative has a range of learning resources
fantastic products and to find
including local support groups. www.foresteducation.org
your local stockist please contact:
l The Greenlight Trust offers consultancy and training.
FREEPHONE: 08000 77 87 87
www.greenlighttrust.org
W W W . D U N W E E D I N . C O . U K
l Archimedes Training provides a forum, cases studies and training
courses. www.forestschools.com
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