Forest Schools

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTHOpUF0eXs

The Forest School initiative originated in Scandinavia in the 1950s, the aim was to encourage children to learn social, physical and educational skills while encouraging an appreciation and understanding of the environment. By the 1980s it had become an integral part of the Danish early years programme and was well established in all the Scandinavian countries. Forest School now has prominence in the UK with Forest Schools being part of early year education in Worchester, Oxfordshire, Shropshire and Wales. Forest schools are a system of learning that allows the environment to do the teaching as the children are learning through the environment instead of being taught by a teacher. By using a Forest School, children are still learning all the national curriculum subjects, just in a different environment which is a very stimulating environment for the children to learn in.

 

 

Forest School provides an excellent opportunity to bring learning to life, allowing children, young people and adults to explore and learn in a constructive way. This inspirational process increases self-confidence, self-esteem, improves individuals’ ability to work co-operatively and counters a lack of motivation and negative attitude towards learning, while offering the opportunities to take risks, make choices and initiate learning for themselves, as well as having hands on experiences outdoors. Forest School is a secure area of woodland, which acts as an outdoor classroom where people can explore, investigate and discover the natural environment. Sessions are organised and run by Qualified Forest School Leaders, while the leader will have a planned a range of potential activities, which might include shelter construction, bridge building, mapping or artwork with natural materials, it is the participants themselves that determine the range and scope of the activities.

According to Worcestershire.gov.uk the aims of Forest Schools are to, work with the holistic child, promote education and empathy for the natural world, model good leadership practice and structure and planning.

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/pdf/Aims%20of%20FS%20Worcs.pdf

According to Jane Williams-Siegfredsen, 2012, Whilst using forest schools, a holistic approach to learning is concerned with the development of every child’s intellectual, emotional, social, physical, creative and spiritual potential.

By a child being able to use a forest school, it encourages personal and collective responsibility. There are key factors that are involved with a holistic approach that children understand whilst being outdoors, these factors are to have self-respect and self-esteem, relationships with other children and adults, being able to overcome difficulties and challenges and they also learn about the beauty of the natural surroundings and having awe and wonder.

Children need time to play, experiment and explore with the ideas they have, they need to be able to make mistakes and repeat their play, they are able to do all these things whilst being outdoors in a forest school. Children will have the opportunity of hands on experiences and doing things themselves without being told what to do, by the children having the opportunity to do this by themselves they are able to make mistakes but also learn from the mistakes that they have made, they will gain confidence and build on their self esteem.

Children learn whilst being outdoors as they are able to explore and discover new things whilst being outside, they are also gaining confidence and developing self esteem whilst having fun at the same time.