Forest Schools at Arnold Mill

Forest School at Arnold Mill Primary

What is Forest School

Forest School at Arnold Mill is a child-centred learning process, providing learner inspired, hands-on experience in the natural environment. It is creative and can increase a child’s confidence as they problem-solve and learn to manage risks.

Forest School Ethos and Principles

The vision of Forest School is to enable each participant to have the opportunity to develop themselves in an inquisitive manner and have a positive relationship with the natural world.

What makes Forest School different to other forms of outdoor education – such as general outdoor lessons, bushcraft workshops or groups such as Scouts – is that practitioners adhere to six guiding principles which are agreed by the UK Forest School Community. You can read about these six principles below, where it also explains what Forest School sessions involve.

1. Sessions are delivered on a long-term basis

Forest School sessions are supposed to be regular and over a period of time – not just a couple of one-off workshops. Our sessions are delivered weekly over a half term. This length of time allows for the establishment of boundaries to feel safe and secure, the development of trust, and the process of observation and self-reflection that is critical to all Forest School sessions, for both practitioner and learner.

2. Sessions should be risk-aware, not risk-averse

Forest School has an emphasis on learning through play, where children have the freedom to try things out. Practitioners suggest playful, meaningful activities which nurture the instinctive human ability to learn through overcoming a risk, challenge or problem. Children are also taught how to safely use tools like knives for whittling or a bow saw for cutting wood, and how to light and safely be around campfires. However, risk in the context of Forest School is about more than just physical danger of using sharp tools or campfires – it also includes social and emotional risk; for example, through embracing something new or confronting the fear of looking silly.

3. Forest School is invested in the holistic development of the participants

Holistic means ‘whole’ – and Forest School is about practitioners enabling the development of the whole person. This includes:

• Emotional Development. Periods of reflection are important parts of all Forest School sessions and help children to expand their emotional vocabulary and understand how they feel (emotional intelligence).
• Spiritual Development. Refers to having a sense of belonging to the wider world, being part of something bigger than yourself, and your connection to nature.
• Intellectual Development. Knowledge is provided in context with situations as they arise and creates a thirst for learning.
• Social Development. Consistent meetings with the same group of children means that social connection is gained through shared experiences and goals. Children can choose whether to work together or separately.
• Physical Development. Both fine motor skills and gross motor skills are developed in the outdoor environment, as well as stamina and positive experiences in ‘bad’ weather.
• Communication and Language Development. Working together encourages communication and develops skilful expression of thoughts and ideas, as well as the ability to listen to others. Reflection activities increase a child’s ability to understand and describe their internal state, wants and needs.

Forest School practitioners aim to develop these aspects in a low-intervention manner rather than instructing the children to think or act in a certain way. The development is encouraged instead by measures such as raising interesting questions, being a role-model for behaviour, and allowing children to self-discover and self-regulate.

4. Forest School should take place in a natural wooded environment where possible

Embedded within Forest School is awareness and appreciation of the natural world. Sessions are intended to take place in a natural environment, ideally with trees, enabling use and interaction with natural materials in activities. The outdoor environment is key to providing a different situation for children, where the space is contained but not constrained.

 5. Forest School should be run by qualified Forest School practitioners

Forest School practitioners should hold a properly endorsed Level 3   Forest School qualification, which equips them with the skills required to provide good quality sessions. These include practical skills, first-aid, teaching skills, risk-benefit analysis, how to perform site checks and environmental impact awareness. It also trains leaders in the fine art of balancing guidance and structured activities with the self-learning ethos of Forest School. Practitioners are also required to be very reflective themselves, to continually adapt and change with their group and learn from experience.

6. Forest School is learner-centred with learner-based outcomes

There is no curriculum in Forest School. Learning is intended to be a co-operative process between the practitioner and the participants through a system of observation, reflection and communication. This system     enables the discovery and development of unique outcomes which are   specific to each learner and may cover any part of the holistic development.

Why is it Beneficial for Children to Attend Forest School?

The benefits of Forest School are linked to the long-term, regular sessions, and echo the holistic development aims in the six guiding principles. Research has shown that children can benefit in a multitude of ways ranging from confidence to social, emotional, intellectual, physical and language development (Murray & O’Brien, 2005).

Case studies have shown children can:

• Develop self-regulation skills.
• Cope with and learn from failure.
• Build resilience (the skill of coping with risk and failure).
• Gain a sense of achievement.
• Increase motivation and concentration.
• Improve problem solving.
• Expand their vocabulary and communication skills.
• Feel empowered and have new perspectives.
• Build positive relationships with adults and peers.
• Have overall improved wellbeing and mental health.

Forest School can increase a child’s confidence and self-esteem through exploration, problem solving, and being encouraged to learn how to assess and take appropriate risks depending on their environment. The use of learner-led outcomes means information is retained better and also generally increases curiosity and motivation to learn in general. This motivation can have a positive impact on attitude to learning in school.

Previously ‘quiet’ children have been shown to improve in their confidence and communication to work with others, and children who were initially un-cooperative learnt that sharing and working together had positive consequences – and increasingly did this (Murray & O’Brien, 2005). Sessions with mixed ages or year groups can allow interactions between older and younger children that do not normally come into contact – allowing opportunities for children to learn from and teach each other.

Learners also gain a respect for nature through many small interactions and noticing changes around them through the seasons. Providing students with an opportunity to appreciate the wider, natural world encourages a responsibility for nature conservation in later life.