Throughout my training and assessment for this Level 3 qualification, I have learned a lot about Forest Schools and developed my own personal ethos for my Forest School sessions.
Every child is unique and has their own needs from education as well as their own interests. Through my Forest School sessions, I can provide them with the opportunities to guide their own learning by supporting and scaffolding these interests. I think that traditional education can be too standardised due to large class sizes and over-prescriptive curriculums. By taking smaller groups of children to the woods, we can get to know each child and build on their knowledge and abilities to create more resilient, confident, and independent learners. This often involves including an element of risk into Forest School sessions, safe in the knowledge that the children can challenge themselves safely due to our risk-benefit analyses and risk assessments.
I believe that children need to build a relationship with nature and their environment as part of their holistic development. Many children spend most of their time indoors and rarely have the opportunity to visit a natural environment such as a woodland. Through Forest School sessions children can benefit from everything nature has to offer as well as learning to look after the environment in return.
I have really enjoyed my Forest School training and know that it is never truly over as there is always something new to learn and implement into my ethos. I will therefore continue in my journey as a reflective and developing Forest School leader as time goes on.
This child often finds it difficult in a nursery setting to engage with adults and other children and found Forest School sessions difficult too. Their confidence did slightly improve as the sessions went on and they became used to the environment but there is still a lot of work to be done here. In future sessions, I will continue to include activities which follow on from the interests of the child to try and help her to become engaged in the session. She responds best to exploring on her own and will come to an adult if she wants support. It is therefore important to be gentle with interventions.
Child 2
The links below are the observational sheets for the first 4 sessions for child 2.
Child 2 is an extremely confident child but often chooses to play with adults rather than peers. During the sessions, she began to play with other children after some encouragement. This led to her taking charge of her own scavenger hunt and including her friends in this. She will benefit from plenty of group activities and from being given opportunities to create and lead her own games in future sessions.
Child 3
The links below are the observational sheets for the first 4 sessions for child 3.
Child 3 is a very physical child who became quite hyperactive in the first Forest School session. They love to run around with other children but can sometimes struggle with spatial awareness. When taking part in activities he preferred to concentrate and work alone until the final session where he enjoyed a role-playing game with his friends. In future sessions, he would benefit from some risky play which he seems to get a lot of satisfaction from. Through these kinds of activities, he can use up his excess energy while learning how to keep safe.
During the first four sessions, the children became much more confident and embraced the rules and routines we had put in place. By the fourth session, they were able to tell each other the rules, and the children voluntarily shouted “dog!” and crossed their arms when a dog came across the path. For many of the children, the most popular activities were the physical ones. They loved running around and learning how to navigate the uneven terrain and the fallen branches or rocks. They also enjoyed challenging themselves, swinging on ropes, and trying to walk along logs. Across the four sessions, the children really developed their observational skills and confidence in exploring. They began this in the first session but struggled to search for specific items and characteristics. We built this up over the sessions and the children loved the scavenger hunt in session 4. In the third session, the children and the staff really struggled due to the cold weather. It was very difficult to motivate the children but once I got them doing a physical game, they warmed up a bit. The staff were a lot harder to motivate and this rubbed off on the children. In the following session, I provided more structure and the children and staff responded well. I also made sure that we had warm drinks and that everyone had suitable clothing to make sure the same problem didn’t happen again.
Over the sessions the children learned:
How to be safe in the woods
How to explore and create using woodland materials
How to balance on logs
How to run safely
How to look after our woods
The effects of the weather, especially the wind
Fine and gross motor skills
Social skills
I learned:
Sessions need to have a structure in which the children can choose to participate in or not depending on their interests. The structure helps to motivate children and staff.
To allow children to freely explore and investigate on their own terms.
That different children are interested in getting different outcomes from their visits to the woods, whether it be physical, creative or intellectual.
To effectively delegate to other staff so that I am free to supervise the more risky elements of sessions.
That other staff need to understand the principles of Forest School to help the children learn and develop and really benefit from being involved in the planning of the sessions.
Ideas for future sessions:
All sessions will be planned in collaboration with other staff members to help keep them motivated and to ensure that they can assist the children’s development effectively.
Our group of children are very interested in more physical activities and need opportunities to blow off steam.
In the 4th session the children began to role play during the session. This is a real interest of the girls in our group and can be built upon in future sessions.
Please see the links below for evaluation sheets for each of my 4 sessions. Unfortunately, the 5th session was cancelled due to the weather, and the nursery then closed due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Please see below for my first 5 session plans. Unfortunately, the 5th session was cancelled due to high winds and after this, the nursery closed because of Coronavirus so I was unable to rearrange and unable to complete a 6th session.
I worked together with my colleague to produce these risk assessments as we will be running our Forest School together. Here is the evidence of our working together:
I worked together with a colleague to produce this handbook as we will be running our Forest School together. Please see the links below for evidence of our working together.
For my second piece of Forest School research, I decided to read “Forest School and the Early Years Foundation Stage – An Exploratory Case Study” by Rowena Kenny. This can be found here.
Why was this paper written?
The aim of the paper was to ask the question “Does Forest School provide a context which enables the themes, principles, and commitments of the EYFS and ECM agenda outcomes to be put into practice?”
This paper was written around the time that the EYFS was introduced (2007). At this time many educators were still getting to grips with the EYFS and exploring whether it might be effective. This study was done to see if the Forest School approach could meet the requirements of the new EYFS framework as well as whether it could contribute to the learning, wellbeing, and development of early years children.
What methods were used?
The research was carried out with ten reception class children (5 boys and 5 girls) over a 5 week period. The children who were chosen to take part in the study were those who were identified as being the most likely to benefit. This included children who had low levels of confidence and those who were underachieving. Each child was observed and assessed before the sessions began, in a school environment, and then again during the sessions, in a Forest School environment. A strengths and difficulties questionnaire was completed by their school teacher before and after the project. This assessed the wellbeing and mental health of each child. EYFS scale data were also collected before and after the project.
What were the results?
Wellbeing and Involvement
Levels of wellbeing were shown to be higher during Forest School sessions than during school sessions. The teacher said that the children had grown in confidence and were able to concentrate on activities for much longer. However, some anomalies were caused in the data due to tiredness and a soiling accident.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
The data from the questionnaires showed that the emotional health of the children had improved from the Forest School sessions. The researcher concluded from this data that Forest School sessions could improve the emotional health and wellbeing of children and that if the sessions had taken place over a longer period of time, an even bigger improvement would have been noticed.
Observations
Observations during the Forest School sessions showed that the four themes in the EYFS framework (a unique child, positive relationships, enabling environments, learning, and development) were effectively put into practice. Many different types of play were also seen including socio-dramatic, imaginative, constructive, and physical play. Observations of the children each week also showed that their confidence and independence improved each week due to the children getting used to the routines.
EYFS Scale Point Data
The EYFS data showed no significant difference in the children’s development after the Forest School sessions. The researcher attributed this to the sessions only being over 5 weeks and not longer.
Evaluation
This study shows that Forest School sessions can meet the requirements of the EYFS framework and benefit the wellbeing of children. However, the study was far too short and the children will have only just been getting used to the rules and routines of the sessions by the fifth week. The study, therefore, doesn’t give a true idea of the real benefits of a long term Forest School project. The researcher concluded that the results of this 5-week project showed that a longer project would have an even bigger benefit but this is not necessarily the case. The children that were chosen for the study were also those which were most likely to show improvement. This may not have given as much of an accurate picture as if they had used a mixed ability group.
When choosing where to make a fire, there are a number of factors to consider. The soil type is very important as some types of soil can be flammable. Lots of leaf litter can cause a peaty soil which can cause an underground fire underneath your fire site. A light, fluffy, woody soil can also catch light. Clay, stoney or brown muddy soil are not flammable. However, rocks and slate can explode under high heats. The wind direction should also be considered when planning where the fire should be and where the children and staff should be. Anybody near the fire needs to be situated with their back to the wind which will stop the flames blowing towards them.
When the fire area has been decided upon, an area should be cleared down to bare soil. A boundary should be made around the area, at least 10 feet around the fire. This can be made with logs or stones which the children can sit on. The children can be set to work finding kindling while this is set up.
Lighting the fire
This is the fire triangle. It shows that to light a fire you need equal amounts of heat, fuel, and oxygen. Without all three elements, your fire will not light. If an element is removed, the fire will go out. Heat can be provided by a spark, flame or friction. Once the fire is lit it will create its own heat. Fuel is provided by materials such as wood, coal or charcoal. Oxygen comes naturally from the air but more can be added by blowing into the base of the fire.
To create the fire triangle we need:
Tinder
This is easily flammable material that will light the fire. It needs to be smaller than the thickness of a finger and very dry. Tinder can either be naturally found or man-made. Most very dry natural materials can be used as tinder. Examples include dried leaves, birch bark or standing dry wood. Standing dry wood is dead branches and twigs that can be found caught up in branches. As these haven’t reached the ground they have been air-dried and can’t absorb moisture from the soil. To check if the wood is suitable, bend it and see if it snaps. If it bends or breaks with a dull noise it is not suitable. Man-made tinders include char cloth, lint, cotton wool, and paper.
King Alfred’s Cake
Punk can be good tinder. This is rotting deadwood which has a spongy texture and it needs to be very dry. King Alfred’s Cake is a fungus which can also be used. Again this needs to be dry.
Kindling
Kindling can consist of larger sticks than the tinder. Anything above pencil thickness that is easily snapped by hand can be used as kindling.
Fuel
Fuel consists of larger sticks and logs which are dry. Once the fire is lit, it needs to be fed fuel to keep it burning. This needs to be added carefully so that it doesn’t smother the fire and cause a lack of oxygen.
What if resources aren’t available?
Most Forest School leaders have a little kit of dry tinder and kindling with them in case there is none to be found on site.
Fire Lighting Equipment
Once we have got all of our tinder, kindling, and fuel ready and there is oxygen available, we complete the fire triangle by adding heat with a spark. There are a number of different ways of doing this.
Quick Methods
In case of an emergency, matches or lighters can be used to start the fire. These are good methods if it is extremely cold and we need to start a fire quickly. However, they are not challenging for children to use and can become damp in wet weather.
Magnesium Blocks or Strikers
Fire strikers are fun and easy for children of all ages to use. The rod is struck in a downward motion with the steel which creates a spark. These are relatively safe as they will not start a fire unless the spark hits fuel. They can also be used in damp or wet weather conditions.
Natural Resource Methods
Rubbing two sticks together creates friction which creates heat. This friction can also be created with a bow drill where a bow is used to rotate some wood onto a wooden base. It can also be done by hand rather than using a bow. This requires a lot of patience but is very rewarding when it works. Another way to create heat is by using a magnifying glass to magnify the sun’s light onto the tinder. This is more effective if a char cloth is used and is a good way to add some physics to your Forest School session.
Char Cloth
Char cloth is created by placing a piece of fabric in a tin with a small hole in it. This tin is heated slowly on the fire, burning the fabric very slowly. It lights very easily when sparked.
Fire Lays
Tipi
The tipi fire lay is an easy one to create but can require a lot of kindling. Your tinder is placed in the middle of the fire area (on top of a dry piece of bark if the ground is wet) and kindling is put around, leaning it into a tipi shape. The tinder is then lit and as the fire burns, the kindling falls in and feeds it. A tipi fire can be built bigger with larger pieces of fuel being added to the outside to make it burn for longer.
Waffle
A waffle fire lay is effective as it raises the fire off the floor, keeping it from any moisture. The gaps between the wood also allow plenty of oxygen into the fire. However, it does use a lot of wood. It is created by laying two twigs (kindling) on the floor and then placing more across the top to create a waffle shape. The waffle can be built at the bottom of a tipi fire if the ground is wet. Tinder is placed on top of the kindling and lit to create the fire.
Lean to
For this fire, you need a large log which is placed upwind of where you want the fire to be. This log creates a wall to protect the fire from the elements. Tinder is placed leaning against the log and then kindling is propped against the tinder. When the tinder has been lit, you may need to blow into the fire to add oxygen as the log can prevent oxygen flow.
Management Procedures of the Campfire
How to extinguish a campfire
To extinguish a fire, you need to remove an element of the fire triangle.
Fuel – if there is not much fuel left, the fire can be left to burn it off. Alternatively, the fuel can be spread out across the pit to dissipate the heat or removed completely.
Heat – pour water around the fire to take away some of the heat. Do not pour it straight onto the fire as the embers could spit or explode.
Oxygen – once the embers have stopped glowing, smother the fire with soil or sand to stop oxygen from getting to the embers. It is important not to just cover the fire and leave it as it can continue to burn underneath.
How to leave a permanent fire site
Check the temperature around the pit and dig into the earth to check there. Once all of the heat has gone and the embers are extinguished, it is safe to leave the site.
Temporary fire
Once the fire is fully extinguished, cover it with soil or sand and leaf litter to remove evidence of it ever being there.
A Forest School Journey 