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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.

 

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.

There are a number of different items we can make using woodland materials and some Forest School tools. Working together to make these items helps children develop their social skills and also gives them a sense of achievement when they see what they have made!

Here are some of the items I have made during my training and how I would teach them to children:

Three Legged Stool

The three-legged stool requires three or four different tools. First, we collect our wood – one piece needs to be around the width of an adult arm and the other three pieces need to be just smaller than a 2 pence piece. We can use our loppers to cut these three pieces. To split the larger log we may need a bow saw to cut it into a smaller piece and then we use a billhook to split it in half. After this, a hand drill is used to drill three holes in the larger piece of wood. The legs are placed into the holes and our stool is complete! It is important to have the holes at the right angle so that the stool can stand.

Wooden Mallet

For our wooden mallet, we used three tools. First, we need to find a piece of wood that is around the thickness of an adult arm. We then use a bow saw to saw a line all the way around the wood, as deep as the blade. After this, we use a bill hook to split the wood around the edges. As we use the bill hook, the wood splits at the point where the bow saw has cut. This creates a handle for our mallet. We can then use a sheath knife to smooth the handle out and get rid of any edges.

Tent Peg

Our tent peg is a very simple item to make, using a piece of wood which is smaller than a 2 pence piece. We only need two tools for this item. First, we use loppers to cut the wood to size. We then use a sheath knife to whittle the wood into a point. After this, we create an indentation with the knife for our guide ropes to catch on. The tent peg can be made individually and is a good starting item to make, especially if teaching how to use a knife.

Frames and shapes

Our final creation doesn’t involve tool use unless you need to trim branches using the loppers to get your sticks. Usually, you can find sticks of a suitable size on the woodland floor. A wooden frame is a great item to make with the children as you can then use it for a variety of different activities. The frame requires two different knots, the clove hitch, and the square lashing. These are relatively easy to teach (see PSFSP 1.4). A clove hitch is tied to one stick and then the other is laid over the top in an L shape. This is finished off with a square lashing. This is done on all four corners to create a square. Our children loved experimenting with the squares and trying to make different shapes with the sticks. The child below decided to turn his square into a window!

A star is a good follow on activity to the square frame as it requires different knots. The children first need to find 5 sticks (or use the loppers) to cut some. Again, a clove hitch is used on the first stick. A sheer lashing is then used to bind the sticks together at each point. See PSFSP 1.4 for how to teach these knots.

 

There are a number of different learning theories which have had an effect on the way we work with children. Here I will summarise just two of the theories which I have been researching to aid my Forest School journey.

Piaget

Piaget is often thought of as the first person to take children’s thinking seriously. His theory was that children do not think as adults do and that their illogical speech actually showed their thought processes with order and logic. He said that it was a child’s interaction with the environment which creates their learning, a theory that is used widely at Forest School. He also said that children learn best when they do activities themselves rather than being shown how to do them. This hands-on learning style is fundamental to the Forest School approach where children are allowed to explore their ideas and take risks in order to learn. Piaget found that children learned best when they were curious and when their curiosity was not satisfied. There are lots of opportunities for this in a Forest School setting where children may find, for example, a fallen log. They will learn a lot by pulling the log over and seeing what creepy crawlies may be living underneath! Piaget said that children went through certain stages of development, but they may go through these stages at their own rate. The different stages of the children I work with are summarised below:

• Sensorimotor (birth – 18 months) – babies rely on their reflexes and senses to explore the world. It is important to keep them safe but curious and motivated. In the woods, they can explore a whole new environment to develop their senses and pull themselves up on fallen trees/logs to develop their physical development.
• Preoperational (18 months – 6 years) – in this stage the children are forming ideas based on what they observe and experience. They can adapt their knowledge as they experience more. As the woodlands are a whole new experience, children can learn a lot about how and why things happen. Through exploring nature they will learn about their world.

How these theories have been used in my Forest School programme

• By providing a new and different environment for the children, we are enhancing their learning as Piaget suggested.
• We follow a hands-on learning style while in the woods. The children learn through trial and error rather than being shown how to complete a task. The staff assist the children in their learning.
• We follow The Curiosity Approach at our nursery and this approach extends to our Forest School sessions. We encourage the children to be curious about the world around them and explore anything they find in the wood which they are curious about. An example of this is the log picture above where the children were curious about what the log was and what might be underneath it. I then helped them to turn the log over so we could further investigate.
• The children in my group are in the Preoperational Stage of Piaget’s theory. They are forming ideas based on what they observe and experience. By visiting the woods we are expanding on the children’s experiences and helping them to continuously adapt their knowledge.

Vygotsky

Vygotsky’s theory of childhood development was based on the idea that children learn from the values and beliefs of adults and other children. His theory was, therefore, more about social interactions than the environment. He believed that children develop language through speaking and listening and this aids their development. Vygotsky developed the Zone of Proximal Development. This is the distance between the most difficult thing a child can do on their own and the most difficult thing they can do with help. It is the teacher’s job to scaffold the learning of the child and help close this gap. At Forest School, the children are allowed to take a risk and try things themselves. The teachers will help to show children new skills and provide assistance when children need it. Observation is extremely important here as teachers need to observe children to find out where they are in their learning and what their needs are to progress.

How these theories have been used in my Forest School programme

• Staff are constantly observing the children and figuring out where they are in their learning. Using this knowledge we can introduce activities and experiences which help the children to further their holistic development.
• The Zone of Proximal Development is constantly in use during our sessions. We observe what a child can do without help, allowing them to take managed risks to push themselves. We then scaffold their learning to help them achieve more. An example of this is when a child is trying to walk along a fallen log. The staff members will supervise the activity and be ready to help if needed but will not hinder the child’s learning by automatically taking their hand.

Summary

By combining Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s theories (as well as many others!) we can help children to develop holistically, through social interaction and enabling environments. At Forest School, the environment is a large part of the experience but social interactions are just as important, particularly between children.

References

Theories of childhood: An introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget & Vygotsky – Carol Garhart Mooney