Forest School
Outdoor and Forest learning is a huge focus for younger years, however as children grow into higher years, they experience outdoor learning less - Forest School helps all children have opportunities and experiences
What is it all about?
Belonging
Creative
Perseverance
Confidence
Inclusion
Communication
Leadership
Friends
Play
Trust
Nature
Respect
Schemas and Self-Actualisation
Piaget and Athev - 'a pattern of repeatable behaviour into which experiences are assimilated and that are gradually coordinated. Coordinations lead to higher-level and more powerful schemas'
Connecting - connect materials together (e.g. wrapping rope between 2 trees)
Orientations - position / movement of body (e.g. hanging upside down from branches / under archway)
Transporting - moving things from one place to another (e.g. carrying branches around)
Trajectory - throwing / moving through the air (e.g. stick / stone throwing)
Positioning - lining objects up (e.g. Autumn leaves by shade)
Enclosing / Enveloping - wrap yourself or an object up (e.g. hammock / putting objects inside larger leaves)
Transforming - using materials to create another (e.g. mud pies / murky water)
Rotation - spinning / moving objects or themselves (e.g hammock / sycamore seeds)
Typical Session
A small, niche group of around 12-15 children
Getting changed
Listening game - listen and pay attention to nature
Stop and Think - consider risk assessments and make sure the children understand the decisions they make
Teach a skill, activity or launch a new area - creating, mixing, using tools, investigating
Play
Food - usually out for 2-3 hours
Play
Reflection - sharing the skills they've used, the people they've worked with, their achievements
Curriculum Links and Seasonal Change
Using the curriculum outside; asking teachers if there is anything particular to be covered
English - using school texts to explore ideas
PE - physical activities, e.g. bow and arrow
Maths - measuring
Music - explorative sounds using different materials
PSHE - developing skills and friendships, communication
Geography - mapping, combining tools
Science - different seasons, environments, habitats, animals
All groups of children behave differently
Skills and Assessment
Constantly assessing - by watching what the children are doing, listening to what they're saying, asking questions to provoke learning and thinking. This takes place all the time. Whilst outside you are facilitating what they want to learn, and they will ask questions
ECO-School
Eco-schools go for different awards; bronze, silver and green flag
Recognised association - an external body that assesses a potential eco-school and award the achievement
Eco-Board Motto
Pick a few children to become eco-warriors and get together and have a meeting discussing what being 'eco' means and how to become more 'eco' - important to get the children involved and to be responsible for the environment
By children being proactive and feeling as part of a team, they can positively impact the Earth
An environmental review is held by the eco-warriors, where different areas are explored;
Transport
Waste
Global citizenship
Water
Litter
Bio-diversity
School grounds
Healthy living
Energy
Review looks at the school's actions and stance on these areas, challenging if the school is doing as much as it can to help - and how to help and change if not through an Action Plan. What is going well; what is not going well - what can we do about it?
A working wall is created; a board for the whole school to see - building a collection of evidence of how the action plan is growing and changing the school
Energy
Children check up on teacher's energy saving habits - gives the children ownership, gives realisation of how complacent people are and encourages the teachers to be more thoughtful
Battery collection
Visit to power station
Plastic is not fantastic - Recycling
Initiative to collect unwanted plastic, bag it up and give it to parents to take home and recycle properly
Using egg-boxes to create decorations
Recycling paper, collected by the eco-warriors
Collecting unnecessary plastic to create 'bricks' which can be used as planters or sent to different places
Fair Trade
Fair trade breakfast
World Fair Trade day
Collection of fair trade packaging from home
Fair Trade tea / coffee amongst staff
Friday tuck shop of Fair Trade treats
Also in curriculum - communities in other parts of the world
Water and Water Bottles
Every pupil has a water bottle made from recycled plastic - plant-based plastic
Collect water in water gages around the school, observe in science lessons and water the plants in school with the water collected
Water butts
Planting and Biodiversity
Animals, plants and creatures invited into school - children involved
Strong links to Forest School, Science and spending time outside
Planting wide flowers, potatoes, spring bulbs
Big & Little Schools' Birdwatch - reporting to big scientists of findings at school
Nesting boxes, mini-beast houses, bug boxes
200 trees from the Woodland Trust
'What's under your feet' initiative - healthy grounds