SPACE TO BREATHE
Hannah Watkins visits an urban Forest School to explore how children learn outside the confines of the classroom
On a wintry afternoon with the skies
charcoal grey and heavy with the threat
of rain, I was invited to visit Eastwood
Nursery School Centre for Children and
Families to experience a very special urban
Forest School, operating in Roehampton,
South West London.
After donning our waterproof kit and wellies, we
(seven children, six grown-ups) made our way across
to the beautiful woodland grounds of Roehampton
University, all the while looking around us for birds’
nests high up in the trees.
EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT EXPOSURE TO GREENERY HAS A PROFOUND EFFECT ON
CHILDREN’S BEHAVIOUR, ATTENTION, AND PHYSICAL AND INTELLECTUAL
DEVELOPMENT
Once there, we wandered
down stony paths and leaf covered ditches in search
of puddles to play in.Now suitably muddy, we set off to find the grisly bear
behind a wooden door hidden in the Victorian
rockery. Knock, knock, knock . . . no answer . . .
He must have been out doing his shopping, decided
the children.
A stop at the pond followed, each with
binoculars, giving us a chance to look for birds and
match them up on our picture sheets.
Playing in the leaves, we covered one of the children,
then helped him up and dusted him down, saving
some of the leaves to take home with us to watch
their changing colours.
A rest in camp provided us with time to reflect on
what we had seen and heard, whilst having a hot
chocolate and a snack before a game of hide and
seek: “One, Two, where are you? Here I am!” Then
home to chat together about what we had seen and
felt out in the Forest School with mums and dads.
As I bade my farewells to Eastwood, it started to
drizzle but for some reason it no longer mattered,
I felt sunny, invigorated, challenged and ready to
learn more . . .
Back to nature approach
Much has been made recently in the press and by
the government of the need for outdoor play. In its
manifesto on Learning Outside the Classroom, the
government states that: “Every young person should
experience the world beyond the classroom as an
essential part of learning and personal development,
whatever their age, ability or circumstances. . .
The potential for learning is maximised if we use the
powerful combination of physical, visual and
naturalistic ways of learning as well as our linguistic
and mathematical intelligence.”
Evidence also continues to emerge which shows
that exposure to greenery has a profound effect
on children’s behaviour, attention, and physical
and intellectual development, that is felt back in
the classroom.
Perhaps this is due, in part, to a hangover from our
historical survival needs. Dr Aric Sigman, a fellow of the
Royal Society of Medicine and associate fellow of the
British Psychological Society, in an article for the TES,
looked at theories of US biologists: “Our ancestors
who sought green areas or lived as subsistence
hunters, gatherers and farmers were more likely to eat,
drink and survive. Today, many benefits associated
with our exposure to greenery may be part of an
evolutionary reward system reinforcing the very thing
that kept us alive for hundreds of thousands of years.”
This is all very well but how can this learning
experience be practically achieved in our crowded
and urban-focused lives. Forest Schools such as
Eastwood appear to be a promising start.
The UK often finds itself turning to Scandinavia for
guidance as it is regularly at the forefront of new
ideas and successful teaching methods. The original
concept of forest schools was one such progressive
initiative, implemented during the 1950s in Sweden.
A Swedish study found that
children attending forest school were
happier, had more developed social
skills and their attention spans and
co-ordination were better than city
nursery children
A 13 month Swedish study found that children
attending forest school were happier, had more
developed social skills, their attention spans and
co-ordination were better than city nursery children
and they had fewer days off sick. This was believed
to be due to the greater range of opportunities to
play without interruption or lack of space. This, in
turn, appeared to reduce stress levels, inconsiderate
behaviour and aggression enabling the children to
concentrate for longer and learn to work well in
groups while building confidence and self-esteem.
In the forest school situation the reduction in stress
levels and the open space contrasted to the closed
environment where viruses and bacteria could
spread easily and where the apparent higher stress
levels seemed to be having a weakening effect on
the children’s immune systems.
Urban Forest Schools
This outdoor approach to play and learning was
brought to the UK during the 1990s after a group
of nursery nurses and other educationalists visited
Denmark and saw first hand the impact it had on
the social and intellectual skills of the children.
Forest Schools in rural settings in the UK have
caught the interest of the press over the last couple
of years but little attention has been given to Forest
Schools set up in city areas. However, they are
beginning to spring up in urban areas through local
co-operation to share woodland or natural spaces
for the benefit of children.
“We have seen the dramatic effects
Forest School has on our children in all
areas of their development. The
children absolutely love it!”
Katherine Milchem is the first Forest School
Co-ordinator to be appointed in Wandsworth.
She runs the Forest School sessions at Eastwood
Nursery School Centre for Children and Families
everyday, with children from 9 months to 5 years.
The Forest School was introduced at Eastwood by
Liz Rook, the headteacher, and governor, Professor
Tina Bruce, a leading expert and author, well known
in the field of early years education. Through a link
with Roehampton University, they use the wooded
spaces of their nearby campus.
A number of the children that attend the sessions
come from homes in confined high-rise buildings and
many do not have access to a garden or safe natural
spaces. Katherine explains: “We have seen the
dramatic effects Forest School has on our children in
all areas of their development. The children
absolutely love it!”
Parents are encouraged to come too: “We’ve
managed to get several parents involved, particularly
dads! In the past, it has been very difficult to get
dads into nursery.”
How does Forest School work?
At Eastwood, the children will go to Forest School at
least twice a week with some groups going
everyday. All seasons and all weathers are
experienced by the children and they go out in
waterproof kit, gloves and wellie boots.
It is important that these are not one off sessions but
continue for a number of weeks in the same format
through each season so that the children are
comfortable with the routine and can gain in
confidence. In this way, leaders are able to see a
progression in the children’s behaviour. There are no
strict rules but rather boundaries. Routines and
boundaries make children feel safe both emotionally
and physically: “Some children don’t like change.
When preparing for the session and getting dressed
they scream for a couple of sessions but by sessions
three and four they understand what is happening
and really look forward to it.”
There is much more interaction
between adult and child and between
the children themselves. The time is
very much a shared experience, based
on child led open-ended learning
The ratios of adult partners and children are kept low
with one adult to three children being ideal. For
“sustained shared thinking” small groups are
necessary rather than having the adult act as a
monitor of behaviour. So there is much more
interaction between adult and child and between the
children themselves and the time is very much a
shared experience, based on child led open-ended
learning.
Kinaesthetic learners (who learn by doing) can really
touch, feel and engage all the senses whilst
developing motor skills at the same time, for
example, by learning to walk on uneven ground and
feeling the difference between concrete and grassy,
rocky earth underneath their feet.
Calculated risk-taking is understood through
climbing and walking through the muddy ditches,
whilst easily achievable activities like den-building,
picture-making, bug hunting, collecting and sorting,
listening, singing, looking at the change in seasons,
observing growth and decay, leaf printing, tree
rubbing and using tools are all incorporated to
enhance self-esteem and confidence.
Teamwork skills, co-operation and tolerance of
others is developed through games like hide and
seek. At the same time, the children grow spiritually
through their contact with nature and their
understanding of their impact on the world around
them.
Before the children stop for a snack during each
session there is a time for reflection when the
children make a camp and talk together. This is key
group time to chill and chat. The washing of hands
before the snack and drink and tidying up afterwards
are essential to the instilling of hygiene routines.
Children grow spiritually through their
contact with nature and their
understanding of their impact on the
world around them
Photo sheets of different animals, birds or animal
homes, for example, will be taken on the trip. Photos
are also taken during the session. The children then
look at the photos, identify animals and talk about
what they have seen. This helps with communication
and language skills. What the children have
experienced will be followed through in classes, for
example, the children may look at pictures of frogs
and toads and discuss the differences, including
colour and texture.
When the children come back into the nursery they
also spend time on observational drawings like
pictures of the ducks they saw or create and listen
to stories together about “the bear behind the door”.
In this way, the experiences of Forest School
continue into the classroom environment and serve
to hold the children’s attention and motivation.
Interestingly, the freedom of the Forest School does
not undermine the National Curriculum. In fact, it
appears to enhance it. Many areas of the National
Curriculum are intrinsically covered and Forest
Schools can contribute to 4 of the 5 outcomes that
are part of the government objectives laid out in
Every Child Matters as key to wellbeing:
Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
The Forest School format also echoes Maslow’s
Heirarchy of Needs. Basic needs make children feel
safe and comfortable and ready to learn:
Warmth – correct clothing
Food – healthy food, for greater nutrition and
energy when stopping for a snack
Drink – hydration when stopping for a
hot chocolate
Safety – positive learning environment
Katherine Milchem notes that, at Eastwood, certain
behaviour or frustration seen in the formal classroom
is not evident outside. Some children will push
others in the classroom but when they are outside
they are able to explore and have their own space to
run around. Children who are intimidated or shy
when asked to speak in front of the class can be
seen explaining the rules of a game to the group.
Others reluctant to engage with other children in the
classroom are motivated in the woodland to interact
with others and love playing hide and seek: “Some
of the children in our setting have behavioural
challenges and other special educational needs and
we have seen marked improvements in personal,
social and emotional development.”
Urban Forest Schools are possible
Katherine is keen to highlight that urban Forest
Schools are possible: “Many seem to think you need
to be in the countryside to be able to do Forest
School when in actual fact, you don’t. It’s true that
finding natural spaces in London can be more
challenging but it’s vital that children growing up in
the city also have access to learn through nature
too. How else are children in the city meant to
develop a personal morality towards nature, if they
never have access to it in open spaces?”