Forest Schools

Primary School Education; Introduced:

Primary school education is the educational period where Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 are taught to students who are aged between 5 and 11. This age range is particularly important for a learner as it is the most crucial period for them to begin properly absorbing knowledge and deciding what parts of education they enjoy, as well as having an influence over their further development “At primary school, the quality of teaching affects both children’s social behaviour and intellectual development,” (Lipsett, 2008). Bright World Education (2019) states that the UK education system is broken down into key stages, which refer to a set of skills and knowledge students are taught at different durations, “KS1: 5- to 7-year-olds…KS2: 7- to 11-year-olds.” Key stage 1 and key stage 2 are part of the UK’s national curriculum which is an agenda of content that, “all local-authority-maintained primary schools in England, (GOV.UK, 2015).” have to follow and deliver, by law. 

Austin (2016, pp. 2) explains that key stage levels are effective for teachers and other academic personnel to examine where a student is at in terms of their progress and abilities across all subjects taught and not just individual subject areas. An example of this could be a student who shows great communication schools in English lessons but only average levels in Mathematics. Instead of being examined on communication abilities per subject, the student will be examined on their skills as a whole. This is more beneficial to the children as they can be assessed on their performance in school and lessons as a whole, rather than individually where they may underperform compared to other lessons/for other academic staff.

This is where forest schools come into action as they still follow the basic and compulsory guidelines of the English national curriculum, they just interpret and deliver the learning and knowledge on a wider interactive scale. “The activities that are undertaken are wide-ranging and can be linked to the national curriculum and foundation stage objectives,” (Murray, 2007, pp. 250). 

Forest Schools; Introduced:

Forest schools are still associated with the national curriculum to ensure learning is consistent (when the learners progress on to high school, they will still be at the same level as other learners who did not attend a forest school). The Forest School Association (founded in 1925) summarises the concept of forest schools as, “a child-centred inspirational learning process…offers opportunities for holistic growth…long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk-taking.” Foret schools are advocates for building children’s confidence and learning with the natural environment and world around us. A typical forest school would take place in a woodland area (local woods, nearest forest/wooded area local to a school) which would be led privately or supported by the local education authorities meaning any classroom and qualified teacher can use the area for learning. Murray (2007, pp. 263) explores how children are benefitting from learning educational content outside as they are more imaginative and engage in more dramatic play as there are greater opportunities for them to explore and modify their learning spaces.

When mentioning ‘holistic growth’ it is significant to relay the term back to the learning theory it is derived from and how this relates to the concept of forest schools. In educational terms, growing ‘holistically’ means that “learning and interacting with the natural world and opportunities for challenge, risk-taking, and social development,” (Foundation Education, 2018) is the most significant part of a young child’s education. The constructivist theory can be applied to the concepts surrounding forest schools as the learning theory portrays that, “priority is given to the active mental life of the child and “in the ways in which children construct increasingly more adequate ways of understanding their world and of acting upon it” (Khan, 1999, p. 213),” (Murray, 2007, p. 251). This statement fits hand-in-hand with the notion of forest schools as they are enabling children to act and play in the natural world and learn from it as well as exploring it. Murray (2007, p. 251) adds that allowing the constructivist learning approach to influence the style of learning taking place in forest schools, allows for the children to decide what they want to learn about (still adhering to the English national curriculum) which is how the lesson is shaped- very learner-centred which makes the learner feel listened too and valued as a pupil. The learning theory of constructivism will allow for children who partake in forest schools to chunk and spiral on their knowledge for further development down the line, which most parents and teachers say benefit the children in a way a mainstream primary school could not do. 

Forest Schools; The Alternative:

It is a bold statement to make, ‘forest schools can benefit a child in a way that mainstream primary schools cannot,’ but it is true, to an extent. Not only do forest schools allow child learners to take a charge in what they are learning but it also allows them to interact with the outside, natural, environment on a frequent basis- which some children may not have the opportunity to do. A major skill that forest school learners are taught about is fire safety, but with actual experience, “as part of the Forest School process, the children learn to take managed risks and gain an understanding of the meaning of risk. For example, they are told how to observe fire safety rules that they must adhere to when toasting marshmallows on the fire or when moving around the fire area,” (Murray, 2007, pp. 258). “The importance of learning outside of the classroom is significant as it creates an equal opportunity for all children to experience the outdoors, as some students may not have that possibility when they are at home. By taking lessons out of a classroom, you are expanding on a child’s social skills and behaviour by placing them in an environment where they can partake in challenges to build their confidence and self-esteem, start to work in a team, and decide what they find interesting, which all adds value to the educational experience of primary school learners as they are enriching their school experiences. By still following the baselines of the English national curriculum, forest schools allow for activities such as tree climbing, sensory walks, shelter building, nature art, campfire cooking, and foraging.

The list of activities that are possible in a natural environment, like a forest, is endless. What these types of activities provide, that a mainstream primary school does not, is the skills of spatial awareness, decision-making, and sensory perception. Enriching these particular types of skills enables children to grasp an understanding of the world from a young age, rather than learning them later on in the education system. A concise explanation as to why forest schools teach what they do is: “through creating, learner inspired experiences based on exploration and discovery, we nurture a culture based on collaboration and of embracing challenge so that we can allow…over time, for the blossoming of character, resilience, and empathy, and for a greater sense of connection, with nature and for our shared future,” (Forest Schools ©, 2019). 

Does this mean that forest schools should be replaced as an alternative to primary schools? Completely replacing primary schools with forest schools, over England, would be a large enough task in itself, and to some extent, it would benefit a lot of children who can not use outdoor spaces often, for example, children who do not live local to a wooded area, therefore, the only chance to explore the world is by the forest school which will engage them in learning too. To eradicate primary schools altogether would be absurd as there are far too many schools open with a mass of children enrolled so the idea to incorporate an element of forest schooling into the curriculum would be a much better solution instead. By taking the benefits of forest schooling (creating independent children, improving focus, building confidence, enhancing social skills, and creating healthy bodies (Muddy Days Blog, 2017), and intertwining them with classroom-based learning, they could work compatibly together to create a well-rounded primary education.  For example, one or two days a week are spent in the local forest/wooded areas where learning will take place (physical education; walking, mathematics; using numbers within the environment, and English; creating stories about their surroundings), and then the rest of the school week is classroom-based enhancing their knowledge and reflecting on their learning. 

Effectiveness:

Primary education is part of the English public education system, a sector we just view as the norm (children going to school to learn and progress up until they must leave), but how effective is the primary school component and how is it measured? Effectiveness is the word that describes a successful result, and how we measure effectiveness can vary; in terms of measuring effectiveness within primary schools we tend to focus on pupil achievement data, attainment gaps lowering and all students achieving despite their backgrounds. Despite the positive discussions surrounding forest schools, there are some limitations to the concept such as it being weather dependent. No matter the weather, a child can always attend a primary school which is a positive as there are no restrictions placed on learning, however, if the weather is poor (raining, thundering, extreme winds, and snow) it would be exceptionally difficult to carry out learning tasks and keep the children safe and away from weather’s harm. Another limitation that would impact the effectiveness of forest schools is the ultimate adaptation learners would have to do when transferring to an actual school. The Muddy Days Blog (2017) expand on this by saying, “it can lead to some small challenges when children have to adapt back into ‘normal’ school routines and processes,” which makes sense as forest schools and a mainstream classroom have large differences which could lead to children taking longer than usual to settle into their new environment and understand the new processes.

References:

• Austin, R., 2016. Researching Primary Education. 1st ed. London: SAGE, p.2.
• Brightworldguardianships.com. 2019. British Education System. [online] Available at: <https://www.brightworldguardianships.com/en/guardianship/british-education-system/> [Accessed 15 May 2021].
• Lipsett, A., 2008. Early Schooling Matters Most For Children. The Guardian, [online] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/nov/27/primary-school-importance> [Accessed 15 May 2021].
• Murray, R., 2007. Forest School and its impacts on young children: Case studies in Britain. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, [online] 6(4), pp.250, 251, 258, 263. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1618866707000301?via%3Dihub> [Accessed 16 June 2021].
• GOV.UK. 2015. National Curriculum In England: Primary Curriculum. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-primary-curriculum> [Accessed 15 May 2021].
• Outdoors, G., 2017. The Pros and Cons of Forest School | Muddy Puddles. [online] Muddy Ideas. Available at: <https://www.muddypuddles.com/blog/pros-cons-forest-school/> [Accessed 15 May 2021].
• Foundation Education. 2018. Support the Holistic Development of Children in Early Childhood Education. [online] Available at: <https://www.foundationeducation.edu.au/articles/2018/03/support-holistic-development-children-early-childhood-education> [Accessed 15 May 2021].
• Forestschoolassociation.org. 2019. What is Forest School?. [online] Available at: <https://forestschoolassociation.org/what-is-forest-school/> [Accessed 15 June 2021].
• Forest Schools Education. 2019. What is Forest School? An Introduction.. [online] Available at: <https://www.forestschools.com/pages/what-is-forest-school-an-introduction> [Accessed 15 May 2021].