International Perspectives on Forest School

Natural Spaces to Play and Learn

Sara Knight, Sara Knight

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781446293003
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Bildung
• Subtopic: Bildung Allgemein

Forest School is now implemented across a wide range of settings both nationally and internationally, and this book explores the global similarities between the Forest School approach and how natural spaces are being used all over the world.

Written by a range of international authors, the text includes perspectives from:

- Sweden

- Portugal

- Brazil

- Germany

- Slovenia

- South Africa

- Australia

- USA and Canada

- India

It considers the impact that global influences have on early learning, and reflects on how the Forest School approach is used in the UK.

With case studies, annotated further reading and points for practice this is a key text for all those studying Early Childhood Studies, Early Years and Primary Education.

Sara Knight is Principal Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University. She is a trained Forest School practitioner and author of Forest Schools For All, Risk and Adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play and Forest School and Outdoor Learning (all published by SAGE).

1

The Impact of Forest School on Education for Sustainable Development in the Early Years in England

Sara Knight

Chapter overview

The chapter contextualises Forest School, with reference to its origins and its unique development in the UK. It goes on to describe recent developments of Forest School in the UK, and in England in particular. This includes the establishment of a national Forest School Association, and the chapter considers some of the impacts that this will bring to the sector. In particular, the debate around the core principles and ethos of the Forest School movement are discussed, and the chapter describes some new research in this area. The chapter goes on to consider the importance for young children of accessing and engaging with wilder spaces through a Forest School experience, and how this will lay the foundations for a lifetime of concern with sustainability and environmental issues. This chapter will link the delivery of Forest School to children in the Foundation Stage of the English curriculum.

Forest School in the UK

Forest School was developed in the UK in the mid-1990s as a response to observed practice in Denmark by a group of early years tutors and trainees on a field trip from Bridgwater College in Somerset. However, Forest School in the UK is not the same as the practice observed in Denmark. Practitioners who visit Denmark expecting to see exactly the same way of working with young children outside as happens in Forest School in the UK may be confused. Danish preschools will often have opportunities for wilder outdoor experiences, but they are predicated on different cultural and educational expectations, expectations that are closer to those in the other Scandinavian countries, which all share a historical-cultural concept that was called ‘Friluftsliv’ by the playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1859 (Dahle, 2003). Forest School in the UK is also used by groups other than preschool children, a phenomenon you are unlikely to see in other countries as yet.

‘Friluftsliv’ expresses the idea that the citizens of Scandinavian countries will wish naturally to connect with their environment in many different ways and as often as possible. When I lived in Norway in the 1970s, it was usual for families to go out at the weekends to walk or ski, light a fire to make a hot drink, collect berries in their season, hunt, fish and generally be in tune with their surroundings. Babies in backpacks or towed in pulks (like a cradle on skis; for an example, see http://www.orscrosscountryskisdirect.com/
kindershuttle-ski-pulk.html) and older people in their eighties all participated. At the school where I taught, Wednesday afternoon was given over to taught outdoor activities. I visited the University of Umeå in Sweden in 2008 and observed trainee teachers being taught how to teach these activities, which included how to dig a snow hole to keep the children safe if stranded outdoors.

I include this description to highlight the difference between the cultural backgrounds of Scandinavia and the UK. In the more rural parts of the UK, there may be communities who still maintain this level of engagement with the world outside their door, just as inner-city life in Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen may preclude it, but the underlying assumptions hold good. Where Friluftsliv is an assumed norm, it is not necessary to define the taxonomy of Forest School, and to analyse what makes it successful and worthwhile. It may be that increasing urbanisation will erode the quality of outdoor experiences in some areas of Scandinavia, and in that case they may look at what we are doing and invent something similar. But it will not be the same, as it will be predicated on different cultural and educational expectations. While space is available for the majority of citizens, it will hopefully remain an expectation that young children at least will be outside for long periods of time interacting with wild spaces.

Space: By way of comparison, compare the population data collected by the World Bank in 2011 (see http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL). England would fit into Finland roughly 2.5 times. The population of Finland is roughly two thirds that of London.

Forest School in England

Since its inception, Forest School has spread rapidly. For example, in 2012 in the county of Essex there were more than 250 groups participating in Forest School (see http://www.essexfei.co.uk/
index.php/about-us). Essex is one of 83 administrative counties in England, indicating the possibility of over 2000 groups across the country. Initially, funding and support were provided by the education arm of the Forestry Commission, the Forest Education Initiative, but unfortunately this ended in England in 2011.

Of these groups, the majority are working with children between the ages of 3 and 7 years. In England, most children start primary school in their fourth year. Many will attend some form of preschool provision before that, and it was in these settings and in classes for children in the first two years of their schooling that the Forest School idea spread the quickest. The reasons may be various. There is certainly more flexibility in the Foundation Stage curriculum for children under the age of 5, and also recognition of the importance of a play-based curriculum in the training of practitioners with these age groups. The influence of theorists such as Steiner and Rousseau can also be seen in the ready acceptance by many of those practitioners of the Forest School ethos.

In 2007 UNICEF published a report that put the UK at the bottom of a chart of children’s well-being in industrialised countries (UNICEF, 2007). Whilst some academics have criticised the findings, even if it was only partially true it makes uncomfortable reading (UNICEF, 2007). The impact of this report also assisted the spread of Forest School, as one of the key outcomes does seem to be that it provides children with more robust self-esteem and confidence (O’Brien and Murray, 2007).

The situation in Wales and Scotland has been even better, with the support for Forest School being shared between the Forestry Commission and regional government. Chapter 2 looks at one such project in Wales. Whilst developments in Northern Ireland were slower to get started, there are now a healthy number of Forest School groups operating there. However, in this chapter I will focus on the picture in England where a differentiation is appropriate, as this is the most crowded part of the UK and thus at most risk of ‘nature deficit disorder’ (Louv, 2010).

Forest School coming of age

In 2012 the Forest School Association (FSA) was formed, with representatives from all four countries of the UK on the Executive Board. Funding was obtained for a development officer, and work began to formalise the sector (Wellings, 2012). This succeeded the Forest School Special Interest Group (FSSIG), which was a part of the Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL). IOL continued to support the FSA as it grew, with both advice and administrative assistance.

This is timely. As Forest School has spread, it has run the risk of losing its identity. Indeed, there are examples in England of groups purporting to be Forest Schools which do not subscribe to the principles and ethos agreed by the majority of practitioners in the field. In 2010 and 2011, the FSSIG consulted with the wider Forest School community and drew up a definition of the ethos and the principles that were included in the FSA Business Plan, and which can be seen in Box 1.1 below. Readers will see that these principles are applicable to a wide range of groups, reflecting practice across the UK, where Forest School is being used with all ages, often therapeutically (Knight, 2011a).

Participation in the consultation was invited as widely as possible, being advertised by IOL, FEI and the FSSSIG, as well as through informal networks and visits to key stakeholder groups, but it is probable that there will be dissenting voices. Forest School is a way of working that engenders strong passions amongst practitioners. In an effort to unpick possible misunderstandings, I have begun an analysis of the chapters in my book Forest School for All (Knight, 2011a), which I refer to again below. The chapter authors were largely self-selected, and represent practice from across Scotland, Wales and England with a wide range of groups (Knight, 2011b).

Forest School practitioners

Alongside the creation of the Forest School Association, work has been going on within the Forest School Training Network GB (2011) to draw up National Occupational Standards for practitioners. It is hoped that these will be agreed and accepted for placement on the Government’s Qualifications Framework for England and Wales in 2013. Once this has been done, it will be easier to ensure that trainees receive the appropriate standards of training.

As you will see from point 5 of the Ethos/Definition below, members of the Association agree that training in Forest School is important, and leaders should be qualified to Level 3. In England, qualifications are given levels that indicate the academic standard of the award, and Level 3 is equivalent to the academic standard required for A-levels, Diplomas and Higher Certificates. It is common practice, and in some situations a legal requirement, that adults working with children can only be left in sole charge of a group if they have a Level 3 award in an appropriate subject. The award must also include an element where practice is observed. Thus, a Forest School practitioner has received a minimum training in human development, bushcraft, outdoor first aid and the Forest School ethos. In addition, they should have been observed carrying out a Forest School session.

Box 1.1 Ethos/Definition

Forest School is an inspirational process that offers all learners regular opportunities to achieve, develop confidence and self-esteem, through hands-on learning experiences in a local woodland or natural environment with trees.

Forest School is a specialised approach that sits within and complements the wider context of outdoor and woodland learning.

Principles with criteria for good practice:

1. Forest School (FS) is a long-term process with frequent and regular sessions in a local natural space, not a one-off visit. Planning, adaption, observations and reviewing are integral elements:
   • FS takes place regularly, ideally at least every other week, over an extended period of time, if practicable, encompassing the seasons.
   • An FS programme has a structure which is based on observations and joint work between learners and practitioners. This structure should clearly demonstrate progression of learning.
   • The initial sessions of any programme establish physical and behavioural boundaries, as well as making initial observations on which to base future programme development.
2. Forest School takes place in a woodland or natural wooded environment to support the development of a relationship between the learner and the natural world:
   • Whilst woodland is the ideal environment for FS, many other sites, some with only a few trees, are able to support good FS practice.
   • The woodland is ideally suited to match the needs of the programme and learners, providing them with the space and environment in which to explore and discover.
   • An FS programme constantly monitors its ecological impact and works within a sustainable site management plan agreed between the landowner/manager and the practitioner and the learners.
   • FS aims to foster a relationship with nature through regular personal experiences in a local woodland/wooded site to help develop long-term environmentally sustainable attitudes and practices in staff, learners and the wider community.
   • FS uses natural resources for inspiration, to enable ideas and encourage intrinsic motivation.
3. Forest School aims to promote the holistic development of all those involved, fostering resilient, confident, independent and creative learners:
   • Where appropriate, the FS leader will aim to link experiences at FS to home, work and/or school/education.
   • FS programmes aim to develop, where appropriate, the physical, social, cognitive, linguistic, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of the learner.
4. Forest School offers learners the opportunity to take supported risks appropriate to the environment and themselves:
   • FS opportunities are designed to build on an individual’s innate motivation, positive attitudes and/or interests.
   • FS uses tools and fire only where deemed appropriate to the learners, and is dependent on completion of a baseline risk assessment.
   • Any FS experience follows a risk–benefit process managed jointly by the practitioner and learner that is tailored to the developmental stage of the learner.
5. Forest School is run by qualified Forest School practitioners who continuously develop their professional practice:
   • FS is led by qualified Forest School practitioners, who are required to hold a minimum of an equivalent Level 3 qualification.
   • There is a high practitioner/adult-to-learner ratio.
   • Practitioners and adults regularly helping at Forest School are subject to relevant checks ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Acknowledgements
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction
• 1 The Impact of Forest School on Education for Sustainable Development in the Early Years in England
• 2 Talking in Wild Outdoor Spaces: Children Bringing Their Interests to Their Teachers in Wales
• 3 Nature, Adventure and Early Education: A Regional Approach in Germany
• 4 Outdoor Play in a Swedish Preschool Context
• 5 Increasing Experiential Learning Using Ecoremediations in Slovenia
• 6 Early Outdoor Learning in Portugal
• 7 Building Sustainability through Consumption in Brazil
• 8 The ‘Veggie Bag’ and its Potential for ‘Connected Knowing’: An Experience from a South African Context
• 9 Play in Nature: Bush Kinder in Australia
• 10 Aboriginal Children’s Participation and Engagement in Bush School
• 11 Teaching Teachers to Use the Outdoor Environment in the USA
• 12 Health Lessons from Nature in the USA
• 13 Cultivating Canadian Learners – Outside!
• 14 Indian Children’s Perceptions of their School Environment
• Index