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For many schoolchildren, their experience
of outdoor education can be limited to as little as once a week PE
lessons that are teacher led. Outdoor learning in this context is
often competitive with fixed rules. The activity might take place
outside the classroom, but the connection with the outdoor environment is
somewhat limited.
The Forest Education
Initiative is a programme, which provides children with access to a
“classroom without walls”. In a Forest School, activities take place
outside, ideally in a woodland environment. The concept behind the
Forest School originated in Europe in the early twentieth century as a way
of teaching children about the natural world. By the 1980s it had
become an established part of some European education systems, for example
the Danish early years programme. The idea was brought to the UK by
a group of nursery nurse students who visited Denmark in 1995 and were
impressed by what they saw.
The Forest School approach has
been adopted by a number of UK schools including the Early Years Division
at ACS Cobham International School in Surrey, where two Early Years
educators, Nicky Kay and Michele Baker, are qualified Forest School
leaders. In September this year Nicky visited five Danish schools on
the islands of Funnen and Jutland to find out more about the programme:
where better to go then Denmark where it all started?
During her visit, Nicky Kay was
particularly impressed by the amount of freedom the young Danish children
were given:
“The Danish curriculum is very
self-directed with no timetable restrictions, so that the children are
able to freely choose an activity and spend as much time as they need
until they have finished their investigation. The children are given
the freedom to explore the outdoors in small numbers. The
expectation is that they will self-monitor and regulate their own risk
taking and behaviour. The children are taught how to respect and handle
tools independently, for example how to use a knife to whittle wood.
Such freedom is not currently provided in the early childhood years in
England.”
Nicky
argues that the ACS outdoor education programme can help create a positive
whole school experience for children. Advocates of the Forest School
approach note that they witness quiet children gaining the confidence to
lead their peers, or openly share their discoveries unprompted.
Children, who in a classroom or playground might exhibit challenging
behaviour, want to take part in activities that enable them to work
closely and calmly with their peers. The outdoor environment allows
students to develop an extended portfolio of good social behaviour
skills.
“In today’s risk-averse society we
often create surroundings where challenge is so minimised that the
environment becomes de-motivating for a child. By exposing children to
some managed risk we are teaching them to assess the situation for
themselves and therefore test and expand their own capabilities. They also
experience the powerful emotions that go with risk taking, like
anticipation, satisfaction, confidence and exhilaration. This breeds
self-esteem and confidence, which spurs the child on to achieve
more. Being taught new skills in the outdoor environment stretches a
child’s capabilities in all the learning areas.”
Many young children will not have
experienced woodland environments through the four seasons, and may find
the woodland challenges their physical skills, particularly in varying
terrain and weather conditions. Nicky Kay describes how an autumn
foray into the woods enabled children to see nature unfolding through the
seasons:
“During the autumn, the children
were amazed when we uncovered a layer of leaf litter and saw that some of
the sweet chestnuts had started to sprout. They connected change
from green and prickly seeds on the tree, to finding nuts on the ground
where some of the squirrels had eaten them, to rooting and then
sprouting. Some of the children thought that it was great to bury
themselves in the masses of sweet chestnut leaves just like hibernating
animals do in winter. This experience gave the children first-hand
knowledge of the environment and helped to build their understanding of
our local eco system”.
A classroom without walls is,
quite literally, a breath of fresh air. It develops an insight into
individual learning styles. It is personally and socially uplifting,
so laying firm foundations for other types of learning which take place in
indoor classrooms. |