A recent trainee on the level 3 Forest School Leader course explored their learning journey through the training session in the woods with the group and beyond. A key thing to emerge was the value of being with others outdoors in nature, making meaningful connections, sharing ideas and supporting each other.

We see this develop on every course with the group really coming together to create a learning community in quite a short space of time and this is so important. It supports people in not feeling isolated in developing their practice and offer but also in terms of the benefits to mental health and well-being while out on the sessions.

A recent student on our level 3 Forest School Leader training created a great overview of the internal and external factors that influence how children respond and behave in different situations at forest school as I previously posted.

Clearly​ Maslow's hierarchy of needs is at the root of much of this but there is also more subtlety in terms of how different activities, experiences and spaces can have an impact too. Although there may be common themes in groups all individuals respond differently at any given moment and being a leader is about having a dynamic and flexible approach that really does respond to the needs of individuals. The challenge often seems to be balancing the needs of individuals alongside the needs of the whole group.

The other factor we often forget is how much we as adults influence the group. After all we are a key part of the group and how we interact and support the group is key. It is easy to be too busy following all our plans and churning out activities rather than seeing what is going on with the group. Sometimes letting go of our plan and allowing the group to follow and develop their ideas can be the best thing we can offer as a leader.

An excellent student working on their portfolio for the level 3 Forest School leaders qualification recently explored some of the challenges that individuals may have to get the most from the experience - they have produced this great diagram exploring the internal and external barriers to learning and engagement. There is a lot going on for all children under the surface and often worth looking at why they might be struggling to get involved - some great food for thought.

This year has been a really busy year of Forest School training and additional training for different settings on developing their outdoor offer. There has been a really great energy in our groups from being together outside experiencing contact and then connection with nature. The first Forest School Leader training that we ran in the spring had a giddy sense of excitement for all of us to be back in the woods learning together and experiencing real joy and states of flow in getting lost in the beautiful multi sensory space we use.

The groups we have worked with have been a real pleasure and a privilege to work with and to start on their journey of discovering what nature might offer them personally and the groups they work with. We have had people from all different settings from early years in schools and nurseries to charities & volunteers working with adult groups with a more health focused approach. 

The year ended with a further Level 3 leaders training group up at Failand who surpassed themselves with their generosity of sharing food, ideas and love of the outdoors as well as a fun and creative approach to their learning. Thanks to Ellie and Hollie for creating this fab video of their fun with knots and shelters. 

After a 3 year pause we were back in the woods again at Rushyground with Hannah. It was great to see the woods again and explore the land and visit the escape artist sheep. Wild flowers and blackberries were everywhere and although many of the ash trees are struggling to survive the land was teaming with life busy getting on with things. 
​
It was so clear from our time in the woods of the importance and need for children and adults to connect with nature and come together as a little community even for only a few days to share this and just be under the leaves and the sky. 

There was plenty of high energy as well as some moments of calm and a really sense of disconnecting from the normal routines and habits of day to day life. Having the longer days with a group outside was a joy to reconnect with and spending time with a great team on Hannah's beautiful land felt like coming back to something I had been missing. I also had the privilege of having my son help me on sessions that 3 years ago he had been on - that was wonderful. 

Recently a trainee reflected on her personal journey of undertaking the training with me and delivering her first sessions. She picked up on some key points that many people new to Forest School face about their perception of what Forest School is and how it can develop for them as they explore its possibilities with their groups. It was really interesting that her concerns that it might not work that well for her group (a group with special educational needs and disabilities) and that it might not work that well on her site turned out not to be a challenge and that it actually exceeded her hopes for what might be possible. She also came to the conclusion that the key to successful sessions that she felt were rewarding to both the group and herself was through adopting a reflective practice that adapted to needs and interests of the group. She found that this significantly influenced future sessions plans as well as sometimes abandoning plans mid session to follow an interest in the group. The following is her account of this.

'Since completing my Forest School training, I have become aware that my idea about what Forest School was pre-training was actually what could be described as outdoor learning or bushcraft skills. I didn’t truly understand the concept or value of free play and this was my largest learning curve. I was also sceptical of whether Forest School could work for children with complex SEN and again I learned that this belief was incorrect! Therefore, the largest change in my practice has been to truly embrace the idea that nature has enough resources to engage children without lots of practitioner interference. This can be evidenced by the increasing amount of emphasis that was put on free play throughout my 6-week sessions, my realisation and learning journey can be charted through seeing how much it benefitted the children and then doing all I could to facilitate it on a rather limited site. I also was able to reflect that the practical skills we learned during the training could easily be lost if they are not regularly used.'

'One thing I found particularly valuable during my Introduction to Forest School Programme, was to complete a reflective evaluation sheet within one hour of the session ending. I always met with support staff to get their views and feedback, then found a quiet space to fill in my evaluation sheet. Later I then filled in the more detailed form based on the sheet. This practice was hugely beneficial and key in my planning of forthcoming sessions; it also formed the basis of some of my preconceptions being challenged as has been discussed above. Also valuable to me was gaining the children’s feedback at the end of each session, not only did this inform my planning but it allowed the children a voice which encouraged their autonomy and helped to create positive feelings about the woodland environment.'

My approach when working with groups for the first time, as was the case here, was to ease them into the space we were in by getting them to do some simple moving around and exploring and taking notice by looking for particular colours, shapes or textures. After a couple of activities like this I would get them to sit by or near a tree in a spot they had chosen to listen to the natural sounds they could hear. Then I used further sensory or creative activities with a focus on breathing and being present while trying to create some separation from participants thoughts and the working day they had stepped away from.

For some that had attended I got the feeling it had been a challenge to find the time and they had rushed over with a lot going on under the surface. I could see them visibly relax during the session and slow down as they progressed through the guided activities. I felt really pleased that everyone that came found the session useful and enjoyable registering an improvement in their well-being and providing positive feedback. Almost all staff commented that they would like to do something similar again and would recommend the experience to colleagues. There was some great feedback - including:

• ​'Loved it even in the rain. Gentle thought provoking experience.’
• ‘A good strategy to help take the mind off everything else for a while.’
• ‘I recently attended a wellness in nature session and wanted to let you know what a wonderful intervention it is. I feel it is so important to engage with the nature around us especially in this busy setting.’

I have now completed a short report (you can click on it below) on the activities and have looked at recommendations for taking this further and will be exploring how I can make this happen. I feel these experiences are so valuable in supporting and improving people's health and well-being particularly those who have had a high level of challenge in their work.

The following account is written by a Forest School Leader that I recently trained. It looks at their experience of running their first forest school programme with a group and is a great reflective exploration on what they observed and experienced with their group. It demonstrates their excellent approach tuning in to what went on and identifying what the children and adults in the group really valued and how they help them develop a style of session with the right balance of pace, space and content to support the group effectively in getting the most from their time in nature.

A reflective evaluation of a Forest School Programme by a primary school Forest School leader:

I thoroughly enjoyed running my first forest school programme. I found that it took more planning and evaluation than I had expected, and I found that I had to adapt and respond to the group, individual needs and group dynamic during sessions.

I found that simple, calm activities and games worked well with the group and that some repetition of games/ activities seemed to help the group come together, build in confidence and improve social skills.

I discovered that smaller groups and pairs worked well, especially if I did this early on in the session. I could then introduce larger groups for later activities. This helped mix up the group and allowed some of the quieter children to fully engage (they then often acted as good role models for the rest of the group by fully engaging in activities and their enjoyment and involvement was infectious).

I discovered how important it is to have three adults with the group to ensure good support and to enable the safe use of fire and tools (such as the hammers and mallets).

There were many moments that I will always remember from my first forest school session. The points where you suddenly really look and observe the group and can see everyone enjoying the forest school area, the children are all engaged in playing and adapting the activities to their interests. Observing children, who usually really struggle in the class setting playing confidently with others with a look of joy on their face was a very fulfilling experience.

I particularly enjoyed how the children’s knowledge of the forest school area improved as well. Children went back into class and happily told the teacher about how sycamore seeds travel by the wind and about the bugs they had found. At the beginning of the forest school sessions, the majority of children didn’t know what an acorn was, by the end they loved playing with them, along with conkers and beech nuts.

I felt the children connected well with the space and enjoyed the forest school session. As a group they definitely bonded well and the improvement in listening and behaviour from the first to the last session was much improved.

Perhaps what surprised me the most was that it was often the simple activities and slow-paced activities that worked the best. For example, I would have expected leaf pressing or fire lighting to be the most popular, but the group loved bug hunting and a simple nature spot game.

I enjoyed how forest school responds to the group dynamic and the overall plan of a session adapts with the group. I find this very satisfying and fulfilling way of working and believe it helps to counteract the more restrictive academic approach of the classroom. What I also enjoyed was the look on the supporting adults faces as they began to enjoy the sessions more and could see the benefits it gave the children (almost a moment of ‘oh I get this now’), that made me smile.

Benefits for the group included:

• Increased resilience through activities and exploration play during the forest school sessions.
• Improved social skills through team -building activities, games and group play
• Increase confidence through exploration play and activities
• Increase self-esteem and self-belief, learning through doing and exploring gives a great sense of achievement.
• Improved connection with nature and knowledge of plants and trees.
• Improvement in physical and emotional well-being through active exploration and play outside for the six sessions.

What I have learnt from delivery of the sessions is to keep the approach fairly simple, not to overcomplicate the sessions with too many complex activities. Part of the value of forest school is the slower pace, in order to connect and relate to nature. I have also learnt that small groups and paired work can help less confident children (they then seem more able to work and become involved in bigger groups). I also found repetition of favourite activities and games was very beneficial in bringing the group together and increasing confidence and self-esteem.  

I want to share with you some recent reflection from someone working in early years who recently did their level 3 leader training. The following helps to show the real benefits to being outside on a regular basis, engaging with nature and other children and being active for the whole day.

'During ‘lockdown’ I noticed that some children I know put on quite a significant amount of weight after spending most of their time indoors on digital devices.  They were confined to the house and were only being allowed outside for an hour’s exercise each day; not being able to visit woodlands and parks had a big effect on them physically and mentally.

Many years ago, when I first assisted at a preschool, if it was too cold or wet, the children would be encouraged to play inside, to keep warm (partly due to the staff not wanting to get cold or wet themselves).  I observed the children becoming frustrated being cooped up inside, and also not fully engaging with all the indoor activities. 

When I became a manager of the preschool, I became aware of ‘Forest School’ and its principles and quickly realised that its ethos mirrored my own, confirming my beliefs that children benefit enormously from such activities. As we implemented many of these, the children became generally happier, more engaged, and there were fewer behavoural issues.

Children developed a curiosity and fascination for the creatures they found under stones, logs and in the bug hotels they built. Their knowledge and understanding of the natural world increased significantly through these first-hand experiences which initiated a lot of questions by the children as their curiosity grew. This led them to develop a healthy respect for living creatures. They also learned to appreciate how the trees changed throughout the seasons, e.g. an apple tree from just leaves to blossom to fruit, then the leaves falling before growing once again in the springtime. 

As in the previous setting, the staff were reluctant to go outside when it was wet or cold, however the benefit to the children was apparent and the staff were quick to see the benefit of the increased learning opportunities. 

Some of the children in our Forest School had never experienced woodlands before, and were very excited to learn that they would be able to have fun exploring them for themselves. I observed that the childrens’ concentration had become much better, their listening skills improved and both fine motor and large motor skills were developing after using various tools and climbing trees and clambering over logs. Even though the children are very young, they were learning to keep themselves safe during activities and giving themselves a sense of pride in all that they did because they had done it themselves. 

One of the other things I love about Forest School is that it has no language barrier - even the children who don’t speak English and may struggle in the classroom, can join in all the activities with their peers and feel included in everything we do at Forest School.'

The Forest School experience can have a real impact on how children play and learn together. Simple activities and shared experiences can bond groups and support better communication, sharing and support. The account below is from somebody I trained recently who has been developing their Forest School programme with different groups and looking at how this has supported their ability to learn and develop as a group.
​
I took a small group of four boys who all have Special Educations Needs/ Education Health & Care Plans for forest school sessions. They had done several forest school sessions which they really enjoyed. During one session while they were playing one of the boys got muddy whilst playing on the tyre swing. He then got mud on his face from his hands. The other boys decided to mark mud on their faces to. They then all called them their ‘forest school’ faces. They then walked back happily as a group with their ‘forest school faces’ we bumped into the caretaker on the way back up and it made him smile. I then had to get them all to wash their faces before they went back to the class but I could see that it had been a good shared experience and they all enjoyed being part of their little ‘forest school’ group. I could see that it had helped them cement their forest school group and bond together as a team.

Bug hunting proved very popular one of the forest school groups. Once they had done a bit of bug hunting, I called everyone back round to the fire circle. Those children who had found bugs in small pairs/ groups then walked round to show everyone what they had found. This included ‘Colin the Centipede’ who was an impressively large centipede, this made a lot of the children smile and laugh. Several had found centipedes, there was one black ground beetle and lots of woodlice. The shared enjoyment of bug hunting as group helped to bring the group together. I have found that doing work in small groups or pairs and then bringing everyone together again to talk about what they’ve found and share ideas is a good way to develop a community of learning. After this we did bug hotel building, I was pleased to see that groups increased in size and bug houses connected in together for some groups. I could see some great team working between the groups and the sharing of different ideas. I also saw a knock-on positive effect from the bug hunting forest school. At lunchtime A and M were a bit upset as they hadn’t had much time playing on the tyre swing. Then A taught M about making a bug hotel (as she’d done it the previous day in forest school) and they both happily worked on this. M then had the idea of adding a bridge for the bugs and the structure grew from there. Then later that day M had a forest school session and she was very proud making another bug hotel area and shared her ideas with others in the group. She had a very large bug hotel with ‘one ladybird and one worm’ which she proudly showed to the adults.

I have also noticed that routine and repetition have a calming effect on the group, and I think probably helps develop a community of learning and a feeling of being part of a team/ group. I have repeated the colour match game over several weeks and seen this evolve and children begin to work together more. Also, I have seen that coming together, to have a hot drink and cook some food, encourages a collective experience and encourages good social skills within the group as a whole.