Forest School Celebration

We were a bit sad to miss actual Forest School Day on the 9th of October but Friday is the only day Forest School doesn't run sessions! So last week we continued with our ongoing provision through rain and shine and set aside this week as a celebration of the end of term. Autumn is really bursting forth, the colours are glowing, there's a nip in the air, and the mornings are oh so late starting!

In fact, down a dark, dark lane there's a dark, dark Village...

In the dark, dark Village there's a dark, dark Street...

In the dark, dark Street there's a dark, dark School...

In the dark, dark School there's a dark dark Forest School...

In the dark dark Forest School there's a dark, dark Basecamp...

And that dark, dark Basecamp is waiting...

Today is the end of Term 1 in Kent, the end of half term for many, and the constant turn seasons brings Forest School into full Autumn. For seven weeks all of KS1 and KS2 have been coming outside once a week for a reduced Forest School Session. This is as well as having many lessons delivered outside by their teachers, and extended break times roving across different areas of the school grounds. 

The time scale at basecamp of has meant no snack or drink at the end of sessions, so this week we made up for it with Campfires, Biscuits, Marsh Mallows and Hot Chocolate for all. Which unsurprisingly was much appreciated!

Storm Barbara put in an annoying appearance mid-week and scuppered the best laid plans... With a general wind of 35+ predicted and the possibility of gusts reaching 60mph, our site on a plateau seemed too vulnerable to go ahead. We have a history of losing trees and canopies to the winds that whip across the open field and hit our woodland head on! This was a disappointment to the classes affected, but there was the opportunity for them to still have hot chocolate and mallows as a treat in class - which they have looked forward to MORE than actual Forest School this week!

On Tuesday a Year 1 child with a hot chocolate moustache and a string of melted marsh mallow on her chin declared 

'This is one of the best days of my life!'

so I'm fully aware of how they feel about campfire treats!

Although the sugar high is quickly evident and outside is the best place to run it off!

It's still not full on Forest school. A lot of which is not from choice but due to Risk Assessment that HAS to prioritise coronavirus in order to go ahead at all. The decision was made back in June that we would prioritise the quantity of children participating in short bursts of Forest School over full 2 hour sessions. Back then this allowed 16 Bubble Classes the experience each week instead of 8.

BUT - No learning to get changed into appropriate clothing on FS time, no walking to site with the Forest School Leader learning left/right, North-East-South-and-West directions, no full plenary, no snacks and chats, no walking back together... fundamentally changes what Forest School is.

By cutting these routines out, although it negates a lot of what Forest School is about, it does at least limit a negative impact on how long the children get to experience outside. Ultimately the effectiveness of whatever we do rests on how engaged the children are, their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

After the school holiday 'Forest School Lite' is back, in a slightly different, shorter format, with half a class at a time, and including EYFS now that they have settled into school. This really will reduce the time the children have outside and we have to admit we will no longer be providing 'Quality Forest School'.

I have mixed feelings about it, but as long as we accept it as outdoor learning and not Forest School, we can focus on what we can deliver and not what we can't.

The children are going to have to adapt, as their freedom for independent exploration, and our ability to follow the interests of the child/class is going to reduce too. Without a specific aim for each session there is a danger that 45 minutes will simply become an extended playtime. By the time the children are outside, seated and calm they will be lucky to have 30 minutes of self-motivated learning before they need to return to basecamp ready to swap with they other half of their class. There is a danger that all that will be achieved is a release of energy and a little time for focusing on something they can achieve. Some basic aims and activities are going to have to take precedence to ensure the children are engaged and not frustrated or disappointed in the lack of time to create a den, or a water chute, or dig a tunnel, or find the insect they're looking for, or sit quietly with the birds...

Hopefully at some point during this school year we can return to full session Forest School, and work our way through the progression of skills 'curriculum'. 

Currently we can only tick off what is offered to each class, but not the actual progression made by each pupil.

With the tried and tested format that is implicit in Forest School Learning we can return to the structure of routine, the freedom of self-engagement, the extension of nature immersion, and hopefully build on the resilience and motivation to learn that Forest School is so good at fostering.

Also it would be great to regain the opportunity to not only further develop our outdoor provision but to maintain what is currently there. 

This year, the world, education, and life itself, was rudely interrupted by Covid and Forest School wasn't immune to the effects.

We had just planted 280 trees and had to abandon them to the elements. 

The extension of our Copse Site was delayed. 

The developments in the Wildlife Garden went on hold. 

The Mud Kitchen Area remained propositions remained unexplored. 

Full Sessions were cut short to enable all pupils to attend.

And aspirations for supporting training on site had to be postponed.

Since September we've moved along with some projects, the children have been involved, but that was managed by returning to the plans that were gathering dust from pre-Lockdown. 

The shadow of the ever-present virus makes everything we aim for feel a little unstable. There are restrictions on what we can currently do and threats of further hindrance ever present. 

Everything we'd like to achieve, the possibilities and events we want to be involved with, require research, preparation, and planning. The soon-to-be 14 classes a week schedule allows the maximum amount of children to experience some time at Forest School, but a minimum amount of time for medium term planning, or detailed session plans, or child assessment.

At the moment we are putting the children first. 

Moving forward it's difficult to know what impact short bursts of outdoor learning will have.

Currently all classes score very highly on the Leuven Scale and the aim is to maintain that.

It will be good to get to a point where we can track the pupils again, but right now in a two form Primary School it is not going to be possible to meaningfully observe and record ALL the individual children accurately! Some children will continue to be encouraged to engage in different ways, or to discover what they particularly like, or to work better within a team, or to enjoy the different environment and atmosphere around them. 

The children's time outdoors is about to reduce, but not necessarily diminish. 

Schools have to move towards a timetable more like the one in place pre-pandemic. We have eased this development by putting the pupils first and prioritising their wellbeing. The aim being to ensure the children are ready to begin working on a full curriculum mentally and emotionally as well as physically, based on the evidence that once they are feeling settled their curiosity and willingness to join in speeds up the learning process! 

This strategy will continue as it seems to be working well for us, the children are responding academically as well as in engagement inside and out.

So we all take a break and return in November to see what Winter brings, what learning we can achieve, what experiences await, and how well Forest School Extra Lite will work...

...and if we can plant 400 trees across our grounds!