Mama Beech

In September 2019 I started working full time as a Forest School Leader.  The school I worked in previously offered Forest School provision in Early Years via three, then two, FSLs who also had other roles within the school. Luckily, having more than one person qualified meant that the three-form-entry school could offer sessions to two Nursery Classes, three Reception Classes, and extend it to KS1 in the summer. It was left to the FSLs to arrange with class teachers if and when sessions could happen. The school was very proud of its secluded small area of trees that kept sessions on-site, but using it was definitely an add-on to their curriculum. By changing schools I moved from two roles to one, in a school determined to make the most of its grounds, and starting a journey to extend the outdoor learning it offered to families and pupils. To begin with, it was a slow, considered learning curve, for all. I needed to get to know the spaces I could work in, assess their best use, see...

Kent Wildlife Trust have a series of great activities for accompanied children at Blean Woods over the Summer. Aimed at 5 - 11 year olds and using Forest School Learning Techniques the children will get to explore the woods with nature trails, nature crafts, and bug hunting etc. Children will also have the opportunity to engage in two BIG projects happening at the moment: The Wilder Blean Project (coordinated by Kent Wildlife Trust and the Wildwood Trust ) and  Rewetting the Blean Project (coordinated by the RSPB ) The events are free but tickets are required.  All sessions run from 10am - noon.  Click the date for more info and to check availability: Wednesday 28th July Saturday 7th August Wednesday 11th August Monday 16th August Saturday 21st August

Last week I spoke of an unexpected and very brief exchange over the phone, with my new physio, who mentioned Forest School. It was just a few sentences but seemed to say quite a lot about his FS experience. It made me want to ask him more. But for that, I would need to wait till the actual appointment! (link to Part 1 here ) Long before Forest School, I started my professional life as an NNEB Nursery Nurse in the NHS, when I moved into education, the school I was at did home visits to meet all new intake children and new-to-school pupils in their own homes. This made their initial contact with us as staff feel safe and comfortable in their own territory! This was back when we could go alone (not in pairs, or in masks) to parent's houses, and it set up an unofficial key-worker system as families felt the connection to whichever staff member they met at home.  This was also the days before parents needed a DBS to volunteer in the classroom! We had many who would either drop in and st...

This week I had to book a physio appointment for an ongoing ankle issue. The routine conversation, tinny and difficult to hear, altered suddenly when my physiotherapist asked my profession. "Forest School leader?" a distant voice echoed back to me from his office, "I LOVED Forest School!" the line clicked and a clearer one to one telephone service kicked in! "We used to go up Burgess Hill, it was brilliant, I love all that nature stuff!". His voice became softer as he said "it was such a great time." Now I have no idea how old my physio is, I have yet to meet him in person, but even placing him in his twenties (allowing for qualification years etc) it has to be at least ten years since he was part of a session! I'm guessing from his accent he means Burgess Park in London which I know has many schools nearby that use the plentiful open space in the area. As far as I'm aware none of these are secondary schools.  If he is from Burgess Hill i...

This week we have a Guest Blog at  siren films . All about Outdoor 🌱 Learning & Forest 🌳 School. Not sure how long it will be available so If you want to take a peak... Click HERE !  And if you want to know how long children remember Forest School for, click  here

Is it me or has this term had at least 47 weeks in it so far? The school holidays are on an ever-present horizon that never seems to get closer! Having said that these last two weeks will now fly by leaving a feeling of incomplete…everything! The second year interrupted by Covid is ever-so-slowly heading to a close, and somehow, we have made it through again ensuring ALL the children at school get to participate in Forest School. It has been a logistical challenge, timetables have been rewritten... regularly! Staggered starts to the school day, break times altered, and lunchtimes stretched, have meant adaptations to timings for everything. Including the entire school in Forest School every week has meant squeezing in 14 sessions into these rearranged days... Weirdly, the morning’s feel short with at least 2 sessions in, the afternoons often feel longer, yet with only one session, the collective week can drag with me wondering when the weekend is coming, while at the same time mentally ...

I'm going to assume that most people who read this regularly have some kind of connection with Forest School. They are FS trained to some level, work in or with a FS, have children in a FS, at the very least like  the idea of FS!  There is a lot of good quality outdoor learning across the UK. In some countries, it is more highly developed by Government than others, although I know many in those systems want to see it go further! For instance, lots of people look towards the Scottish drive for outdoor learning with the wistful hope that it will spread south of the border!  But being good doesn't mean you can't be better! Having any kind of Outdoor Provision needs constant review and development, in the same way that learning inside schools never stands still, neither does the opportunity to take learning outside. Early Years/Pre School/0-5 has this embedded in their curriculum, and recent years has seen KS1/infant education push for more learning outside. Personally, I'd...