Mama Beech

I have been preaching, repeating myself, whinging, whining, and banging on about Forest School since 2019. This is literally my 200th blog post charting the development, trials, and successes we've had. I try to acknowledge how all provision varies but everything in the blog is totally subjective, from our view point and experiences. It's all we know. In 2018 Chartham Primary School could only fit half a class into the minibus, therefore 15 children went off to swimming and 15 stayed for Forest School. This meant only years 3 and 4 had access to either  and on rotation for a six week set every few terms. The Forest School Leader was also a TA. Resources were few, and while the FSL was enthusiastic and highly capable, there was not time for planning or maintenance or site development...  A situation that's familiar to too many! In 2019 the school decided to invest time and energy into making Forest School something they did well. They committed to focusing on it and employin...

As leaders, we spend a lot of time anticipating and facilitating the area and the activities. We react to the children's curiosity, investigation, and interests. We encourage them to do a little extra, explore a little further, and discover a little more. We respond to requests and questions, discuss possibilities, introduce ideas and information, and we follow the lead of the children. On bad days we are patrolling and constantly reminding children to stay safe, or be kind, or to adhere to boundaries. Those days are not frequent, but children will always bring class disagreements and personal feelings to basecamp, and even if it's resolved before they arrive, they cannot always shake off the negative hangover from it. Occasionally a session can struggle to get past playground squabbles no matter what space, communication, or support the adults offer. On good days we move from group to group, individual to couple, observing what they are doing, ensuring they are safe, and aimin...