Forest school
At King square Community Nursery
HEY-Case study
Forest school at King Square Nursery
Since September 2015 all of the children have benefitted from local trips to forest/ green
areas. It started from a trip to St Johns woods. This was more of an induction to the forest
and just to give the children a chance to explore the natural environment. The children
loved having the chance to climb the trees and watch the leaves run down the stream.
This then got us thinking and researching about the benefits that forest school has on
children, especially those with additional needs.
We then signed up for seasonal sessions at Barnsbury woods. These sessions were planned
and supported by a forest ranger.
The sessions supported children in:
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Naming the seasons
Talking about the changes in the different seasons
Naming and using all five senses
Building on their confidence to explore the natural environment
We also noticed a huge amount of interest from our parents who came along and attended
the sessions with their children.
M’s Mum
“Both me and M really
enjoyed the forest
school. It taught me
other things to do
together when at the
park no matter what the
weather!”
T’s Dad
“It was great for the
children. It’s good that
we get to go each season
and see how the forest
changes!”
Barnsbury woods has been one of our favourite visits as the location is near to the nursery.
The use of public buses means that we can get there quickly, therefore the children still
have enough energy to explore the woods. We also have been extending these forest
experiences weekly at local parks such as King square. All activities are planned for and are
based on the children’s interests and the seasonal changes.
The great success of Barnsbury woods led us to plan a trip for the whole nursery including
the children from the 2 year provision (St Luke’s). Most of these parents had never visited
Epping Forest before and some didn’t even know what it was. The response from some of
our parents made it clear that they were not visiting the natural environment regularly. One
of the parents asked, “Do we need to pay to go into Epping Forest,” and another asked, “Is it
open all year round and what the opening times are”
We filled up 2 coaches of both children and adults to visit Epping Forest, we had planned
the day around previous activities and observations of children’s interests and skills. We
organized four different group activities for the day which included den making, treasure
hunt, the use of cameras and a planned tour by the forest ranger.
The trip to Epping Forest was an adventure and learning curve for us all. As many of the
parents had not been to a forest before, they came along with buggies and lots of bags! It
really was like a day at the Grand National. Parents, prams and children sliding down hurdles
of mud. The laughter broke the ice between the parents and they began to bond and work
as a team. It was nice for all of our parents to get together, especially were our St Luke’s
provision is not on the same site as King square.
We have noticed many benefits already from the forest trips that the children have
attended. There has been an increase in the amount of physical exercise that the children
have been doing both in the nursery and whilst out with their parents. It is also good for the
children to be out in the fresh air and exploring the natural environment. The children have
also become more in touch with nature and their surroundings. Families are making use of
wild spaces and have been visiting these over the weekends and holidays. We have also
asked parents to bring in the photos of their adventures to add to the children’s profile
books.
The forest school experience has shown to be hugely beneficial for children with a range of
emotional and developmental needs. This has become clear through the children’s
behaviors and observations. There has been a calming effect on the children when exploring
the natural environment. Rather than using classroom resources and equipment, children
can use natural materials found in the woodland and enjoy activities such as collecting sticks
and leaves, tying knots, making dens, handling tools, using twigs to write in the mud,
climbing trees, jumping across stones and building fires. The children also had the amazing
opportunities of looking at real skulls of dears and observing the droppings of the different
animals.
Forest school has helped children to develop:
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Their self-awareness
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motivation
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empathy
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social skills
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communication skills
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independence
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self-esteem and confidence
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physical skills including the development of both gross and fine motor skills
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Knowledge and understanding of the world around them.
Forest school therefore supports the EYFS curriculum and can be linked to other themes
being covered in the nursery or at home. Parents and carers are always informed of what
takes place at the forest, and are invited to join sessions to reinforce the positive experience
for children. We have had a good response from many parents including dads!
When children really engage with
Forest School they will take their
experiences home to share with
friends and family. We have already
began to see this happen as families
have been to visit their local
woodlands more frequently.
We have extended this experiences within the nursery by creating a mud kitchen in the
garden area. We feel that this is particularly important in the society we live in now. A lot of
children now use IPads and computers and spend less time outside exploring. The current
experience of the mud kitchen is showing increased self-confidence in the children and has
shown a calming effect on some of our more active children. We have also noticed a change
in the behaviour of these children.
We realize that free play in the natural environment is increasingly less available to young
children, therefore these experiences are vital.
Some of the pros that the mud kitchen has added to our outdoor environment include:
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Creative expression and invention (mud can become anything!)
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Problem solving opportunities (e.g. how to make soup thin or thick, how to make mud
meatballs stick together)
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Cooperative play possibilities (e.g. let’s cook dinner, let’s have a restaurant, let’s feed the
baby—you be the baby)
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Stress reduction (being outdoors in nature helps children relax)
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Building stronger immune systems (research indicates that some exposure to dirt helps
build resistance to bad bacteria)
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Growing affection for the stuff on our earth—soil, stones, sand, and growing plants
(leading to care for our planet)
Activity: Building a birds nest
Aims and Links to HEY:
Showing care and concern for living things and the environment
Working with others in a team
Talk and discuss the textures of the different objects that they have found
Planning and making decisions on how to approach the task
 To show care and concern for living things (not to pick flowers or plants
that are living)
Thinking critically- to work out different ways to do things
To talk about living things and where they live
To sort objects into categories
Resources:
2 boxes to collect objects and sort them into the categories – soft and hard.
Natural resources collected in the woods-Leaves, twigs, stones and plants.
What happened?
This activity followed on from the children’s interest as we had previously took
them to king square park to collect natural objects. The children enjoyed collecting
a selection of objects and discussing were the animals sleep. This was then
discussed with the forest ranger at Barnsbury woods. The Forest ranger used this
for our visit and incorporated it into her plans.
The activity went well and the children were able to sort the objects into categories
E.g. soft and hard. The children were very careful not to pick any objects that were
still living. We also managed to get many of our parents involved especially some of
our dads.
Throughout the session adults discussed the properties of the objects with the
children and added new vocabulary to their play. The forest ranger discussed how
the birds make their nests and the resources that that they use.
After collecting the objects the children were put into groups to build their very
own nests along with the parents. The children were very proud of what they had
achieved and showed COEL when using different methods to make the nest stick
together.
The children took their nests back to the nursery to put in the garden for the birds.
Activity: Den Making
Aims and Links to HEY:
Working within a team
Planning and designing their den
Show an interest in different natural resources
Looking at different ways to construct natural materials
Keep on trying- showing a can do attitude and continue to try
if problems arise
Maintaining focus and showing satisfaction in meeting their
goals.
Testing their ideas and changing their strategy if needed.
Resources:
Gardening gloves for both the children and adults
A selection of large twigs and small. Leaves to cover the den.
What happened?
The children enjoyed building dens in the playground and on
trips to the park using ground sheets, pegs and a selection of
materials. This time the children built a den from scratch using
nothing but natural resources that they had collected in
Epping forest.
The children worked in teams along with their parents to
design and build their own dens. Every group had a great
response to the task. The children chanting, “teamwork,
teamwork!” as they carried logs over to their den. The
children stayed focused for a long period of time and was
proud of what they had achieved.
It was also lovely to see the parents working together as a
team. It was a chance for everyone to get together and really
bond!
Activity: Treasure hunt using cameras
Aims and Links to HEY:
Talk about the changes in the winter
Have confidence to explore their surroundings
Following instructions
Working alongside others
Turn taking
Know how to operate simple ICT equipment
Describe and discuss their findings
Resources:
Treasure hunt picture list, children’s cameras and a selection
of natural resources
What happened?
Last term the children and parents attended a seasonal class
at Barnsbury woods were the forest ranger had asked them
to find a variety of natural resources. The children
thoroughly enjoyed this activity and showed high levels of
engagement and involvement therefore we continued this
activity in our local green space on a weekly basis. The items
on the treasure list are adapted as the weather and seasons
change.
To continue this further we decided to add technology to
expand the children’s learning. We found that by using
cameras in Epping forest, the children were more engaged
and focused on what they were finding. The parents were
given prompt sheets that had a list of questions/key words
for them to use on the hunt. The children were encouraged
to use all of their senses to describe the objects that they
had found.
The children are now confident in using the cameras and
have been using them in the garden and whilst on local trips.
The toddler room staff also attended training on ‘me and my
world’. One of the ideas from the day (The world through a
pinhole), has been used to encourage the children to
concentrate on the object in sight.
“I enjoyed doing
the nest with lots
of sticks.”
“I liked finding the
sign that said look!”
“I found some
snail shells.”
Childs voice
“I enjoyed making
the nest.”
“I got my wellies
on but I didn’t find
mud.”
“I was getting
up trees and
putting in the
tray”
“I found a hard
stick.”
“I found a bird.”